Fisher-Price Easy Link Internet Launch Pad
5October 27, 2009 by Atila
- The Easy Link Internet Launch pad makes it easy for kids to visit preschool appropriate websites to play online games!
- It connects easily to your computer via USB and when kids plug a character figure into the Easy Link Internet Launch pad, they are taken directly to that character’s website.
- Once a character is plugged in, kids are only allowed to visit pages on that website until they plug in a different character, keeping them away from unsafe websites and from getting into your computer’s files.
- Kids play the online games on the different websites by using your computer’s current mouse and the arrow keys on the Easy-Link Internet Launch pad.
- 3 easy link figures included are Elmo, Dragonland, and Fisher-Price. (8 additional Easy-Link figures sold separately) When parents want to go back to normal computer use, they can enter a pass code to turn the Easy Link off.
Product Description
The Easy-Link Internet Launchpad offers Internet environments that allow children to play games without venturing into other areas online. Parents simply connect it to their computer using the included USB cable to allow kids to safely visit preschool-appropriate Web sites and play online games. Kids can plug their favorite character figures into the Launchpad and be taken directly to that character’s website. Once a character is plugged in, kids are only allowed to… More >>
Category News | Tags: Easy, FisherPrice, Internet, Launch, Link
I bought this for my 2 year old grandon, he LOVES it. He plays with it all the time. He played with it with his 11 year old aunt as well. She loves it too. She says she wants one too now lol They wrote names and stuff and the train followed it well. Its great that you draw with water because there is no mess
Rating: 4 / 5
My 3 year old calls this his internet…It’s perfect because it is the only thing he can play with on the computer and he can’t mess with any of my programs. We gave him his own account on our computer and it makes him feel special.
Rating: 4 / 5
I had similar problems as some of the other reviewers. I could not get the keys to work in the system. I’m pretty computer-savvy and usually have no trouble at all with anything I want to do on my pc. I was able to install the system successfully, I disabled the firewall and virus scanners, and I had the thing plugged in correctly. The easy-link system would not recognize the smart-keys that I plugged in. When I plugged the system into the computer the Easy-Link light would quickly blink once and then go out. That was it. I have now tried two systems and am returning it for a refund. I’m through messing with this thing. The Fisher Price help line was not as helpful as I would have liked either. I regret ever buying this for my daughter.
Rating: 1 / 5
When I get something for myself and it doesn’t meet expectations, I get disappointed. When someone gets my kids something as a gift and it comes off as a lazy way to rip people off, I get angry.
I’m actually angry about this thing. My son is 3 years old. He and his older brother (he’s 6) love playing on the computer, and we’ve been through a lot of software. This device adds almost no value, and the web content is still chock full of poorly designed software with little replay value. There so much more interesting software for young kids than offered by this piece of parental control hardware.
Because this is just making available existing web pages, the sites are not designed to guarantee that they even fit properly in the application that the device uses. My son shouldn’t have to scroll down to see parts of the page. I shouldn’t have to run at a resolution above 1024×768 in order to see the whole screen. My son shouldn’t have to read to be able to launch games (though if the software attempted to help him read the things, wouldn’t that be nice?), and he shouldn’t have to wonder why, when he clicks on his favorite PBS character, almost nothing happens because the software won’t let him access the link. How about making the software say out loud that he isn’t allowed to get at the thing he clicked on. How about making the software change the mouse cursor to indicate what you aren’t allowed to click on? How about removing the things you’re not allowed to click on? This isn’t rocket science.
The games on the pages are almost all poorly designed. They don’t have enough interactivity and feedback for younger kids. Take for example, one of the Clifford games. At 3, my son can find the characters they talk about, but if he accidentally drags the mouse a little while clicking, it doesn’t register. Does a 3 year old know why? No. It reads aloud what he should click on. Great. They got something right. When he clicks on the right thing, it just changes the text to some success message. Nothing is read aloud. Sorry – my 3 year old can’t read yet. Also, there’s nothing to encourage him to click the “More” label once he’s done. It’s just a really lousy design.
With the technology available today, these games should be far more engaging to kids, they should be far more replayable with better sound and graphics, and I shouldn’t have to worry about my kids clicking around the screen and going to scary internet places – all of these games could be taken off the internet and installed, and I wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.
I think the software is awful, and the hardware adds almost no value. The only reason the hardware is even necessary is because the software is so poorly “designed”. There are plenty of free internet sites (including PBS!) that have reasonable games for really young kids.
Boooo Fisher-Price. This could have been a really cool device. Now I have to waste MY time seeing if I can return this thing.
Rating: 1 / 5
I have this product and it hasn’t worked right for over a year. I just got off the phone with their support and was told this product hasn’t been supported for over a year. Most of the Key Fobs no longer work due to website changes. This could be easily fixed with an update from Fisher Price, but their official stance is they no longer support it.
I’m highly disappointed and spreading the word to all I can. If you buy this toy it will not even work out of the box. Save your money for a toy that actually works, and a company that stands behind their product.
Bad form Fisher-Price.
Rating: 1 / 5