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(More customer reviews)I bought this for my daughter for her first birthday, even though it is recommended for 2. Generally, she loves it - hugs it, smiles everytime she sees it and loves that it talks to her. Personally, I think there are some things that need to be worked on. To understand, you should know that Elmo speaks by either squeezing a button in his hand or hugging him and pressing a button on the speaker in his tummy.
1. The sound comes from a speaker that is held in Elmo's tummy. This is where you plug the cord for the PC in. However, with the padding that surrounds this, it is extremely difficult to get the speaker in Elmo's tummy and get the velcro completely closed. Generally, we never get the velcro completely closed, and hide the part where we can't under Elmo's shirt. And since the speaker is where the on/off button is, I am frequently having to struggle to reclose the velcro.
2. Everytime the button on the speaker or hand is pushed, Elmo starts a different "activity". So when my daughter gets over excited and hugs the stuffing out of him, it sound like he has some syndrome - he spurts out a word or two before the "track" changes so it doesn't make any sense. It would be far more productive if a track would finish before a new one would start.
3. The button on the hand is difficult to find and push for an adult, so for little hands, it can be quite difficult. And since Elmo actually says, "Let's play! Squeeze Elmo's hand,", it is what a child will learn should make him talk. Hugging Elmo is the only way my daughter can make him talk, although she tries really hard to squeeze his hand.
4. There are supposed to be 100+ sayings/songs/stories, but if I have heard more than 25, I'd be surprised. Many of them require multiple squeezes to get through the whole activity, so it gets lost on my little one, but would be more enjoyable for an older child.
5. You can choose to set an internal clock that will have Elmo play specific things at specific times, such as wake-up, bedtime, meals, etc. It only works if your child is on a schedule. The only thing I have set is bedtime.
6. At bedtime, Elmo sings a really darling bedtime song that my daughter loves, and she knows means it's night-night time. But if she hugs him too hard, it switches to something else, and she gets the saddest look on her face. Plus, if he is activated after bedtime, he goes back to "Let's Play!" which completely defeats the purpose. The unit should be set-up so that between bedtime and wake-up it doesn't play at all, or only plays the soothing bedtime song.
7. As an adult, I don't like that the software downloads EVERY name in the database onto your PC. Really, I would much rather it interactively let me install the names I want or to just download the ones I want. It took 15-20 minutes to download all of the names, so I know it is taking up a lot of room on my PC, which is frustrating.
8. I actually had to return the one I bought from Amazon. It had clearly been returned to Amazon without the install CD and I had to run out and purchase a new one the morning of my daughters birthday. So purchase early and download early, just in case.
On the plus side:
1. The software installed without a hitch and downloaded to Elmo easily. I have Windows XP Professional.
2. He looks and sounds like he does on TV.
3. There is an opening in the back of the box that allows you to get to the CD and download it to Elmo without taking him out of the box, which is nice if you are giving it as a gift.
4. My daughter loves him!
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Elmo Knows Your Name
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