Our Experiences:
My son received the Learn-a-Bot for his first birthday as a gift from his great-Aunt. I was surprised to see it -- I thought I had looked over all the Baby Smartronics toys available, but this one was new to me.

We've got tons of Baby Smartronics toys at our house, but this one seemed particularly fitting. My husband and I, as well as the Aunt who sent the gift, are all computer programmers, and a little robot fits well into our techno-junkie lifestyle.

The Learn-a-bot has a light grid on his chest (5 lights across, 6 lights down) which is used to display letters, numbers, and the occasional quick graphic. If there is one thing I usually don't like about Baby Smartronics toys, it is that their design tends to only allow for teaching the first 4 or 5 letters of the alphabet. Something is better than nothing, of course, but one of my favorite things about the Learn-a-bot is that he can go through all 26 letters! That's the beauty of the light-grid on his chest -- a much wider variety of letters, numbers, and little graphics can be displayed.

My boy enjoys the Learn-a-bot too. The robot has a large red button on top of his head that just screams to be pushed, and my boy is a button fanatic. He also learned that he can turn the robot over and roll its wheels to cause it to sing. The robot makes cool, funky noises that get my boy's attention, and the flashing lights & simple graphics that appear on the light-grid manage to keep his interest fairly well. It isn't a toy my boy plays with for prolonged periods of time at a single setting -- but it is one he will go to many times in a day for a quick pick-me-up of lights and sounds.

If there is one thing I don't like about the Learn-a-bot, it is his voice. While the voice itself is very cute & friendly, it is too static-y and muffled, particularly during the songs (I think the music-accompaniment during the songs adds to the static-sound). You can still figure out what he's saying (usually), but we have other talking toys with much clearer speech-recordings. If vocal recordings were a bit more crisp and clear I would have rated this toy even higher.

Update - September 1, 2002
I just wanted to add a helpful note for anyone who purchases this toy -- when the battery starts to go dead the toy will repeat the opening sound effects over and over and over. We were afraid something was wrong with ours when this started happening -- it had survived being shipped across the country to us but we worried that it had been a bit injured in transit and that was causing the problem. A fresh set of batteries fixed it right up again.

Product Description:

-- The Figure --
The Learn-a-Bot is a light-blue robot-shaped little plastic figure. He's approximately 8 & 1/2 inches high and 6 inches wide. His head is regtangle-ish with a large red button on the very-top. His face is a recessed white screen which lights up when he speaks. His face has classic Baby Smartronics features (you'll probably know what I mean if you have other Smartronics toys -- I don't know how else to describe it). The bot's hands are attached to his body (he doesn't really have arms to speak of). The hands are large and yellow, and can be spun around. The robot sits on 4 red wheels (although the molding on the toy looks more like tank-tread).

On his chest is the light-grid I described above (5 lights across, 6 lights down). The grid and lights are red, and are surrounded by a yellow frame. The grid is approximately an inch & 1/4 across and an inch & 1/2 down. Underneath the grid is a switch with 3 settings -- "ABC", Off, and "123". On the back of the robot's head is a volume control, which can be switched between "low" and "high".

The Learn-a-Bot takes 3 "AA" batteries. It contains electronic components and cannot be immersed for cleaning, however it is all hard-plastic and can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth. It is intended for babies 9 months & up.

-- The Interactive Learning --
The Learn-a-Bot has two learning modes, Letters and Numbers. On either mode, the Learn-a-Bot will greet your child and invite him to play. For example, if the wheels are moved or the button is pressed while in "ABC" mode, the bot will play a cute, quick burst of music/sound effect and will display patterns of lights on the grid, then will announce "Hi! Let's learn letters!". After announcing what you will be learning, he will play another quick burst of light and sound, then will announce either "Let's roll" or "Let's sing". If he said "Let's roll", then he will sing a song while his wheels are rolling (the song depends upon the mode, as described below). If he says "Let's sing", then he will sing the song while the button on his head is being pressed.

Letters Mode
When in letters mode, pushing the button on top of the Learn-a-bot's head will cause him to announce the next letter in the alphabet, as well as display it on his chest. He also will say a word that begins with the displayed letter (for example "B - Boat"). The words selected to go with the letters are baby-appropriate (M - Mommy, D - Daddy, J - Juice, N - Nose). After a few letters, a new burst of music or a sound effect will be played accompanied by a little light display on the grid. He will go through the entire alphabet, from A to Z, if your child continues to push the button.

If you roll the Learn-a-bot he will sing the alphabet song. The light grid on his chest will display the correct letter as he sings it. At the end of the song (the "next time won't you sing with me" part), instead of words he plays the notes and little lights dance across the grid.

Numbers Mode
When in numbers mode, pushing the button on top of the bot's head will cause him to count from 1 to 10 (one number for each push on the head). He will also display the number on his chest. After he says the number, lights and a sound effect will count the number (for example, after he says and displays the number "2", a single light will display on his chest accompanied by a single "thunk" of a sound-effect, quickly followed by another light and another "thunk" sound-effect -- thus showing the child what "2" really represents).

Rolling the Learn-a-bot in this mode will cause him to sing "One little two little three little Robots". The light grid on his chest will display the correct number as he sings it.

When left alone for approximately 10 seconds, the Learn-a-Bot will prompt your child to play some more. He'll either say "Let's Roll" or "Let's Sing", along with displaying lights and playing sound effects (I particularly like the lights that go with "Let's Sing" -- it looks like a little note dancing around). If no one plays with the 'bot after 2-such promptings, he will say "Good Bye" and turn himself off.

Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Goes through the entire alphabet (from A to Z)
+) Counts from 1 to 10
+) The letters & numbers are both spoken and visible at the same time
+) Off switch
+) Two volume levels (loud and fairly quiet)
+) Two learning modes - letters and numbers
+) Sings as well as speaks both letters and numbers
+) Wacky sound effects and lights keep baby's attention
Cons:
-) Very static-y sound, especially when the songs are playing
-) Would be nice if there was a string for pulling, since rolling the 'bot is one of the main ways to play with him

Final Thoughts:
We really like our learn-a-bot. It is one of the few toys geared toward the very young that goes through the entire alphabet, which is a big plus for me. It is cute, fun, and educational -- the best kind of toy.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): ?? - Gift
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months