Fisher Price Easy Link A Hit
by Lynette
Have your kids abandoned their Christmas gifts yet? Ours have, for some gifts but there’s one that isn’t going anywhere. Funny thing is, this was one of those gifts we didn’t plan on. They didn’t ask for it and we didn’t even know about it until it came time to order.
The wonder item is Fisher Price’s Easy Link Internet Launch Pad. It only cost us $12 a piece. More than reasonable we consider, for the price of kid gadgets these days. We got two, one for our 3 year old and another for the 5 year old.
The Easy Link comes with software which is essentially a restricted browser. Installing the software is a snap and then plug the launcher into your USB port. It really is so very easy. We didn’t encounter any problems. The only install gripe is it took a while to install because it went online to get the latest version.
From there, all you need to do is insert one of the included characters’ keys into the launch pad. Each one of them will launch a web page for that character. Example, the Elmo key launches a page on sesamestreet.com. The website is just like the normal Sesame street site, except banners and other links deemed unsuitable are not clickable.
This sounds like a good thing and it really is. I mean, considering this thing is made for kids aged 0-3 years, the restrictions are welcome. However, it would be nice if there was a message or a sad face popup when clicking on these. Right now, it just doesn’t do anything which is confusing for the parent and for the child.
The software comes with some very basic parental control. You can set a password which you have to enter everytime you close the browser. Can be a pain but also ensures they can’t log off and do damage to other areas of your computer. You can also set a timer, maximum of 60 minutes per session. After which, the browser locks up.
Our 3 year old is absolutely in love with thing. She’s getting really good at plugging in the keys, switching them out. Some keys take a little effort to insert into the slot.
The biggest surprise is, our 5 and 6 year old are also in love with the Easy Link. So much that they are always at odds who gets a turn on it. I think they like the freedom to get online without having to ask or be asked a ton of questions because I know where they are.
The coolest thing is, we got 3 more character keys at only $2 per key at Walmart after the holidays. These keys vary in pricing depending on the character and can cost up to $9 a piece. So if you get this, definitely look for bargains.
Overall, the Easy Link is a hit with our kids and we have no problems recommending it.
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February 13th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
THANK YOU! I spent about an hour typing various things into google like “website favorites toddler hardware” “baby computer hardware” “toddler computer easy” yesterday trying to find this!! I had seen a commercial for it a while back and recently my daughter is using the computer more so I was looking for this.
I’m bummed though because I though I’d be able to program which websites come up when inserting the keys. The two my daughter play now are nickjr.com and playhousedisney.com and I don’t think these go to either of those. Now I know what it’s called though so THANKS!!
February 14th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Hey Sarah, glad to have helped. Yes I was initially bummed about not being able to program my own websites into this thing as well. And I was apprehensive if my girls would even go to those websites the keys launched. But so far it has not been a problem at all.
There are units that have Mickey Mouse, Winnie the pooh, JoJo and Handy Manny keys. I do not have those keys yet but I imagine it’ll launch pages on Playhousedisney.com. The more popular character keys cost a lot more than the not so popular ones.
Our 3 year old loves the Dragon Tales key and she hardly ever watches Dragon Tales.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:23 am
That is SO cool! I’m gonna have to remember to blog about this one! Too bad there’s not a ‘teenager version’! Haha!
February 14th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Hey Lisa!
Oh it would be nice, but then again with all the stuff they know about the computer these days, it won’t take them but a few minutes to disable something like this.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
We have the easy link and we love it. I didn’t think we would need the timer when we bought it but now i’m glad it has one. My three year old would play all day if i let her. My two year old likes it too. The two year old was the reason we bought it, she has an uncanny ability to hit three keys and the pc will prompt “click ok to delete hard drive”. Like i said we love the easy link, i just wish i could find the disney keys to buy.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hi Kat, yes, the timer is handy. I’m glad they thought to put that in. I agree with you on the Disney keys. They only seem to be bundled into a new unit and the Disney bundles cost a whole lot more.