VTech Genio My First Laptop, Silver, Educational Laptop for Kids with 80+ Activities and Games, Kids Laptop with Art Studio and Revision Tools, Educational Toy for Kids, Laptop for Children 5 Years +

So sturdy and great for kids! The battery life is great and I love how educational it is for the kids! Perfect gift for Christmas or a birthday! Got for my 7 year old daughter who absolutely loves playing on it! Amazing and definitely recommend!

We were thrown into a world of using laptops with the children during lockdown and we hadn’t really prepared for that. This laptop however looks to introduce the early skills required but in a safer environment. The screen is much smaller than I would expect and like as it can be difficult to see, however there is a lot that can be done on here. There is a simple word processor and you can create simple documents and save them to an SD card for printing. You can give access to some internet pages approved by the parent or you can lock down completely. There is a mouse and keyboard etc for children to develop computer use skills. there is of course some games and education apps that the children can play with as well. Overall a tool to introduce computers fairly safely to children but would suit 5-7 yr olds, I think older children would very quickly out grow this.

VTech Genio My First Laptop.

The way kids are now with tech, they’re going to expect their first iPhone handed to them in the Delivery Room. So, a manufacturer making an educational product as an introduction to using a laptop is like hitting a moving target. Vtech is a trusted manufacturer in this particular market sector, and they have produced the Genio as a ‘my first laptop’ to meet what they see as a specific demand.

Looking at the Genio, it certainly resembles a conventional laptop. The keyboard is the right size for small, as opposed to adult fingers. The flip up screen only has a small area that is active, but that is clear in the advertising material. In practice the small screen size was not a hindrance when in use for most Vtech apps and pre-loaded web pages but may be restrictive with other web pages that are allowed under parental controls. The mouse is permanently attached and has a clip-on carrier on the outside of the case. Whilst this ensures it won’t get lost, it did prove a bit of a hassle to kids used only to touch screens. The mouse is lightweight, but the cable is quite stiff making it difficult to move around with the dexterity needed to control some applications. It is also only a single button device. Whilst all of the Vtech apps are designed for single button use, it would make more sense to incorporate at least two buttons, as this configuration is what is likely to be encountered in the real world.

The power supply has a bespoke jack-type connector (see pic), as opposed to a USB type, so don’t lose the power supply. The Genio needs a full charge before you can switch it on, so allow about 3 hours for this, plus about another 10 or so minutes for a firmware update. It will take about 5 minutes for a first boot up and about 2 minutes for subsequent ones. The opening screen prompts you to set up time, date etc. Then it’s best to set up an initial user profile before going into the Parental Controls where wi-fi set up as well as profile controls are made (see pics). The time in use settings can also be set up as per individual profiles.

Once everything is ready to go, users can log in under profiles set up by parental control. In practice the only embargoes are to do with web access; the rest is Genio bespoke software with non-restricted access. First time use of web access by any profile takes you through an explanation of what the web is and how to stay safe when browsing.

The landing page for all profiles is as shown in the attached pic. My Music and My Videos will need content downloaded from the web access or imported on a micro sd card (not included). The Learning Apps are where kids will spend the most time with 50 pre-loaded games and routines. Whilst audio guides are there for all Vtech apps, there is little in the way of prompts for the different levels in the games and apps of the Learning Apps section. Yes, learning is part of the fun but a single line of instruction on each level would help. The Word Processor is good but doesn’t have any form of spelling checker, which would have been very helpful. Whilst the lack of a standard operating system on the Genio means it cannot connect to a printer, there is a PDF creator function when saving documents, which can then be exported to the removable memory card for printing on a conventional PC. The Art Application allows a number of pre-set icons and graphics to be used. You can draw freehand, but only from the mouse, which is difficult. The Diary function is good and allows a number of fun icons to be added to each entry. The Learning Lodge is a browser function that will require a subscription set up in parental controls. This provides further apps and other material from Vtech. The Revision Sheets are good at detailing specifics of particular topics and would be a help to learning routines on things like basic maths and science topics. These are in PDF format so can be exported to a memory card and then printed.

Overall, I expected the upper limit of the age range to be about 5-7, as most 8-year-olds will have probably received their first hand-me-down mobile phone. In reality, my 9-year-old granddaughter took to the Genio like a duck to water and enjoyed the pre-loaded games and routines. My 6-year-old grandson had some difficulty with the mouse control. He had never used one before. That’s part of the learning process, but the mouse itself is still fiddly.

So, what are the conclusions? There are parents who would be happy to pay a good bit more for an entry level laptop and set up digital ground rules on Google Family. Then again there are those who don’t need or want that sort of hassle, and this is where the Genio scores big time, especially as it’s both a hardware and software educational package. What stops it from earning a 5 star review is mainly the design of the mouse, but also other niggles such as the lack of a spelling checker and entry level instructions for some of the games.

I thought this would be good for when my daughter turns 4 , although this is aged at 5 to 10, with my help I thought it would be great.It’s small but still a good size for a child. You can play games already installed on the laptop, art,music,learning apps,revision sheets,word processor and a diary. It is like a real laptop when you sign in you can choose your username and you can choose to have a pass code or not. There is parental controls , you can set the days and times when your child can use the laptop and allow access to specific websites you want your child to go on to.
You can do your homework and write letters and learn key school circulum.
#There is 8gb of memory on this laptop you can expand this to 136gb with a sd card. ( this is not included) and you need to connect to WiFi for most things.
#children can only visit websites pre selected by vtech or by parents.
Overall I think this is good for your child so they can learn how to use a laptop, but you know they will be safe using it as it is designed for kids and you can make sure they are only allowed on certain things.
I think the price is acceptable seeing as this is a great learning tool but also fun for your child.