A very interactive friend!

SmarteBear is the most unique plush friend I have seen in quite a while. Though he appears to be just a cute cuddly bear he is actually a fully interactive electronic bear who is ready to sing, play, and tell stories to your kids.

SmarteBear is super simple to work, just squeeze his hand to get started and the bear will prompt you by either squeezing his hand for yes and foot for no on if you would like to hear a song, play a game, or listen to a story. All of the content on your SmarteBear is totally customizable even down to your child's name.

Since Connor is still a bit young to understand the controls I have really narrowed down the selections on our SmarteBear's programming to songs and stories and removed the games as he isn't quite ready to answer questions using the hand and foot method but he can navigate his way through the songs by squeezing his SmarteBear's paws. You can pick and choose which songs and stories you want included on your SmarteBear using the SmarteBear store and software. Your bear will come preloaded with a selection but if you connect your Smartebear to your computer via an included usb cable you can hook him up to your Smartebear software and add more. At any time if you do not like the included programming you may purchase more through the Smartebear store including more games, songs, and stories.

We absolutely love our SmarteBear and I really appreciate the fact that he has a hidden head phones jack for older children who would like to use their SmarteBear on the road because as adorable as he is I'm not sure I could handle listening to him on a long road trip. heh. With that said I'm fairly positive Connor would not like to listen to my music on a long car trip either. He also features a hidden on and off switch which comes in handy if your child insists on taking him to bed with them so he doesn't accidentally turn on at night and wake your little ones.

Using the SmarteBear software is super simple and really self explanatory. My only complaint at all about the SmarteBear is the fact that you cannot use your own songs that you already own with him and any additional add ons must be purchased, at around .99 per song and 1.99 per game or story. With that said there are also always a selection of free songs you can add to your library as well. Seeing as the SmarteBear is totally customizable you can add age appropriate programming that will allow your SmarteBear to go from a toddler toy to a fabulous companion for older children as well just depending on what you decide to include! SmarteBear is also available in a dog and cat version as well!

Now I gotta go try to sneak our SmarteBear out of Connor's room while he is sleeping so I can add these new songs I just downloaded. Connor can wake up tomorrow to find that his bear has learned some new tricks!