About.com Rating

The Kidizoom Smartwatch from VTech is a sweat proof, splash proof tech device for kids worn on the wrist like a watch. The primary functions of the Smartwatch include not only being a watch, but a timer, stopwatch, still camera, and video camera.

There are 50+ choices of either digital or traditional analog displays for children to personalize their device. Additional games and features are available on the device with the original purchase, but additional downloads are available from the VTech Learning Lodge.

Working with children over the years, I've noticed one main feature when it comes to tech devices. As much as kids love to play games, they are enamored with cameras to take pictures and video of anything imaginable, especially their goofy faces and voices. I've seen it with the VTech Kidizoom digital camera, as well as with the rotating cameras on the InnoTab tablet devices. So while certainly tablets and camera devices are larger, they Kidizoom Smartwatch not only allows kids to have an on-the-go camera watch and portable mini-game device, but they can take pictures and video on-the-fly, even in spy mode.

The Smartwatch out of the box arrives charged with about 50% battery life, so while fully charging it prior to use for about 3 hours is recommended, it can be utilized immediately. With the touch screen, I easily inputted the correct time and date format for our timezone for my son, then also picked 2 separate interface appearances, 1 for the analog clock, the other for the digital clock.

There are dozens of choices to pick from for the clock interfaces, especially related to the child's developmental level. So while my son is only 4 he can name the numbers in order on a digital clock, but can't tell time on an analog clock. I made sure to pick a an analog clock that had all of the numbers markers visible because even though he can't tell time, while wearing the Smartwatch the child and can rotate between viewing the digital or analog clocks. 

While there is a stopwatch included for kids to time themselves against peers, my absolute favorite feature of this watch, as the mother of a preschooler, is the sand timer function. After setting the timeframe, children can digitally watch the sand drip from the top to the bottom. For children who need a visual timer, having something like this that they can wear on their wrist is perfect so they can learn to wait whether they are at home or even at Disney.

There are 4 games included on the Smartwatch, with 3 levels of difficulty. Parental settings can also limit the amount of game play a child engages in per day (30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes or no limit).

• Rotating Puzzle rotates and manipulates pictures that the child has taken that are on the camera roll, but it also includes graphic images. The child is responsible to rotate the correct portion of the image to make it appear correctly on the screen. It uses a combination of images the child takes from their camera roll, as well as graphics. 
• Super Detective is a memory game, where children must remember the original picture, then correctly choose the person repeatedly.
• Finger Dance plays various songs and kids need to tap buttons in order to play along, similar to Tap Tap if you have that app on your tablet or smartphone
• Time Master allows kids to change the time on a clock, then guess it out loud prior to having the owl state the correct time. 

With the touch of the button on the side of the camera, or the icon on the screen of the watch, children are taken immediately to the camera feature. They can choose to take still pictures or video, and can quickly switch from one feature to the other. Templates and graphics can be added to the images by tapping the screen while taking images and video.

A separate icon on the menu screen allows kids to record their voice, then provides options that include make the voice higher pitched, deeper, vibrating or robotic-like. As parents we better be careful that our kids aren't recording our voices in stealth mode, then playing them back to us. 

The camera images are only 640x480 pixels (or 0.3 mega pixels) and the videos are 320x240 pixels or 160x120 pixels at 15 fps. While the video and images aren't necessarily the highest resolution or megapixel quality, while as adults we are certainly picky about clarity, many kids seem to enjoy the process far more than the quality of the final product. 

Similar to how you would download from a digital camera, images, movies and audio from the Smartwatch can be uploaded and saved on a computer without any additional software required. The device can hold about 800 photos, and 6 minutes of videoeo at 320x240 pixels. However, videos can only be taken for a one minute interval.

Watches are currently available in 4 colors: pink, blue, green and white. In addition, the Smartwatch is PC and MAC compatible and the purchase of the device includes a micro USB cable for charging the device, as well as transferring data to a computer. The charge on the watch can last up to 2 weeks, but with heavy use may need to be charged daily. In order to preserve the battery there is an auto screen shut-off that can be adjusted for time in the settings.

For more information on the VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch, visit VTechKids.com.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.