PITTSBURGH -- Seeing that we live in the age of Blackberries, cell phones and laptops it won't be long until your baby is ready to hop onto technology road.

My son, Brendan (Age 1 1/2) loves to sit on my lap and pound on the keyboard or grab the mouse while I'm checking emails or shopping online so I thought that he might enjoy playing with a computer of his own. And seeing that he is a big Elmo fan (or Melmo as he affectionately calls him) I thought that Elmo's Learning Fun Laptop would really click with Brendan.

Elmo's Learning Fun Laptop is described as an electronic learning aid that helps kids learn numbers, colors, shapes and letters of the alphabet through Sesame Street character phrases, fun music and over 150 learning questions.

The laptop comes with four double-sided cards that the child inserts into the screen. Each side of the cards offers a different scene and curriculum. Press the quiz button for questions and prompts relating to the pictures on the screen. Elmo's eyes move left to right when the button is pressed.

Brendan liked to carry the laptop around and hit some of the buttons, but got bored after not too long. His friend, Maren, took an interest in it and seemed to enjoy pressing the buttons and telling her mom what color she saw. She pulled the lever down quite a few times, pointed at the different shapes, colors and numbers and played with it for a few minutes. She also took it with her when she moved into another room, but set it down and didn't play with it again.

The laptop comes with different cards that you can change out for different questions, etc but we didn't get around to doing that as the kids moved onto other toys quickly. Also, the laptop is very top heavy so you have to prop it up against something so it doesn't tip over.

I think this is a cute toy and one that older kids might enjoy, but not one that I'd buy for an 18 month old to 2 year old. The kids got bored with it too quickly and the computer screen wasn't exciting enough to hold their interest.

Elmo's Fun Learning Laptop just didn't "connect" with our toddlers.

Age Range (18 months +)

COMPARE PRICES (As of 12/16/08)

WalMart: $29.97

Toys-R-Us: $34.99

Have you played with this toy? Please share your comments with us below!

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