What is Chatman?

A child’s talking, feeling, moving computer friend for everything they do online,
providing fun, social skills, homework help, and safety. Just plug Chatman into
a computer with the built-in USB cable (no batteries or power cord required),
download the software CD, and log into www.mychatman.com with the provided
access code to get started.

Product Features

 

Chatman moves eyes, ears, and hands as well as talks using a built-in speakerphone and a unique LED mouth sync. Chatman understands and expresses emotions like a real friend.

 

Kids can chat with Chatman directly — he answers questions and initiates
conversations.  Chatman listens to and participates in chats with friends on Facebook®, Skype™, and MSN® Messenger.
With over 2,000 stored phrases, Chatman knows English and recognizes more
than 15,000 words.
Teach Chatman – Easily teach him words or create new chitchat actions.
Have fun with Chatman – Access over 1,000 games, cool videos and more.
Helps with homework – Ask him a question or browse for the answer.
Reminders – Keep birthdays, parties, tests, etc. organized to alert children of
these important dates.

Chatman is safe:
o Not a stand-alone chat platform so there’s NO STRANGER DANGER.
o Alerts when inappropriate chat is exchanged on social networks.
o Alerts when inappropriate web searches are attempted.

More About Chatman:

Suitable for kids ages 6-12
Recommended retail $49.99-$79.95
Available at toysrus.com, bestbuy.com, HSN.com and target.com. Also
available in-store at Toys “R” Us Times Square in New York City, with more
online and in-store retailers coming soon.
Website: www.mychatman.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mychatmanfriend
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chatmanfriend
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/chatmanfriend

Review

I had a great opportunity to try the Chatman.  I must say in my experience with it, it did not work for my family. I am not saying that it could not be for someone else, it just didn’t do what we needed it to.  It did get a little use though, my two boys loved the games they could play on it; however, when we created a new chat friend, and it would not work after we shut down the Chatman and restarted the next day. I had to keep adding the chit chats back in for my kids.

The homework help was a good idea, although it did not cover what my daughter was currently learning in the 5th grade.  A second note on the homework, it was mainly just youtube videos on how to solve a problem. The volume was loud and clear, and they all loved when you hit the animated buttons and he would say all kinds of crazy stuff.  Other than the games though, my kids did not really play with it.

Overall, it is a great idea, and I have only spent a week working with it so there could be more features that we have not explored yet.  I am going to continue to try to figure it out more in hopes it will help my daughter with her schooling.  My son is in Kindergarten so maybe next year he can get homework help out of it in the 1st grade level.  All in all, it is a great idea in theory, and it probably could be useful for some families, but it is just not for me and my family.

Review written by Heather

 

Disclosure:  The Mommy Bunch was provided a free product to facilitate this review, however, all opinions are strictly our own.