Does a $10 phone work as a toy

Everybody likes a new toy. Believe it or not, even a 3-year-old likes toys. I’m here to review the LG L39C smartphone as a child’s toy. We will review other phone toys running the same $10 price tag as well, to see the comparisons. We are going to be looking at capabilities and the quantity of fun that we can anticipate a child will get out of the toy. Let’s begin.

I bought this as a toy and gave it to my 3 year old. This was a pre-paid phone that we just didn’t buy service for and connected it to WiFi. He was able to download and play any games he wanted with no games having issues. Continuing to play for hours with no problems arising and no grief to either parent. This toy did its job and did it well.

Next up we have the V-tech touch and swipe baby phone. 

This is marketed as a pre-school age device. Priced at $11 it has some capability to entertain and learn. There are 12 icons for “apps” and by moving the slider over you get 12 music “apps”. Each one will play a small song for your child. This did not play flappy bird well as it doesn’t have an OS to do anything on it beyond the pre-installed “apps”. Yes the device does call these buttons that light up and play a song an app, it probably shouldn’t but it does.

Now we look at the Frozen flip phone

This toy is recommended for 4 years and up and is right at the $10 mark. It features sounds when keys are pressed and  noises that are supposed to be Anna and Elsa also make their appearance. That’s all this thing does. The amount of entertainment offered  by this toy is limited to fun for 3 minute intervals and then thrown aside for something a little more enjoyable, like shoes or Brussels sprouts both of which are just as entertaining as this toy.

The next generation of phone is, the Yphone

Your child can now own the next generation of phone, the Yphone. This device it only $9 so we will keep that in mind with the final grading of the devices. This has some great potential, it looks like a phone people will enjoy using, but unfortunately that’s where this stops. Moderately bad sound comes out of the device when pressing one of the buttons. Simulated phone calls can be of some entertainment but the fun stops around the 20 minute mark. One benefit is the device has a rechargeable battery inside of it and a Micro USB cable that comes with it  that can be used on other devices as well.

Last we have the Chatter Telephone

This phone is for a younger crowd then the other devices but at the $10 price range and sheer nostalgia of the toy made me add this in.  Minimal noises and capability this device doesn’t offer long term fun for any kid, but instead offers small doses of fun for many kids. This is the most robust of all of the devices by quite some measure. No batteries needed and no worries on what they are going to do with it makes it a worry free toy with minimal effort.

Wrap up:

The fun value here is the amount of fun that they will have while playing with the toy

Robustness is break-ability.

Child distraction is the amount of time that they will play with the toy without needing your help.

As you can clearly see, buying a pre-paid phone and not hooking it up to a service provider can be a great toy for a child. Mine loved it and asked a number of times to play with it over other far more expensive toys. Many applications give them a chance to learn as well so it isn’t all just mindless activities. Keep this in mind next time you go toy shopping.