| | |  | Toys for Girls | Home » » FIJIT Friends Willa Interactive Toy | | | | | | WARNING:| CHOKING HAZARD -- Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs. |
| | | Description: | | 6 Years + | | | Features: | |
• Girls can poke and squeeze Fijit's soft, tactile skin that enables lifelike movements and fun surprises
• Fijit can respond more than 100 built-in phrases and jokes!
• Recognizes different types of music and perform different dance moves
• Features voice recognition, beat detection capabilities, and includes her own original songs too!
• The 5 AA batteries included with your Fijit Friend are for demonstration purposes only. Please remove and replace for optimal performance.
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 10.5 inches | | Product Width:
| 4.88 inches | | Product Height:
| 8.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.8 pounds | | Package Length:
| 10.6 inches | | Package Width:
| 10.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 4.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.85 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 115 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 115 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
247 of 258 found the following review helpful:
 Just a few additional comments for clarificationSep 14, 2011
By J. Hand
First off, many reviews said the toy FIJIT Friends Willa Interactive Toy didn't respond properly until the batteries were replaced. It's hard to see, but this is written on one side of the box about the 5 installed AA batteries that come in the toy: "for safety purposes [the installed batteries] are for demonstration use only". I take that to mean they are not regular batteries and will, by design, discharge rapidly. This is to prevent the batteries leaking and damaging the battery box in the toy if it sits on the shelf for a time. That would also serve to prevent getting toxic stuff on little (or big) fingers. The toy did start malfunctioning after less than an hour of use with the original batteries. Replacing them made everything work perfectly again. With the original batteries, some of the actions like the dancing, didn't work and even though I knew the battery situation beforehand, I thought they'd last a bit longer than what they did so I initially thought the toy was defective.
Expect to change the batteries right off. Since it takes 5 batteries, a couple big AA battery 10 packs may well be worth adding to the toy when you purchase it. I haven't had it long enough to see how long battery life is. For the eco-aware, maybe rechargeables and a charger would be the way to go. Just get enough so one group can be charging while the others are installed. Expensive, yes, but probably the right thing to do.
I didn't find the toy excessively loud as some complaints about a lack of volume control implied. It may be distracting if you were watching TV and someone was sitting right next to you playing with it. But, in another room or any distance away and you aren't going to hear it unless you you are trying to listen for it and are just looking for nit-picks to dislike the toy. There are regulations in place that govern audio levels for most consumer products. Well, except for the double volume TV commercials far too many networks play even though that is against FCC rules.
Some things the toy says are very hard to understand at first. It speaks in a voice that mimics an auto-recorder- that device that adds an electronic almost robotic effect to voices that is popular among some recording artists. It took some time to figure out everything Willa was saying. The difficult to understand become clearer after careful listening. After you know what it says it gets easier to understand.
This was requested by an 11 year old girl for a birthdat present so I'll see how long it keeps the "cute and cool" factor going. I'll post back on any other developments.
FOLLOW-UP
After the toy was in use for a month it now sits on a shelf collecting dust. After all the jokes have been heard several dozen times, after all the other responses, comments, dances, and everything else the toy does was had been repeated so much there were no more surprises, the girl lost interest in this toy. It took slightly less than two weeks. It was a lot of fun when she first got it and she probably saw and heard everything it could do or say within the first couple days. Then there were a couple days of showing it off. Then it wasn't as much fun and I dare say she was even getting annoyed with it. Because it has a rubbery skin and you can feel the hard parts underneath it, it isn't a cuddly kind of toy where it's something a kid would carry around to snuggle with. It reminds me of the type of rubber skin that would be prone to dirt and grime from dirty fingers sticking ot. Instructions say it can be washed with a detergent-free moist cloth. The curly things pull off and there is an optional set of things that can replace them. They must be purchased and ordered spearately, of course. FIJIT Friends Willa Accessory Pack
When I told her that there are supposed to be downloads available at some point with new material, the girl sighed and said it would only end up being boring again after a short time. On that note, I haven't looked too closely but I don't know if there is a port or any connection point for a cable. Right now just how this update process works is still a mystery. There is nothing in any of the instructions or 'how to' sheets that shows much about it. The planned updates are mentioned, but that's the extent of it.
So far, I haven't been able to locate any update site but that doesn't mean there isn't one. I just haven't found it yet.
There was no problem with the toy responding as long as it was commanded with a normal, clear voice. Shreiking or yelling at it didn't cause any response or an incorrect one. As an adult, I did find some of its actions amusing and I did laugh out loud over some antics. I still never found it too loud. Again, it was a gift for an 11 year old girl. In terms of the content of the jokes and much of its other interaction I think from 9 up would be the appropriate ages for kids to 'get' the jokes. I think they may be a bit much for younger kids to understand but the rest of the actions are fairly younger kid safe. The dancing and rest would definitely be amusing to younger ones and probably the younger the recipient is, the longer before boredom with it sets in.
I asked the girl if after she had it for a month and had grown tired of it if knowing what it said and did if she would still want it again or gotten something else of equal monetary value. Without hesitation, she said "Something else."
Addition again: One person commented then deleted it but had a valid point. I did rate Willa with 4 stars, but because it was a neat concept and it certainly was amusing. But, the luster wore off very quickly. Despite having asked a dozen or more times for the recipient to bring it back so i could test the extras as i outlined in my follow up, but she's so disinterested in it that it's a forgotten item in her life all together. If she still does show up with it, I will follow through. Right now, her not even wanting to do that speaks volumes.
61 of 67 found the following review helpful:
 Willa went Wacky!Sep 09, 2011
By Nana
Bought Willa for granddaughter's 7th birthday. She loved it and had a ball for 2 hours. Then it stopped responding, and started babbling. Changed batteries, reset, went on-line for help, tried everything. My husband even put her in the fridge in case she had short-circuited. Well, our dear Willa just kept on babbling nonsense. She wouldn't listen to anyone. I drove her back to ToysRUs. They seemed suspiciously not surprised. I opted to replace her, hoping for the best. Tears turned to joy as my granddaughter again played and danced with Willa. For an hour. Then, horrors, over the edge she went yet again. She had lost her mind. Disappointed that Mattel didn't work out the kinks before putting the little Fijits on the shelves. Great potential but not yet ready. They need to issue a major recall and go back to the drawing board. I will be returning Willa #2 to the store and shop for a gift that is not electronic. Third time's a charm :)
24 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Fun toy but LOUDAug 04, 2011
By Krista Nordby
I bought this for my four year old daughter who is completely delighted with it. The face lights up (very colorful) and the voice is cute but it is so loud. I wish there were some way to turn it down just a bit. The toy doesn't very often respond to key words. You have to speak clearly and in a natural speaking voice. And while my daughter rarely interacts with the toy using the key phrases she is still enamored with it and gets it to do a lot of random fun phrases, jokes and dances. The most endearing thing about the toy is that it will say "Come here, come here." and then make a kissing sound. It also tells my girl things like "Shoot your cute." and it tells funny jokes like "Why do fish in the ocean live in salt water? Because they're allergic to pepper." This is hilarious if you are four. I only wish we could turn the volume down, it really is startling.
40 of 45 found the following review helpful:
FijitJul 08, 2011
By emk
I bought this for my daughters birthday....it is a great innovative toy...my only Complaint would be that the fijit doesn't always recognize or respond to commands or certain questions....it frustrates my daughter- originally I thought it was because she might have not been speaking clearly enough but I find that it happens to me as well when I give it a try. Great idea but I still think some kinks may need to be ironed out as far as voice recognition.
37 of 44 found the following review helpful:
 Fijit Friends Are Robotic Friends For Girls From The FutureOct 17, 2011
By toy explorer
I was a little apprehensive about purchasing the Fijit Friends after reading the reviews but am glad I did. I must admit, when we first got the Fijit Friends we were disappointed. It didn't respond to anything we were saying. Then we noticed it says on the package that the "batteries included are for demonstration purposes only, change batteries immediately". It takes 5 AA batteries. We swapped out the batteries and everything worked as advertised. You have to also make sure that you switch the button underneath to the on position instead of the try me mode. If you have done that correctly Willa will say "What do you want to do now?" This is the home mode.
The Fijit Friends are robotic friends for girls. They have everything that girls love. Fijits dance with them, talk to them, and joke with them.
I assume that Willa is a girl given the fact that she is purple. It's hard to describe what the Fijit Friends look like. They look like cute little aliens with antennae on them. They have something very appealing about them. It's actually what drew me to the product. Their head is made of hard plastic. I really love how the face lights up with multicolored led lights. The mouth led light actually turns off and on to make it look like Willa is talking. Even the blue led lights that make up their eyes blink. These little things make the robot appear more alive. Their smooth bodies are made of a soft and squishy plastic. It's really hard to describe it until you feel it. It sort of feels like silly puddy. The toy is not really loud but I would have liked to see a volume control.
One of the most interesting aspects of the toy is the voice recognition. The Fijit Friends can actually respond to 30 different keywords and say about 150 phrases back. In reality, the voice recognition is really limited but nonetheless works really well. It is probably limited by the amount they can store on the memory chip inside the Fijit.It's not perfect but it is a brilliant step forward in the world of interactive toys. It works about 70-80% of the time.
I can only imagine the day when we can actually talk to robots. This is a great first step and such a brilliant idea.
One thing I noticed is that it doesn't work if there is a lot of background noise or two people are talking at the same time but this is a problem with voice recognition in general.I have also noticed that it has a little trouble detecting the voice if you don't speak clearly. Screaming at the toy doesn't work. You must talk at a normal tone and be about 1 to 2 feet away. I think the microphone is on the top of the head.
When you turn on your Fijit Friends, Willa will say "What do you want to do now." The red light on her belly will come on which means she is ready to interact with you. If the red light is not on the belly it is not listening to you. At any time you can push the home button on the back of the head to make the Fijit enter home mode and listen to you. You can say four commands in home mode:
"Chat With Me", "Dance With Me", "Tell Me A Joke" and "Good Night".
The Modes
1)If you say "Chat With Me " the Fijit Friends ask very simple questions such as "How's the Weather," "What's Going on Today" and "How Are You Feeling." Your responses are limited to very simple answers like "yes" "no" "sunny" "warm." Most of the keywords are one word answers. A list of keywords are given on a reference card. You can try to include the keyword in a sentence like "It is sunny." However, the Fijits only listen for a specific amount of time and if no keyword is detected they repeat the question or move on.You can only answer when the red light on the belly is on. It is easier to just say one word but over time you can try to find fun short sentences that the Fijit can recognize that include your keyword. If the Fijits don't recognize what you say they will move the conversation on with a general response.
2)If you say "Dance With Me " the Fijit will say "your" music or "mine". If you say "mine" you can turn on some music and your Fijit will actually dance appropriately to the beat of the music moving and shaking its head. There is something inside the Fijit that spins around that causes the Fijits entire body to tilt, it can even spin the Fijit around. It's very neat and looks like the Fijit is dancing. Additionally, each of the Fijits have 4 unique songs that they will sing when your say "your".
3)If you say "Tell Me A Joke" Fijits will tell jokes like knock knock jokes that will make children laugh.
4)If you say "Good Night" the Fijit will start snoring and go to sleep. It's so cute and will leave you with a smile ear to ear.
There is a additional mode called chirp mode which is activated by pushing and holding a button on the back of the head for 3 seconds. There are supposed to be apps, webisodes, and commercials which include special frequencies of sounds that the Fijits can hear and respond to. Right now we were only able to use chirp mode on their website but there are supposed to be apps available on the iPhone and other mobile phones in the near future.
In the end, while the Fijit Friends are limited by the technology and limited voice recognition, little girls will no doubt enjoy them. They are a little ahead of their time but the idea is so cool and original. They are cute, cuddly, and fun and even without all the fun innovative interactive features kids will love having them around.
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