Fisher-Price Elmo's World Cell Phone Review

What makes a good, simple, inexpensive toy for a baby? Well, the toy needs to make sounds and/or have flashing lights to be acceptable to most kids. And one toy that is certainly small, simple, and makes sounds is Elmo's World Cell Phone, a play phone.

Toy Commentary:

This small toy measures resembles a cell phone, only a little larger. When the cell phone is flipped open to reveal the numbered keypad, the two eyes at the top of the phone will open up, and the phone will play a simple tune: "La, La, La- La, La, La, La-La, Elmo's World". If the numbered keys are pressed, the phone sounds off the number, followed by the sound of a ringing phone. There is also an "object mode" that is activated by pressing the star key. In this mode, the numbered keys will each sound off the name of the object on the key, followed by the sound the object makes. The objects on the individual numbered keys include a trumpet, baseball, aquarium, boat, plane, shoe, crayon, drum, and dog. Pressing each of the keys results in Elmo saying what the item is, followed by a sound normally associated with the object.  

This phone offers several advantages from a parent's point of view. Most important among them is the fact that the phone is small/portable. With a size this small and a shape that is narrow, the phone will fit in most any space. It's a little larger than a real cell phone but it is still small enough to fit in the pocket of most pants. This makes it easy to grab and take along wherever you go.

Next, this phone offers some educational value. It teaches kids numbers, objects, and the sounds of objects. The words are all pronounced so that little ones can hear the sounds and learn numbers and objects. Also, this phone is quieter than other toys. It makes many different sounds but unless you're confined to a small space, you won't notice the Elmo World Cell Phone.

From a kid's perspective, there are many reasons to love this toy and chief among them is Elmo. My girls love Elmo and they instantly fall in love with anything that depicts Elmo or that features Elmo's voice. But this is only part of the reason they love this toy. The other key reason is that it's a cell phone. My girls love phones of all types and they are particularly envious of mom and dad's cell phones. Now, they have a cell phone of their own to play with.

Are there any cons to this toy? I can think of only one: the constant playing of the "La, La, La....." song. Even though the phone is quiet, it can still get annoying to parents after a while. The main reason is that the phone plays this tune so many times. Even if no buttons are pressed, it will play this tune any time the phone is moved.

Bottom Line Viewpoint: