Consumer Critique: Magic Sketch

A couple years ago, when I first heard of Magic Sketch, I was skeptical. My kids had use of our tablet on occasion, so why would they also need an LCD writer? Then I recently had a chance to review one, and I can totally see the appeal.

The Magic Sketch is great for us right now - in an apartment with not a ton of space for toys. It's also wonderful for in the car - no crayons disappearing and melting, no markers accidentally drawing where they shouldn't, no stacks and piles of paper littering the back seat. The rainbow screen is fun for my daughters to use, and the Magic Sketch comes with additional items that make it even more fun for kids. There are several different drawing tools for different textures and widths (some of them take a little practice to figure out the right pressure to use, but they add to the fun once your kid figures them out). There are also pages that can be slid behind the screen, which can help work on math facts, practice handwriting, or provide designs to color or add details. When a sketch is done, the push of a button clears it all away. There's an app that turns a photo of the board into a neat visual art design (unfortunately only for iOS; if I were going to list one drawback, this would be the biggest - we have an iPad but it's older and harder to get the photos off of).

Magic Sketch claims the screen is kid proof - shatter proof, water resistant, etc. We didn't really test the walking on it that they demonstrate in the video, but because of the simple electronics and design, it's a lot more durable than most tablets - and at the price, even if it would break, it's not as steep as tablets costing hundreds of dollars. The battery is supposed to last for 7 years, which will pretty much take my older daughter all the way through high school!

a fun new way for your kids to draw, play, and learn! The flexible, LCD screen is transparent, allowing kids to trace with the provided stencils or from their own images!  Magic Sketch is from the makers of the hit product Boogie Board who are also the leaders in crystal display technology. 

With Magic Sketch your kids can create all kinds of amazing art and, unlike most tablets, the Magic Sketch is super kid proof!  They can drop it, toss it, even step on it -- it won’t break!  It’s completely water resistant, so if they have a spill, just wipe it off and keep going!  With the advanced internal electronics, you can clear the screen with just the push of a button!

I'm usual pretty skeptical of TV infomercials, either about the quality of the product or the usefulness or need for the product advertised - but with this, I'd say it's definitely worth it!