SweetPea3 MP3 Player For Kids

Back in August, the Sweet Pea Toy Company sent me one of their SweetPea3 MP3 Players for Kids. At the time, I’m not sure who was more excited about it, Jake or myself. He loves music and this was an opportunity for him to listen whenever he wanted to his own music and I wouldn’t have to be afraid of his hearing being affected from the use of headphones.

The SweetPea3 MP3 player is designed for toddlers, but to me goes well beyond the toddler age range. The age on the box is 0-6, but I can imagine Jake using it for a bit longer than that. It is larger than your average MP3 player making it safe for little hands. It has a built in carrying handle and the outside is covered in blue or violet durable rubber. And the best part is that no headphones are required, which means it is safe for little ears.

Here are some of the specifications of the SweetPea3:

* Fully functional MP3 player with integrated speaker
* Large LCD display shows song number
* Plays MP3 and WMA files (Windows Media Audio)
* 1GB memory (16 hours at 128 kbit/s data rate)
* Hidden volume control
* Stores songs in up to 3 playlists
* Programmable Auto Off time
* Over 40 hours on a single AA battery (included)
* Durable exterior of soft, food-grade rubber
* USB port (cable included)
* Headphone jack (headphones are not included or necessary)
* AC adapter jack (AC adapter available separately) (North American UL/cUL safety certified)
* User manual provided
* Safety tested: meets RoHS and ASTM F963 Toy Safety Specification standards, lead-free

One of the most impressive things about the SweetPea3 was that is was designed with safety in mind. You can check out all the impressive steps taken in the design to produce the safest product possible on their product safety page.

You can easily transfer music to the SweetPea3 from your computer with the included USB cable. It was so simple to do. The controls are simple and easy for kids to use. The main settings are not easily accessible by most kids because access to the special settings menu is gotten by simultaneously pressing the Left and Right buttons for 6 seconds. This menu sets volume, current playlist and the Automatic Off time, things that kids don’t need to be messing with. I said most kids because mine figured out almost immediately how to increase the volume.

Now you may be wondering what took me so long to write this review. I don’t write reviews simply to get free stuff. I write reviews because I believe that we owe it to each other to be informed consumers and that by talking about and review products, not only do we help others make informed purchases, we can also help companies make better products.

After a week or so of use, our SweetPea3 started to act up. The songs would disappear from the memory or it would get stuck on one song. Jake had not done anything out of the ordinary with it so there was no reason on our end why it should be malfunctioning already. So, I contacted the Sweet Pea Toy Company and they looked into the issue. At first they thought maybe it was a firmware issue, but their testing did not find an issue so they went ahead and sent us a new unit.

The new unit has worked perfectly ever since! It has been dropped on the kitchen floor and fallen down the stairs. It has been sat on, drooled on, and stepped on by the dog and it is still working without a problem. The sound is good from the speaker – it is clear and understandable. The battery life is pretty decent, in fact, I’m not sure we’ve even changed the battery yet. The functionality is limited, but certainly enough for a toddler or a young child. There are 3 play lists available and while there are no fancy features such as shuffle or repeat, Jake has no complaints and just skips forward if a song comes on that he wasn’t in the mood for.

I would have no problem buying a SweetPea3 as a gift or recommending it to others. It is an innovative product, designed with kids safety in mind, and they stand behind their products. To my knowledge, there are no other MP3 players on the market like this and at $59.95 is reasonably priced.

The SweetPea3 is selling out faster than they can ship it, and their next order is due to ship on December 10th in order to arrive before Christmas, so if you are interested you should place your order now. The SweetPea Toy Company website is the ONLY place you can get this great Digital Music Player!

Tweet