Toniebox

$100

Teaches: music, listening, storytelling

CTR Review

We've reviewed dozens of digital music players for children over the years. This one... from Germany ... is noteworthy because of it's easy to use form factor, and quality content. But there are some things you should know. The one-time setup and registration requires jumping through some hoops -- plan on at least 20 minutes to swap WiFi channels, and set up an account. This requires typing in your Tonie registration number on the bottom of the unit. Once your Tonie is set up, operation is a snap -- you wake it up by squeezing the ear, and place one of the small figures on the magnetic stage to start the sound. Tonies first launched in Europe in 2016. The shockproof, five-inch plush Toniebox fabric cube is easy to use but the sound is so-so. You get slightly better sound quality and volume from an Amazon Echo Dot. You also have to wake up your player first by squeezing the ear, so sometimes it may seem unresponsive. See also StoryPod. The content is excellent, with original Disney quality music and narration. The characters, which are sold individually for $14 (or so) are well made, and the magnet in their base is strong enough so that they can double as a refrigerator magnet. The box comes in six colors. The Starter Kit includes one Creative Tonie that lets you put in up to 40 minutes of your own music or stories. There are 17 additional characters.