Comfy EasyPC Keyboard
© 2005 ComfyWare
Note: This review was updated in August of 2006. It is proper to question whether children under 3 should even spend time with a computer? After all, by its very nature, it is an abstract, symbolic experience. So any computer experience needs to be "high causal"—in other words, any action should yield a quick, clear response so that it is easy for a child to gain feelings of control. The Israeli team that created the original Comfy Keyboard in 1995 understood this, but getting the keyboard working with Windows 3.1 nearly killed the product. Fortunately, Windows XP and the USB port has helped to fix these problems. The 2006 edition of the keyboard is smaller and seems cheaper, with buttons that are harder to press. This is a minor issue; children have no problem understanding what to do, and the graphics and sounds are highly responsive. The plastic colorful console sits in front of your computer monitor—you move your keyboard to the side. There are 20 large, color-coded keys, a telephone and a roller bar. There are three software titles (First Steps comes with the keyboard). Once the software is started, a child starts pressing keys, to large onscreen results. Pressing the Red color key, for example, turns the entire screen red. Three weather keys (Sun, Night and Cloudy) show a related animated screen. Pressing one of the keys by the Phone calls up one of the five Comfy characters. The routines are well designed, featuring large faces, silly routines and, in the later levels, clear verbal labels in up to 15 languages (an adult chooses the language when the software is first started). There are eleven software titles, as of Spring 2006, sold for around $25 each.
$79.99, Win 98, Win XP
Teaches: language, classification, music
CTR Rating: 84%