Suitable for ages 6-12, Chatman is a child’s talking, feeling, moving digital friend for everything they do online, providing fun, social skills, homework help, and safety. Just plug Chatman ($69.95 – $74.95) into a computer with the built-in USB cable (no batteries or power cord required), download the software CD, and log into http://www.mychatman.com with the provided access code to get started.

More and more children are navigating the internet. I’ll admit that I don’t like this idea, and I wasn’t ready for my 5-year-old son to use the web. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that feels this way, considering that there are many pitfalls on the internet. Then, I was recently introduced to the Chatman. This is a friendly, knowledgeable, and interactive device that will create a fun and unique online experience for your children while keeping them safe. Your child can give him/her a name and choose one of three personalities: Meeko, Zeke, or Ginger.

One of the many noteworthy features is that children can chat with Chatman directly or enjoy what he has to say when they chat with friends – Chatman can listen to chats on Facebook®, Skype™, MSN® Messenger, and more. Chatman will let you know when things go awry, especially when your child is visiting a potentially dangerous web-site or if chatting becomes inappropriate. He’ll alert you by whistling, shouting, or screaming. However, you can easily filter web browsing to safe websites only to avoid them running into malicious content and/or accessing dangerous websites.

My son isn’t quite ready to chat with friends on the internet. However, we’ve found Chatman to be useful when it comes to doing homework. It’s also great for him to play games when he’s done with his homework or needs an outlet to keep him entertained on a weekend. I can’t recommend this device enough since it creates an extremely enjoyable (and safe) experience for my son. It will put any worried parent’s mind at ease if your child’s online safety is considered as an issue with you.

Noteworthy Features:

– Chatman moves eyes, ears, and hands as well as talks using a built-in speakerphone and a unique LED mouth sync.

– Chatman understands and expresses emotions like a real friend.

– With over 2,000 stored phrases, Chatman knows English and recognizes more than 15,000 words.

– Teach Chatman – Easily teach him words or create new chitchat actions.

– Have fun with Chatman – Access over 1,000 games, cool videos and more.

– Helps with homework – Ask him a question or browse for the answer. Chatman makes finding information online fun and easy.

– Reminders – Keep birthdays, parties, tests, etc. organized to alert children of these important dates.

The item(s) in this review was provided to the reviewer for keeps and the purpose of writing a review. This in no way effects the quality of the review provided. No monetary exchange occurred in exchange for the writing of the review. The views expressed in this review are strictly that of the reviewer. All reviews provided here are the work of the reviewer and remain completely unbiased.