Toy Review: MyLife Handheld Portable Device

I was really excited to receive a MyLife Portable Device by Playmates Toys. I often let my best friend’s little girls review girl-friendly toys because I only have a son and a nephew. With a seven year old, Miss D and a three year old, Miss K, my friend is always willing to let me stop by and play with the kids when I have something for them to review.

This time, K and mom went to play with some dolls while I spent the day with D. At age seven, she’s the perfect age for the MyLife. This bright pink, lightweight handheld is recommended for ages 7-11. Let me just say, this was a huge hit with D. She loved the MyLife so much, she asked me to bring it back the next day, so she could play with it again. As you can imagine, she’s now the proud recipient of her very own MyLife and her mom says she goes everywhere with the toy!

What D loves the most about the MyLife is how customizable it is. She is in control of the game and her character. She had the chance to make her own character and she also had the opportunity to download other items to make her character unique to her. This was a great self-esteem and confidence booster for D. She loved the freedom she was given to create any character she wanted. She also enjoyed the fact that we trusted her to be responsible for her new toy.

Positives & Negatives:
There are many good things about the MyLife Portable Device. This toy, which is specifically designed for girls, has only a few, mildly negative things about it. The good truly outweighs the bad.

Positives:
Lightweight
Cute Concept
Attractive Color for Little Girls
Teaches Responsibility
Trendy, Sleek Design
Fun for Kids
Highly Customizable

Negatives:
Expensive
Annoying Music
Didn’t notice a way to turn music down/off

Pricing & Availability:
The biggest problem I have with this toy is its recommended retail price. The recommended price is $59.99. For nearly twice that, you could buy your child a Nintendo DS. This offers a lot more games than the MyLife, and would be a better deal. However, this toy is specifically designed with little girls in mind. The DS is for both boys and girls and there really aren’t that many portable devices designed for girls. That makes this toy unique. So, while I wouldn’t ordinarily pay this much for a portable toy, I would most likely make an exception if I had a little girl of my own (and she wanted the MyLife).

That being said, while buying the MyLife might put a bigger dent in your wallet than you might expect, it is available at a variety of retailers for a lower price than the suggested retail. In fact, at Walmart, you can purchase the MyLife for around $50 both at the store and online. If you plan to purchase the MyLife for your daughter, I suggest you buy it here, because this is the lowest I’ve seen the MyLife.

Requirements & Instructions:
The MyLife Portable Device requires batteries. One downside is the amount of time the game lasts without changing the batteries. If your daughter plays with the MyLife a lot, you’ll be changing the batteries nearly every day. It does seem to go through batteries quite a bit, so consider using rechargeable ones to save on the money you’ll spend. Your MyLife also comes with an instruction manual though starting the game is somewhat self-explanatory. One thing you’ll need to know, that isn’t mentioned, is that you will need to start earning money.

One of the downsides of MyLife is the fact that your character and your pet can get sick. You must have money to pay for treatment at the hospital. Otherwise, you will be restarting your game. This happened only once to D, but she was disappointed at having to reset her game, nonetheless. It might have been better if there were checkpoints where the game could be saved and the girl playing had the ability to return to a previous checkpoint, in the event of an unplanned illness.

If you get past this initial problem, you (and your daughter) should have little to no trouble getting back into the swing of things and playing this game.

Durability:
The MyLife is pretty durable. D was none too happy with Lil Miss K, her younger sister, knocked the MyLife off the table. Of course, K was curious about the toy because it is quite pretty, with its sleek and trendy pink design. D was happy when she realized that nothing was broken. Just like other portable, electronic devices, the toy can be bumped around in normal kid fashion with little to no damage.

Of course, I don’t recommend letting your child throw it around just for the heck of it. If it accidentally gets dropped, that’s one thing. Playing hot potato with it, carelessly, may result in the typical damage you’d expect an electronic device to have thanks to thoughtless playing.

Ease of Use:
You pretty much just have to turn the MyLife on (after putting in the batteries) and it’s ready to go. There is an instruction manual included in case you or your child get lost mid-game, but it really isn’t that hard to understand. Girls age 7 and up will have no problem playing with this toy. Littler girls will also want to have this, because it is a pretty pink color, but it might be harder for them to figure out how to play the MyLife.

Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
What isn’t fun about the MyLife? The MyLife lets young girls create their own, customizable self. They can pick out their eyes, hair, clothes, accessories and pretty much everything else regarding their appearance. The character is able to enter a virtual land, where she can go shopping, talk to people, complete specific goals, ride on a motor scooter, and plenty of other fun activities.

Girls also have the chance to play games through the MyLife. They can download a series of items to add to their world. There is also a website where girls can visit that relates to the game. This page is at http://www.iwantmylife.com. At the website, your daughter can learn a lot more about game play, downloads, and there is even a MyLife Product Catalog. D found the website incredibly helpful, and so did her mom, who wanted to buy more content for the game. This way she knew exactly what to buy.

About the downloadable content; this is available by cartridges called MyStuff and MyWorld Keys. The key cartridges ($2.99 and $19.99) can be placed in the back of the MyLife unit and they unlock clothes, accessories, drinks to increase a characters happiness, health, etc., power bars, food, and other items of benefit.

The most appealing thing about the MyLife has to be the fact that your daughter can have fun using it, and while its kind of like other portable devices (cell phones and internet connected devices), it’s safe,. Plus, there are no costly, monthly fees to pay.

Some may see the fact that the graphics are kind of retro, as a downside. The graphics remind me of those used on the original gameboy, only in color. They could be better, but I happen to like the retro feel. This is, ultimately, going to be a matter of personal preference. However, one thing I absolutely could not stand was the music.

All of the adults who heard the music were ready to buy earplugs after hearing this for less than a half-hour. The kids didn’t seem to mind much, at all, so this is just one of those things that annoys parents. I couldn’t find a way to turn the volume of the music down either, so for me, this was torture.

Bottom Line:
If you have a young girl who is between the ages of 7 and 11, you’ll want to consider buying the MyLife. With Christmas coming up, this excellent toy is small enough to make a great stocking stuffer though any little girl would love this as one of the gifts she opens on Christmas Day. Not to be discounted, some boys may enjoy this toy as well, though it is primarily recommended for girls. Either way, this is sure to be a big hit in your house, with any child who receives this as a present.

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Technorati Tags: MyLife, Portable Device, Toy Review, Girls, Game System, Christmas Gift, Toys, Playmates, Handheld

Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.