Dom Robinson reviews

Distributed by
Tiger Toys

Ages 5 and up

Price: £varies

Battery Requirements vary (included)

When I first tried the range of Hit Clips that I received I was rather perplexed. Ok, here's the deal. Everyone likes to have some music on the move and the best example I've come across that to date is with the Creative DAP Jukebox with its CD-quality MP3 tunes playing back in full. However, each of the Hit Clips (£3.99 each, right) that are available contain just a mere 60 seconds of each track. Given the ever-changing rate of technology these days this length seems like something I would have expected a few years ago and that now we should be seeing the full tune included, especially since every kid to whom this appeals will have a CD player and CD singles retail for the same amount.

Of course they don't play on their own. You need something to plug them into and these come in the form of a Personal Player with its single earpiece (£7.99, see top of review) or a "Rockin' Micro Boombox" (£9.99, right), but once you insert them and press 'play', the sound that comes out is like a medium-wave radio that hasn't been tuned in properly. The tracks that arrived on my doorstep were Nsync's Bye Bye Bye and two from the Backstreet Boys: Shape of my Heart and Larger Than Life, but there's a range of popular teen bands and artists available. What no Slipknot or Muse then?

The one thing I did like was the FM Radio Receiver (£7.99, right). Plug it in, switch on and more often than not you'll hear Radio 2 blaring away in tinny mono. A press of the 'scan' button will automatically move the tuning in process to the next station along that can be picked up. The cynical side of me will point out that even if you do like this item, you'd be spending 2p short of £16 to hear FM stereo radio in mono and I'm sure a tenner would get you some kind of standalone battery-powered unit at Argos which provides much better quality. Overall, I was perplexed at the start and I still am now because with the advent of MP3 and the cost-value ratio of these products I fail to see the where the target market lies. My girlfriend liked them though particularly because the dinky little toys have key-ring clips on them that she can use to attach to her TGI Friday uniform.

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.