review

I've bought a Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera for The Niece for Christmas. Yes, for Christmas.
She seems to have inherited Sister-in-Law's love of taking photos.

I'd seen this camera on the 'ternet quite some time ago and was interested in one for my class, curious to know what the kids would take pictures of. Then SIL expressed in interest in one for The Niece - so, seeing as they cost the same in £ as they do in $, I got one on eBay.
This was all before Husband's trip was planned.

Fisher Price produce these in pink (marketed at girls) and in blue (marketed at boys). I've a long-held dislike of such colour/gender stereotypes and spend a lot of time trying to overcome them in class (What's that Joe? Pink is for girls? Oh - so you won't want any of this strawberry ice-cream then?), so I was pleased to discover that Target sell one in red, with a bonus memory card.
Unfortunately, Husband says he hasn't been able to find one yet, not even in SuperTarget.

It's taken a fortnight for Niece's pink camera to get here.
I was already in a foul mood when I got home at 7pm, to find the (rather squashed) package sitting on the doorstep. Fortunately we have a canopy/porch, so it didn't get wet in this afternoon's rain.

Initial impressions are not favourable.

Power:
4 x AA batteries. The battery compartment is secured with two screws. This raises two questions; how many times will I have to screw and unscrew the bloody things each week? and how long are the heads on the screws going to last before becoming damaged and un-screwable? Surely an internal re-chargeable battery would have been more sensible, or charge up at a docking station or something. It could even have had the USB port there too - that would really simplify getting the pictures off.

Sturdiness:
Hmm... I read in the instructions 'do not drop the camera on a hard surface', yet the video on the Fisher Price site implies it can survive exactly such harsh Kid-Treatment, showing the camera falling down the stairs and bouncing on a wooden floor.
It's not exactly flimsy, but it doesn't seem incredibly well assembled. There's a thin gap in the casing at the top and I can't see that door on the USB port lasting too long either.

Design:
The shape is just right for small hands and the buttons are few and easy to use. Blue button for on/off (with auto-off if unused for a few minutes), green arrows for scrolling through the pictures, red button for delete (press again to confirm delete). One small hand-strap seems terribly inadequate; a neck-strap would've been better.
The LCD screen is rather tiny and on the grainy side, but I suppose I'm used to 'grown-up' electronics.
Health and Safety wise, it seems rather dangerous; the flash is blindingly bright, and that's just from behind the camera.
Speaking of looking on the bright side, at least the kids won't be able to sneak up on me and take pictures unawares; the sounds it makes would deafen your granny. Hardly suitable for little eyes and ears.

Also, I can't seem to get the pictures off the camera without installing their crappy software. Again, the video led me to believe that it'd be plug-and-play.
So I can't show you (or see for myself) the stunning photos I've taken.