Saturday, November 28, 2015

Robotic Aquabots provide fun of a fish tank without the hassle and mess - A Geek Daddy Toy Review

 ** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free to review **

My kids have been begging me to get some new pet fish since their most recent ones passed away but one thing I realized from the last go around is they really aren't up to the responsibility of feeding them nor keeping the gold fish bowl clean.  I didn't want to be the one taking on the responsibility of a second go around with pet fish but also my kids nagging was starting to wear on me.  The problem may have been solved with some AquaBots™ from Hexbug® that are part-toy, part-pet.  These robotic little critters provide the fun of watching an aquatic creature swimming around under water without the hassle and mess of taking care of a live fish.  Of course learning responsibility is an important part of growing up so when my children get somewhat older and a bit more mature we'll give real fish another shot - but for now these AquaBots™ will do just fine.

Hearing about my goldfish predicament, the good folks at Hexbug® sent A Geek Daddy a few Aquabots™ to try out with my twins. We received an AquaBot™ Jellyfish and AquaBot™ Seahorse which my kids couldn't wait to open up when they came in the mail.  To describe them as excited would be an understatement as they anxiously watched me unpack the toys and fill up the included fish tanks with water.  What is really nice is you can just drop the toys right out of their package into water and off they go!  The AquaBot™ Jellyfish and Seahorse have an automatic on and off sensor activated by water.  Once they are submerged in water the toys begin to swim around but pull them out of the water and they stop...pretty cool! To maximize battery life after several minutes of swimming a Hexbug® AquaBot™ will go into sleep mode as not to wear out its batteries.  When you are ready to play with the AquaBot™ again thanks to high-tech sensors and patent-pending technology there are 3 easy ways to wake it up:  run your fingers through the water, touch the toy, or tap on the side of the fish.  Plus because Hexbug™ knows parents hate to go out and buy more batteries for toys, each AquaBot™ comes with a spare set of button cell powers - I really like that!


The Hexbug® AquaBot™ Jellyfish come in 5 different colors: Pink, Purple, Orange, Blue and Green.  We received a pink version that just thrilled my little girl.  The Jellyfish uses its 18 tentacles, powerful ducted impeller and 15 pre-programmed swimming routines to spin and slide through the water.

We also received a blue Hexbug® AquaBot™ Seahorse that was also a real hit with my kids.  The Seahorse has a selection of 5 translucent colors to choose from (blue, purple, green, red & orange) and by using smart fish technology and powered by electro-magnetic propulsion its curly rubber tail and back fin steer itself through the water.


My kids are at an age where they still like to play in the tub but many of the bath time toys out there are too babyish for them.  These toys worked just as well in the bath tub as they did in the fish tanks they came with.


The Hexbug AquaBot Jellyfish and Seahorse get A Geek Daddy nod of approval because my kids had a lot of fun with them and these aquatic creatures kept my children amused without my having to worry about feeding them or picking up poop. In addition to the Jellyfish and Seahorse, Hexbug® also produces a variety of sharks and fish AquaBots™ to choose from.  You may want to consider picking up the AquaBot™ Tri Pack which includes an Angelfish, Jellyfish, and Seahorse that retails for approximately $29.99.


One thing consumers should be aware of is that while on the Seahorse switching out the batteries is as easy as unfastening a screw it is a bit more complicated with the Jellyfish involving a special tool (that if you aren't looking out for can easily be thrown away with its packaging) which needs to be inserted into a special groove to open up the water tight seal.  Don't worry though because the Hexbug webpages for each product include a video with instructions on how to change the batteries on each of these Aquabots if you find yourself stumped.


For more information, visit hexbug.com/aquabot


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