Customer Reviews
Good, fun educational globe 
2008-01-07
I gave the overall rating of this globe a two-star rating because it did not come with any instructions. We played all day on this globe...the whole family! But the stylus would work some times and not others. Overall it's a good, fun educational globe,
Geography can be fun! 
2008-01-02
I got this for my grandchildren for Christmas and it ended up being used by the adults as well as the children. Very happy with the overall preformance as well as the educational aspect of the globe.
Toy fell apart 
2007-12-16
My son received this globe as a gift. The first time he picked it up -- he picked it up from the top, not from the bottom - the globe separated at the equator. Our globe was only held together at the equator by a flimsy strip of tape.
All of the circuitry and wires were hanging out and it took my husband about 20 minutes to fit it all back together. We're going to try some crazy glue to prevent this from happening again. Maybe we got a defective item. I can't believe they're all made this way.
Cool to an 8 year old! 2007-12-12
This globe was a gift to an 8 year old female who likes to learn and likes to master her abilities. She sent me a thank you note with a hand drawn picture of the globe saying that it was "really cool." It was a pleasure indeed to enjoy her delight.
Toy is fun, even for adults 
2007-12-11
This globe toy is full of informaton and can settle many arguments as well as keeping kids busy and informed. The seller was very prompt and the package was not at all damaged when it arrived. I would recommend this vendor and product highly.
Great Globe 2008-07-08
We all love this globe. We bought it for adults as all the kids are older now. It is a blast. Our friends come over and we all play with it. It's not just for kids by any means. Great product.
Would Buy AGAIN and AGAIN - Amazing! 2008-03-21
This globe was purchased as a Christmas gift for my son who was five in November. Prior to buying the globe, he already had a serious interest in geography and flags of the world. What better gift than a talking globe? Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined what a hit this would be! He will sit for an hour or more playing with this globe. Some days, it is all he does. He carries it with him just about every where we go - not in stores of course, but in the car, to friend's houses, etc. In the three months he has had this globe, he has learned the names and locations of approximately 2/3 of the countries, all the continents, oceans, and seas, and many of the capitals. He loves listening to the music for each location, as well. The Eureka game is a family favorite, but we all need his help to keep up. My ten year old son was vaguely interested in world geography before the globe came to live with us, but now his interest is almost as great as his little brothers and he is quickly catching up. The voice on the globe is crystal clear and easy to understand. The globe is sturdy, although I did call and order two replacement stylus's. The first one was damaged rather quickly by my son yanking and pulling on it and even picking the globe up by it occasionally, so it was not because the quality was poor but rough handling. Leapfrog sent me two stylus for $10 (one to replace the damaged one and an extra to keep on hand) and they arrived very quickly. My son now knows how to carefully handle the globe and is very protective of it when other young children are using it, making sure they also handle it properly! If this globe is ever permanently damaged in the future, I would absolutely purchase another one with no hesitation. I have a couple of short videos on youtube (search Carson Odyssey Leapfrog and they should come up) of him playing with it.
Educational But Fun for whole Family 2008-02-26
I Bought two of these in Dec 2006 for My Nephew and Niece. They Loved this Learning Toy and Continue to use It a year later learning so Much about the world & geography having fun at the same time with its Built in Games. I Loved It so Much I Bought One for Myself this year when amazon had them for a Daily special. When friends come Over we all have a good time Playing with its games testing Our knowledge or Lack of It! Last year this item could not be found anywhere 2 weeks before Christmas and is Popular every year. This is a Welcome Gift in Most Households even one Like Ours that Owns a Wii. Batteries Last a Long time too, a Plus!
Perfect Aid for Teaching Geography 2008-02-09
This is an excellent product for nurturing the love of geography in your child. It teaches many different and relevant facts besides the basic country names, capitals and continents. My kids particularly loved the indigenous music of various countries. The games are also good and provide a lot of challenge. This is a tool to instill the love of geography in your child, and help keep that flame lit for the rest of their lives. Clearly, there is even more to learn than any one product can provide, but this globe is something I would highly recommend for teaching geography to elementary school children. Best of all, it makes it fun!
It's a Small World, Afterall 2008-01-24
I recently bought a Talking Odyssey III Interactive Globe as a present for my daughter to help her hone her geographical knowledge and for its entertainment value.
During the couple of hours we were able to use ours before the wand for locating places on the globe stopped working, I was able to make some observation. The globe is easy to set up and easy to play. There are several skill levels ranging from easy to moderately challenging, and it is fun to race against the timer and compete with one's self or another player.
The games, however, are quite repetitive. Being asked to find Micronesia or The Hague during every third or fourth game somehow loses its novelty. One player may have to hunt all over the globe, which is as it should be, but the next may get five countries in a row, all in Africa, to locate, which is not exactly a level playing field. Apparently the algorithm driving this program is anemic and forgetful.
This replica of the world is itself quite small, so locating cities or tiny countries in crowed portions of Europe or Asia requires squinting and hefting the globe up inches from one's face to try and find Luxembourg or the Vatican City. (But after being asked to find the same locale repeatedly, that deficiency does not matter as much.)
The wand itself proved the fatal flaw in our globe. It simply quite working, leaving the globe to repeatedly squawk "look in the southern hemisphere" or "fly 4,500 meters northwest" even when we were dead on blotting out Guam with the tip of the wand.
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, 2005. The Best Toys, Books, Videos, Music & Software for Kids