The Teksta T-Rex Review

Over the Christmas break we were sent a new Teksta T-Rex to put through it’s play paces, Leo and I were both really looking forward to getting our hands on him and seeing what he could do. Teksta is a robotic dinosaur that responds to your voice and even boasts hand gesture technology that allows you to command him to walk, move his hands, tail and stop him in his tracks. This clever robot has so much going on that it is bound to keep the kids and big kids (parents) entertained for quite some time.

I remember Teksta from my childhood back when it was just the original robotic puppy, but now the range has grown and has different options available, the Teksta Kitty, Teksta Scooby Doo and the Teksta Puppy. We opted for the T-Rex as he is so different to any of the other models, and Leo is a big Dinosaur fan. So when T-Rex arrived we decided to get him out to play straight away,  getting him out of the box didn’t take long at all and was simply a case of cutting a few strings to release him.

In the box you will find T-Rex, his bone and instructions on how to get him all set up and ready to play. The next step was to install 4 batteries, 2 in each of T-Rex’s feet, these don’t come included which would have been nice due to the cost of the product but luckily we had some ready to install.

Once the battery installation is complete it is time to turn your new T-Rex on for the first time, and to do this you simply have to push the button on his chest. As you press the button you will notice that T-Rex’s eyes are now lighting up and he is letting out his very first ‘ROAR’! T-Rex’s eyes will light up in different sequences during gameplay depending upon what you are asking him to do. Teksta has two different modes in all and you can alternate between them by pressing the buttons on the top of his head. The button on the right will make your new dino sing and dance, and the one on the left allows you to talk to him and for him to talk back to you.

Thanks to T-Rex’s artificial intelligence program, he can roar, cry, whine and change his eye patterns to represent how he is feeling at any one moment. He has state of the art sensors that allows him to know whether he is being petted, spoken to or played with just like a real dinosaur… Only you don’t have to worry that he may gobble you up… And of course not to mention that Dinosaurs have been extinct for a rather long time now…Teksta T-Rex really does feature the very latest in Robotic Technology.

T-Rex walks around and roars, Leo watched in amazement but didn’t want to get in the way of him as he stamped about. It did look like T-Rex was going after Leo at one point and Leo darted away in order to avoid contact. It was quite comical watching Leo lurch so quickly before hiding behind the table with just his head visible as he couldn’t take his eyes off Teksta. One of the first tricks we got T-Rex performing was the eating of the bone, he take it into his mouth and chews, then he throws half of the bone back out of his mouth before letting out a rather big burp. This had Leo giggling, and he didn’t seem quite so nervous around him after that.

In terms of T-Rex’s walking I found that he sometimes falls over but for the most part he walks nicely and handles carpet well, there is so much play value to be had out of this toy and Leo is really pleased with it (Even if he does like to mainly sit and watch me play with it!). The play value factor can be opened up further by means of the App that is available on iPad and Android, the App is free to download and can be incorporated into play by pressing the left hand mode button on T-Rex’s head so that he can interact with you. The fact that the App is available on both Android and iPad is great, as Leo has his own Samsung Tab which has meant that we can install the App directly on to hid tablet. The app is only available on tablets, and we couldn’t download the app to my iPhone.

The Teksta T-Rex is suitable for children aged 5 and up, Leo is 3 and a half and he enjoys to play alongside me. To play completely independently I would say 5 and up is a appropriate recommendation. T-Rex retails at £60.00 but it currently on offer at Debenhams for £30.00. This for me is a very attractive price and in turns get’s one very sophisticated toy that will keep old and young entertained during game play.

Over all we have really enjoyed the Teksta T-Rex and look forward to continued play.

Disclaimer: We were sent the Teksta T-Rex for the purpose of this review, all views and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own.