MP3 PLAYERS

A GLOBAL STRATEGIC BUSINESS REPORT

MCP-1437

CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONS
Study Reliability and Reporting Limitations.. I-1 Disclaimers.... I-2 Data Interpretation & Reporting Level. I-2 Quantitative Techniques & Analytics.. I-3 Product Definitions and Scope of Study.. I-3 Flash MP3 Players... I-3 Hard Disc Drive (HDD) MP3 Players.. I-3 Emerging Players in the Emerging Market..II-9 Table 5: Global MP3 Players Market (2004 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales Apple, ReignCom, Creative, Samsung, Cowon and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).II-9 Table 6: Global Flash MP3 Players Market (2004 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales -- ReignCom, Samsung, RCA, Creative and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-10 Table 7: Global HDD MP3 Players Market (2004 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales -- Apple, Creative, Archos, ReignCom, RCA, Rio and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-10 Stifling Competition Breeds Novelties..II-11 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2005.II-11 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2004.II-14 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2003.II-16 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2002.II-17 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2001.II-17 Key Releases in the MP3 Players Market 2000.II-18

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Market Overview... II-1
Analysis by Region... II-1 Asia-Pacific: Poised to Witness Bright Growth. II-1 Table 1: Global Market for MP3 Players (2000-2010): Geographic Regions Ranked by CAGR Asia-Pacific (Excl. Japan), US, Europe, and Japan (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... II-1 Analysis by Product Segment.. II-2 Table 2: Global Market for Flash MP3 Players (2000-2010): Geographic Regions Ranked by CAGR Asia-Pacific (Excl. Japan), US, Europe, and Japan (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... II-2 Table 3: Global Market for HDD MP3 Players (2000-2010): Geographic Regions Ranked by CAGR US, Europe, Asia-Pacific (Excl. Japan), and Japan (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... II-2
4. Product Overview... II-19
An Overview of Information Appliances..II-19 What is MP3?...II-19 MP3 Compression Technology..II-19 Quality of an MP3 File...II-20 Coding Schemes/Standards for Digital Audio..II-20 Compressed Audio Players...II-20 Categorization of Compressed Audio Players..II-20 MP3 Player A Breakthrough in the Digital World.II-21 MP3 File in an MP3 Player..II-22 Skeletal Layout of a Typical MP3 Player..II-22 Power Supply...II-22 Data Port...II-22 File Transfer Rate by Mode of Connection Between a Standard MP3 Player and a Personal Computer.II-23 Memory...II-23 Playback Controls...II-23 Microprocessor...II-23 Display...II-23 Digital Signal Processor (DSP)...II-23 Amplifier...II-24 Audio Port...II-24 Operating Levels of an MP3 Player..II-24 Taxonomy of MP3 Players...II-24 Hard Disc Drive (HDD) MP3 Players.II-24 Flash MP3 Players..II-24 Features of MP3 Players..II-25 MP3 Players by Storage Capacities..II-26
2. Market Dynamics... II-3
A Sketch of Present Industry Scenario.. II-3 Aggressive Surge in Demand for Flash MP3 Players. II-3 Issues and Trends.. II-3 Global MP3 Players Market: Key Growth Determinants in the Order of Ranking... II-4 Rise in Penetration of MP3 Players Among Households. II-4 Table 4: Global MP3 Players Market by Online Population (2005): Percentage Breakdown of Purchase Intentions of New Purchasers and Present Owners in Major Markets (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-5 Appetite for Convenience and Cost Drives Market Growth... II-5 Low-Cost MP3 Players Gaining Prominence. II-5 Online Music Boosts MP3 Players Sales.. II-6 Piracy Via Internet Knocks Music Sales.. II-6 MP3 Players Tunes the Digital Music Market.. II-6 Devices with Built-in MP3 Players Not a Galloping Threat... II-7 Trade Fairs & Expos Form the Showcase of Novelties. II-7
5. MP3 Players Technology Sphere. II-27
Technology Reaching Incredible Heights..II-27 Digital Music World Keen on Advanced Technologies.II-27 Memory The Key Determining Factor..II-27 Memory Categorization for MP3 Players.II-27
3. Competitive Landscape.. II-8
From the Humble Beginnings.. II-8 iPod A Breakthrough in the MP3 Players Market.. II-8
Global Industry Analysts, Inc., October 2008

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Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Memory.. II-27 Flash Memory... II-28 Decisive Battle between Flash and HDD Memories. II-28 Flash and HDD: Who Wields the Leadership Scepter?.. II-28 Emerging Technologies Muscle Growth.. II-29 Voguish and Whimsical Designs Are In.. II-29 MP3 Phones Advancement in the Field of Handsets. II-29 Key Technology Vendors... II-29 Table 8: Global Market for Hard Disk Drives by Leading Manufacturers (2005): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Seagate Technology, Western Digital, Hitachi GST, Maxtor, Toshiba, Samsung Electronics, Fujitsu and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-30 Table 9: Global Market for NAND Flash Memory by Leading Manufacturers (2005): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Samsung, Toshiba/SanDisk, Hynix/STM, Renesas, Infineon and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-30

9. Product Innovations/Introductions. II-37
Aigo Presents Omnisphere...II-37 iPod Features Email Service..II-37 Sandisk Brings in Fully Loaded Baby MP3 Players.II-37 iRiver Presents M20 PMP with New Features..II-37 Samsung Releases Blue Wave Program.II-37 Bang & Olufsen Unveils New MP3 Player.II-37 Transcend Introduces New T.sonic 850 MP3 Player.II-38 Marine AV to Launch New Digital Audio Player in Europe...II-38 Transcend Unveils New Flash T.sonic 320 MP3 Player.II-38 Philips Introduces New MP3 Player with Integrated Bluetooth Functionality..II-38 SanDisk Introduces New Hip MP3 player..II-39 XIAS Launches New XIAS MP3 Player.II-39 SanDisk Launches New Sansa Fuze MP3 Player..II-39 iRiver Introduces Disney-Branded MP3 Player..II-39 Philips Introduces GoGear SA2845 Mp3 Player.II-39 Haier America to Launch Ibiza Rhapsody Portable Wi-Fi Media Player...II-39 Philips Introduces Two New MP3 players..II-40 Samsung Plans to Launch MP3 Players..II-40 LG Launches DVB-T MP3 Player..II-40 Creative Introduces Upgraded Version of Zen Stone.II-41 Touch Screen MP3 Players from Samsung..II-41 Creative Introduces MP3 players for Kids..II-41 Samsung Releases Yepp T9+..II-41 Microsoft Overhauls Digital Music Player..II-41 Cowon Launches iAUDIO 7...II-41 Creative Launches MuVo T100 MP3 Player.II-41 Mattel Unveils Barbie MP3 Player..II-42 Transcend Introduces New T.sonic 820 Series.II-42 Sony Introduces New Walkman Video MP3 Player..II-42 Samsung Presents Digital Music Player.II-42 Samsung Unveils U3 MP3 Player..II-42 SanDisk Introduces Sansa View..II-42 Creative Launches Portable 32GB Flash Memory-Based Media Player...II-43 Samsung Unveils YP-T9B MP3 Player..II-43 Twinbird Introduces Zabady MP3/CD Player..II-43 Califone Launches MP3 Player for School Purpose..II-43 SanDisk Inventor Unveils Sansa Shaker MP3 Player.II-43 SanDisk Launches Sansa Connect..II-43 Memorex Unveils Digital Audio Player.II-44 LG Unveils UP3 S2 MP3 Player..II-44 Mpio Launches New Digital Audio Players..II-44 JVC Launches Waterproof Audio Player..II-44 Toshiba Launches Gigabeat U Series of Digital Audio Players..II-44 Siren Releases New Digital Audio Player..II-44 Klegg Electronics Unveils New Mini MP3 Player..II-45 Toshiba Unveils Gigabeat U-Series of MP3 Players.II-45 Century Corp Introduces Waterproof MP3 Players.II-45 Creative Unveils ZEN Stone..II-45 Digital Vision and Coby Electronics Roll Out MP3 Players...II-45 SanDisk Unveils Sansa Express..II-45

6. Production Scenario.. II-31
Table 10: World Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Production Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2004 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-31 Table 11: World 7-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Production for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2006, 2008 & 2010.. II-31 Asia-Pacific The Key Production Hub.. II-32 Table 12: Global MP3 Players Market (2004): Percentage Share of Volume Production for Taiwan, Mainland China, South Korea and Rest of World (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-32
7. Pricing and Distribution.. II-33
Falling Unit Prices Thwarts Overall Value Sales.. II-33 Consumer is the Ultimate Judge.. II-33 Strong Sales Across Retail Channels. II-33
8. Import/Export Scenario.. II-35
South Korea The Key Exporting Hub. II-35 Table 13: South Korean Exports of MP3 Players (2003 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Value Shipments for Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of World (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-35 Table 14: Korean MP3 Players Market (2003): Exports in US$ Thousands for Hong Kong, The US, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, China, France, Taiwan, England and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-36 Table 15: Korean MP3 Players Market (2003): Imports in US$ Thousands from Hong Kong, China, The US, Taiwan, Japan and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-36

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Peapod Toys to Introduce MP3 Player for Small Children. II-45 Apple Unveils iPod Nano... II-46 Apple Launches iPod Classic.. II-46 Apple Launches iPod Touch.. II-46 Samsung Rolls Out Range of Novel MP3 Players. II-46 Samsung Presents Digital Music Player (US).. II-47 Samsung Unveils Pint-sized Stereo System and MP3 Player... II-47 Creative Technology Launches ZEN Vision W. II-47 HandHeld Entertainment Plans to Release MP3 Player. II-47 iRiver Unveils New Digital Audio Players with Color Displays... II-48 Rio Launches New HDD MP3 Player.. II-48 LG Releases New Line of MP3 Players. II-48 Hyun Won Introduces New Muti-Role MP3 Player. II-48 Apple Unveils the Fifth Generation Family of iPods with Video Playback Facility.. II-48 Creative Launches Zen Micro Photo. II-48 Archos Releases Gmini XS100.. II-48 Apple Unveils iPod Nano... II-49 Creative Releases New Speaker System for Zen MP3 Players... II-49 Philips Unveils PSA232 and PSA612.. II-49 Rio Launches New Rio Carbon.. II-49 Digitalway Unveils Three New MP3 Players.. II-49 Sony Releases NW-E307 Walkman Bean.. II-49 iRiver Unveils T10 MP3 Players in Alluring Colors. II-49 GoVideo Debuts New Flash MP3 Players.. II-49 Archos Releases Gmini 402.. II-50 Philips Unveils Two New HDD MP3 Players.. II-50 Nike Releases PSA-610.. II-50 UMAX Introduces Vega 203.. II-50 Creative Unveils Zen Vision.. II-50 Samsung Launches New Line of MP3 Players. II-50 Creative Unveils Zen Neeon.. II-50 Hitachi Releases HMP-1.. II-50 iRiver Unveils N11.. II-51 Creative Unveils Advanced Versions of Zen Micro. II-51 Samsung Launches YP-U1 Flash MP3 Players.. II-51 Creative Unveils MuVo Vidz.. II-51 Sony Releases First HDD MP3 Player.. II-51 Panasonic Introduces D-Snap Range of MP3 Players.. II-51 Creative Unveils Zen Sleek.. II-51 Apple Unveils New iPod Photo... II-51 SanDisk Launches Sansa m200.. II-52 Samsung Debuts YP-W3 Studded with Diamonds.. II-52 Sony Releases New Flash MP3 Players. II-52 Sanyo Launches HDP-M3000... II-52 Damon Dash Unveils Rocbox Digital 15003.. II-52 Neuros Launches 442 PMP.. II-52 Adamond Introduces XK1.. II-52 Epson Releases P-4000... II-52 Iomega Launches Mixx Player... II-53 Kenwood Releases HD20GA7.. II-53 Toshiba Launches Gigabeat X30.. II-53 Synaptics Introduces ScrollStrip.. II-53 Maxfield Launches New MP3 Player.. II-53 Dell Releases DJ Ditty..II-53 Nasa Unveils Lips...II-53 Virgin Group Launches New Wearable MP3 player.II-53 Alienware Unveils CE-IV Flash MP3 Players..II-54 X2 Releases Bluetoothed MP3 Player..II-54 Sorell Launches SF3000..II-54 Creative Unveils MuVo Mix..II-54 Transcend Introduces T.Sonic 310..II-54 Samsung and XM to Unveil New MP3 Satellite Player.II-54 New iPod Mini from Apple..II-54 ReignCom Unveils New Digital Audio Players with Color Displays...II-55 iRiver Unveils New Under Water MP3 Player.II-55 Creative Launches New MP3 Players..II-55 Finis Unveils SwiMP3...II-55 ReignCom Debuts iAudio4..II-55 Aiwa Unveils XDM-S710BT..II-55 Archos Releases Gmini XS200..II-55 Apple Unveils iPod Photo..II-55 Digitalway Unveils New Line of MP3 Players.II-56 Apple Unveils Fourth Generation iPod..II-56 Samsung Debuts Yepp T5V..II-56 Archos Releases Gmini 400..II-56 Creative Unveils Zen Micro..II-56 Digimaster Releases HAAP3..II-56 Olympus Introduces MR100 and MR500i..II-56 Aiwa Releases HZWS2000S..II-57 Creative Unveils MuVo Micro N200 Line of MP3 Players.II-57 SCAM Releases SH100...II-57 iRiver Launches iHP-140...II-57 Epson Releases P-2000...II-57 iRiver Unveils New Line of Flash MP3 Players.II-57 Samsung Launches New Line of MP3 Players.II-57 Virgin Group Launches New HDD MP3 Player.II-57 Oakley Unveils Thump...II-57 Apple Unveils iPod Shuffle..II-58 iRiver Introduces PMP 120..II-58 Sony Releases VGF-AP1 and HMP-A1 MP3 Players..II-58 Cowon Debuts iAudio M3..II-58 Sony Releases New Flash MP3 Players..II-58 GoVideo Unveils New Line of MP3 Players.II-58 Entempo Introduces New HDD MP3 Player with ShoX Technology...II-59 Asono Introduces Elio Photo..II-59 Aiwa Releases New Range of MP3 Players..II-59 Lexar Unveils New Line of Flash MP3 Players..II-59 Apple Introduces iPod Photo..II-59 Rio Launches New HDD MP3 Player..II-59 Digitalway Unveils MPIO hd200...II-60 Alba Launches MP364NDI..II-60 Shinco Releases Z2 Line of MP3 Players..II-60 Degen Unveils New HDD MP3 Player..II-60 Panasonic Unveils E-Wear Digital Audio Players.II-60 Cirago Launches New Line of MP3 Players..II-60 SigmaTel Expands D-Major Line of MP3 Audio Controllers..II-60 Dell Releases Pocket DJ 5..II-60

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Rio Launches New Rio Nitrus... II-61 SigmaTel Releases New Software Kit for HDD MP3 Players... II-61 Digital Age Releases New Products to Complement Apples iPod... II-61 Juken to Acquire Majority Stake in Cubic Electronics.II-69 NVIDIA Takes Over PortalPlayer..II-69 China 3C Acquires Shanghai Joy & Harmony Electronics.II-69 D&M Holdings Sell Rios Assets to SigmaTel.II-70 Samsung to Start Production of 16 GB Flash Memory Chips...II-70 Creative Bags Patents for User Interface..II-70 Advanced MP3 Players Starts New Retail Store for MP3 Players...II-70 Matsushita Changes Name of its US Subsidiary.II-70 Olympus Recoils from Taiwanese MP3 Player Market.II-70 Jens Files for Bankruptcy...II-71 Apple Forms Strategic Alliance with HP..II-71 Rio Forges Strategic Alliance with SigmaTel..II-71 Apple Enters into an Agreement with SigmaTel.II-71 iRiver Acquires MPMan for Patents..II-71 Apple Released iPod Mini in Australian Market.II-71 LG Markets MF-FE422XL MP3 Players in Korea..II-71 Apple Starts iTunes Music Stores...II-71 Creative Labs Opts SigmaTel for D-Major Products.II-72 SigmaTel Pacts with Musicmatch..II-72 iRiver Equips New Line of MP3 Players with Microsemi Battery Charger Circuit...II-72 GoVideo Opts SigmaTel for MP3 Audio Controllers.II-72
10. Product Launches In The Recent Past.. II-62
Rio Audio Launches New Line of Portable MP3 Players.. II-62 iRiver Unveils New Line of MP3 Players.. II-62 Philips Launches HDD Jukebox.. II-62 PoGo Launches AudioRave.. II-62 iRiver America Unveils iGP-100... II-62 Dell Launches New HDD MP3 Players. II-62 Nextway Releases NMP-612.. II-62 iRiver Unveils HP-100 MP3 Jukebox.. II-63 New HDD MP3 Player from Apple.. II-63 SonicBlue Unveils Rio Sport Flash MP3 Players.. II-63 Creative Launches Nomad Jukebox Zen.. II-63 iRiver Unveils New CD-MP3 Player.. II-63 SonicBlue Launches Rio Riot HDD Players. II-63 ReignCom Releases iRiver Brand of MP3 Players.. II-63 PoGo Releases RipFlash MP3 Player. II-64 Apple Releases iPod... II-64 SonicBlue Launches Rio One.. II-64 Aiwa Releases MM-RX400.. II-64 Telus Mobility Unveils Samsung SPH M100 Uproar. II-64 RCA Launches Lyra2... II-64 Panasonic Unveils New MP3 Player. II-64 Polaroid Launches PhotoMAX.. II-64 Evolution Releases Extreme NeckPhone.. II-65 Creative Launches Nomad Jukebox.. II-65 Samsung Unveils New Ultra-Light MP3 Players.. II-65 Digisette Releases Duo-MP3.. II-65 Yamaha Unveils Two-Piece Speaker System for Portable Audio Players.. II-65

12. Strategic Corporate Developments in the Recent Past... II-73
D&M Holdings Acquires SonicBlues Rio..II-73 Nextway Pacts with Vintion..II-73 ReignCom Establishes Japanese Subsidiary..II-73 Cirrus Logic Complements Egoman Portable Audio Players with CS7410..II-73 CompUSA Sells Odyssey MP3 Players..II-73 ReignCom Establishes iRiver America..II-73 Intel Forays into MP3 Players Market..II-74 Samsung Starts Production of C-PAD Chips.II-74
11. Recent Industry Activity.. II-66
Sakar to Introduce Array of Electronic Goods. II-66 Audiovox Releases Slider-Style MP3 Players.. II-66 Freescale to Take Over SigmaTel.. II-66 Matsushita Electric to be Re-Named Panasonic Corporation... II-66 SanDisk to Launch Sansa Express.. II-66 Toshiba Extends Memory of T400.. II-67 RealNetworks(R) Enters into an Agreement with Reigncom... II-67 Polish to Set up New Facility.. II-67 LG India Forays into Car Audio Systems and MP3 Players... II-67 Samsung Asia to Increase MP3 Player Business. II-67 Kenwood Unveils Media Keg... II-67 HandHeld Entertainment Introduces MP3 Player for Kids. II-67 Philips Acquires Digital Lifestyle Outfitters. II-68 Audiovox Takeover Thomson's Business.. II-68 SanDisk Partners with Yahoo! Music.. II-68 Napster Partners with Maxfield.. II-68 GK BLADE Acquires Stake in DCM.. II-69
13. Focus on Select Players.. II-75
Apple Computer, Inc. (USA)..II-75 Archos Inc (France)..II-75 Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (China)...II-75 Cowon Systems, Inc. (Korea)..II-76 Creative Technology Ltd (Singapore)..II-76 Creative Labs Inc (USA)..II-76 Creative Labs Europe (Ireland)..II-76 MP3 Plus Ltd (Korea)...II-77 Acer Inc. (USA)..II-77 LG Electronics (Korea)...II-77 Philips Electronics N.V. (The Netherlands).II-78 Philips Electronics North America (USA)..II-78 ReignCom Ltd. (Korea)...II-78 iRiver America Inc. (USA)...II-79 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea)..II-79 Sony Corporation (Japan)...II-79 Sony Corporation of America (USA)..II-79

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TGE Group (China).. II-80 Thomson (France)... II-80 Table 22: World Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for HDD MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-91 Table 23: World Long-term Projections for HDD MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-92 Table 24: World 10-Year Perspective for HDD MP3 Players by Geographic Region Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..II-93

14. Focus on Select Technology Vendors.. II-81
Cirrus Logic (USA).. II-81 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (USA).. II-81 Iomega Corporation (USA).. II-81 Intel Corporation (USA).. II-81 Inventec Appliances Corporation (Taiwan). II-82 Lexar Media Inc (USA)... II-82 Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Japan).. II-82 Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG (Switzerland). II-82 Samsung Semiconductor Inc (USA).. II-83 SanDisk Corporation (USA).. II-83 Seagate Technology LLC (USA)... II-83 Telechips Inc (Korea)... II-84 Texas Instruments Inc (USA).. II-84 Toshiba Corporation (Japan).. II-84
15. Global Market Perspective.. II-85
Table 16: World Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-85 Table 17: World Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...II-86 Table 18: World 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Geographic Region Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-87 Table 19: World Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for Flash MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... II-88 Table 20: World Long-term Projections for Flash MP3 Players by Geographic Region US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...II-89 Table 21: World 10-Year Perspective for Flash MP3 Players by Geographic Region Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), and Rest of World Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. II-90

III. MARKET

1. The United States.. III-1
A. Market Analysis.. III-1 A Place for Trendsetters.. III-1 Current and Future Analysis.. III-1 Household Penetration The Key Market Driver. III-2 Table 25: US Household Penetration of Music Players (2003 & 2004) (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-2 MP3 Player Enthralls Music Industry Sales. III-3 SDMI Backs Legitimate Downloads of Music Files. III-3 Competitive Scenario.. III-4 Table 26: US Market for MP3 Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales -- Apple, SanDisk, ReignCom, Creative, Samsung and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart). III-4 Table 27: US Market for Flash MP3 Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales -- Apple, SanDisk, Rio, Creative, Samsung, RCA and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-5 Historic Perspective... III-5 Table 28: US Market for MP3 Players (2002): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Value Sales -- Apple, Rio, Nike-Philips, Archos, Creative and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart). III-5 Table 29: US Market for MP3 Players (2002): Percentage Breakdown of Leading Players by Volume Sales -- RCA, Rio, Apple, Samsung, Nike-Philips and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart). III-6 Product Launches... III-6 Strategic Corporate Developments.. III-18 Review of Key Players.. III-21 Review of Key Technology Vendors.. III-23

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B. Market Analytics..III-25 Table 30: US Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-25 Table 31: US Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-26 Table 32: US 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012..III-26 Booming Consumer Electronics Industry.. III-34 Table 37: European Consumer Electronics Industry by Region (2005): Percentage Breakdown of Value Sales for United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Rest of Europe (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-35 Exploding Demand for MP3 Players.. III-35 Table 38: European Market for Music Players (2003 & 2004): Percentage Breakdown for CD Players, Radio Recorders, MP3 Players, Minidisk Players, Radios, Pocket Stereos and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-35 Alternatives to Pose Major Threat to MP3 Players. III-36 Strategic Corporate Developments.. III-36 B. Market Analytics... III-38 Table 39: European Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Geographic Region France, Germany, UK, Italy, and Rest of European Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-38 Table 40: European Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Geographic Region France, Germany, UK, Italy, and Rest of European Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-39 Table 41: European Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-39 Table 42: European Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-40 Table 43: European 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Geographic Region Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for France, Germany, UK, Italy, and Rest of European Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-41 Table 44: European 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012. III-41

2. Japan... III-27

A. Market Analysis...III-27 Current and Future Analysis...III-27 An Overview of Japanese Electronics Industry.III-27 The Home for Pioneering Technologies..III-27 Apple and Sony The Clear Leaders..III-28 Table 33: Japanese Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Apple, Sony and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-28 Strategic Corporate Developments.III-28 Product Launches..III-29 Sony Corporation A Key Player..III-31 Key Technology Vendors..III-31 B. Market Analytics..III-32 Table 34: Japanese Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-32 Table 35: Japanese Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-33 Table 36: Japanese 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012..III-33

3. Europe... III-34

A. Market Analysis...III-34 Current and Future Analysis...III-34 By Region...III-34 By Segment..III-34

3a. France... III-42

A. Market Analysis.. III-42 Current and Future Analysis.. III-42 Review of Key Players.. III-42

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B. Market Analytics..III-43 Table 45: French Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-43 Table 46: French Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-43 Table 47: French 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012..III-44 Table 53: UK Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart). III-49 Table 54: UK 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012. III-49

3d. Italy... III-50

Market Analysis.. III-50 Table 55: Italian Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-50 Table 56: Italian Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..III-51 Table 57: Italian 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012. III-51

3b. Germany... III-45

Market Analysis...III-45 Table 48: German Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-45 Table 49: German Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-46 Table 50: German 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012..III-46
3e. Rest of Europe.. III-52
A. Market Analysis.. III-52 Current and Future Analysis.. III-52 The Netherlands to Face Surcharge on MP3 players. III-52 Review of Key Players.. III-52 B. Market Analytics... III-53 Table 58: Rest of Europe Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-53 Table 59: Rest of Europe Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-54 Table 60: Rest of Europe 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012. III-54

3c. The United Kingdom... III-47
A. Market Analysis...III-47 Current and Future Analysis...III-47 Legitimate Downloads Still at Infancy..III-47 Competitive Scenario...III-47 Table 51: UK Market for Online Music (2004 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Downloads by Online Music Sites -- iTunes, Napster, Wippit, MyCokeMusic, MSN, CD Wow and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-48 B. Market Analytics..III-48 Table 52: UK Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-48
4. Asia-Pacific... III-55
A. Market Analysis.. III-55 Current and Future Analysis.. III-55 By Region... III-55 By Segment.. III-55

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Fastest Growth on the Cards...III-55 Abode for Low-Cost Products with Utmost Quality..III-56 Competitive Landscape..III-56 Table 61: Asia-Pacific Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for SCAM, Sony, ReignCom, Apple and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-57 B. Market Analytics..III-57 Table 62: Asia-Pacific Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Geographic Region China, and Rest of Asia-Pacific Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..III-57 Table 63: Asia-Pacific Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Geographic Region China, and Rest of AsiaPacific Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-58 Table 64: Asia-Pacific Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-58 Table 65: Asia-Pacific Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)...III-59 Table 66: Asia-Pacific 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Geographic Region Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for China, and Rest of Asia-Pacific Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012..III-59 Table 67: Asia-Pacific 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012.III-59 Blazing Price Wars in China A Recent Past Scenario.III-62 Table 69: Chinese MP3 Players Market: Breakup of Average Selling Price for the Period Q104 Q205 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-62 Product Launch... III-64 Strategic Corporate Developments.. III-64 Review of Key Players.. III-65 B. Market Analytics... III-66 Table 70: Chinese Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-66 Table 71: Chinese Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-66 Table 72: Chinese 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012. III-67

4b. Rest of Asia-Pacific.. III-68
A. Market Analysis.. III-68 Current and Future Analysis.. III-68 A Review of Key Markets.. III-68 South Korea... III-68 The Potential Giant.. III-68 Production Scenario.. III-68 Competitive Landscape.. III-69 Table 73: South Korean Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for ReignCom, Samsung, Cowon, Apple and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-69 MP3 Phones: Not a Deathblow.. III-70 Online Music Enthralls MP3 Players Sales. III-70 A Major Exporting Hub.. III-70 Table 74: South Korean Exports of MP3 Players (2003 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Value Shipments for Asia-Pacific, Europe, America, and Rest of World (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-71 Table 75: Korean MP3 Players Market (2003): Exports in US$ Thousands for Hong Kong, The US, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, China, France, Taiwan, England and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-71

4a. China.. III-60

A. Market Analysis...III-60 Current and Future Analysis...III-60 China to Implement National Standards for MP3 Players..III-60 Burgeoning Growth on Stream..III-60 Key Low-Cost Manufacturing Hub..III-60 Competitive Landscape..III-61 Table 68: Chinese Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Samsung, Sony, Aigo and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-61

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Table 76: Korean MP3 Players Market (2003): Imports in US$ Thousands from Hong Kong, China, The US, Taiwan, Japan and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..III-72 India...III-72 An Emerging Market for Digital Electronic Devices...III-72 HDD MP3 Players Yet to Gain Ground.III-72 Australia..III-72 Hong Kong...III-73 Moderate Growth Expected..III-73 Table 77: Hong Kong Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Sony, Apple, Samsung and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..III-73 Taiwan...III-74 Production Scenario...III-74 Competitive Landscape A Recent Past Scenario.III-74 Singapore...III-74 Table 78: Singapore Market for MP3 Players by Leading Players (2005 & 2006): Percentage Breakdown of Volume Sales for Creative, Apple, Sony and Others(includes corresponding Graph/Chart).III-75 Product Launches..III-75 Strategic Corporate Developments.III-81 Review of Key Players..III-83 Key Technology Vendors..III-85 B. Market Analytics..III-86 Table 79: Rest of Asia-Pacific Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)..III-86 Table 80: Rest of Asia-Pacific Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-87 Table 81: Rest of Asia-Pacific 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012... III-87

5. Rest of World.. III-88
Market Analysis.. III-88 Table 82: Rest of World Recent Past, Current & Future Market Analysis for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2000 through 2010 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)... III-88 Table 83: Rest of World Long-term Projections for MP3 Players by Product Segment Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets Independently Analyzed with Annual Sales Figures in Thousands of Units for Years 2011 through 2015 (includes corresponding Graph/Chart).. III-89 Table 84: Rest of World 10-Year Perspective for MP3 Players by Product Segment Percentage Breakdown of Unit Sales for Flash MP3 Players and HDD MP3 Players Markets for 2003, 2008 & 2012... III-89
IV. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

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Theres something else that is special about this issue. it marks one year since our new monthly format. We're pleased that our circulation is climbing, which is helping us review more products. Wed like to especially thank our subscribers who have stayed with us through this change. Enjoy the issue, and as always, we welcome your feedback (our email addresses are listed in the right column). Sincerely,
Warren Buckleitner, Editor
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Directory

Preschool & Kindergarten
V.Smile: Alphabet Park Adventure, www.vtechkids.com, page 14 Butterscotch My FurReal Friends Pony, www.hasbro.com, p 15 Digital Arts & Crafts Studio, www.fisherprice.com, p 15 Smart Cycle, www.fisher-price.com, p 22 Story Logic: Jungle Animals, www.smartneurons.com, p 12 Toothtunes, www.hasbro.com/tiger/, p 23
New titles are listed here, grouped by age or platform
Ultimate Math Invaders, www.edalive.com, p 23 Words Rock!: Growing Word-Smart Kids, www.edalive.com, p 23
Game Consoles (PS2, PS3, GC, Xbox)
Armored Core 4, www.sega.com, p. 5 Fight Night Round 3, www.eagames.com, p 16 Fight Night Round 3 (PS3), www.eagames.com, p 17 Meet the Robinsons (PS2), www.disney.com, p 18 MVP 07 NCAA Baseball, www.eagames.com, p 18 Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2, www.d3publisher.us, p 20 NBA 07: Featuring the Life, Vol.2, www.scea.com, p 20 NFL Street 3 (PS2), www.eagames.com, p 20 Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island (Console Version), www.thq.com, p 8 Virtua Tennis 3, www.sega.com, p 14

Early Elementary

Animated Hero Classics, The: George Washington, www.nestlearning.com, p 15 Animated Hero Classics, The: Harriet Tubman, www.nestlearning.com, p 15 Disney Digital Cameras, www.playdigitalblue.com, p 6 Finger Beats, www.jumpinbanana.com, p 17 I-CY, www.hasbro.com/tiger/, p 7 Leapster: SonicX, www.leapfrog.com
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island (Console Version) Online Chess Kingdoms Pokemon Trozei Save the Dinosaurs Soliloquy Reading Assistant Version 4 Sonic Rivals Stop Disasters! Virtua Tennis 3 Wario: Master of Disguise
CTR Editors Choice Selections for April 2007

Coming in the May Issue

As we go to press with this issue, were testing the titles below. Have you used them? We welcome your feedback, at http://ctr.childrenssoftware.com/writeuser.html

Arthur and the Invisibles Avatar: The Last Airbender (GBA) Bubble Bobble Building Thinking Skills Bust-a-Move Bash! Capcom Puzzle World Cartoon Network All-Stars Cooking Mama: Cook Off! (Wii) Custom Robo Arena Desktop Dolphin Digication Drake & Josh Fleximusic Kids Composer Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Learning Essentials for Microsoft Office 1.5 Lost in Blue 2 Meteos: Disney Magic Miuchiz MrNussbaum.com Nacho Libre Naruto: Ninja Council 2 Nascar 07 Net Jet NHL 2K7 Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island ROBO Computing Langauge Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? Solomon Says, Volume 2: Amazing Animals Think Ahead Games Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (PS3) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Wii) Tinkerplots Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex

Upper Elementary

Crazy Machines 1.5, www.viva-media.com, p5 FlyTech Dragonfly, www.wowwee.com, p 6 GameSnacks: Family Showdown Kids vs. Parents, www.snaptvgames.com, p 17 MY Q, www.hasbro.com, p 19 Pirates of the Caribbean Online, www.piratesonline.com, p 21 Save the Dinosaurs, www.playingwithdinos.com, p 10

Nintendo DS

Ear Force D2, www.turtlebeach.com, p 16 Flipper Critters (DS), www.ignitionusa.com, p6 Meteos: Disney Magic, www.disney.com, p 8 My Frogger Toy Trials, www.konami.com, p8 Paws & Claws Pet Vet, www.thq.com, p 9 Rainbow Islands Revolution, www.codemasters.com, p 10 Pokemon Trozei, www.nintendo.com, p 9 Wario: Master of Disguise, www.nintendo.com, p 14

Middle and High School

CivCity: Rome, www.take2games.com, p 5 GameSnacks: Gender Wars - Girls vs. Guys, www.snaptvgames.com, p 17 GameSnacks: Pop Culture Trivia, www.snaptvgames.com, p 17 FIFA 07 Soccer, www.eagames.com, p 16 GTR2: FIA GT Racing Game, www.vivamedia.com, p 18 Madden NFL 07 (PS3), www.ea.com, p 18 MySims, www.sims.com, p 20 NBA 07, www.scea.com, www.scea.com, p 20 Sims 2 Seasons, The (PC), www.ea.com p 22 Timothy & Titus, www.whiteknightgames.com, p 23
Online Chess Kingdoms, www.konami.com, p 9 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, www.d3publisher.us, p 22 Sonic Rivals, www.sega.com, p 11
Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, The, www.midwaygames.com, p. 7 Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii), www.sega.com, p 11

Schools

Soliloquy Reading Assistant Version 4, www.soliloquylearning.com, p 10 Aussie Spellforce, www.edalive.com, p 15 BRAINtastic! Maths, www.edalive.com p 15 Numbers UP! Baggin the Dragon, www.edalive.com, p 21 Numbers UP! Volcanic Panic: Numbers & Operations, www.edalive.com, p 21 Stop Disasters!, www.stopdisastersgame.org, p. 12 Turning Point, www.turningtechnologies.com, p 13 Typing Tournament, www.edalive.com, p 13

Ease of Use 7 84% If you've ever played Civilization, you'll instantly get the idea of this historically Educational 10 based simulation. Your challenge is to build Rome from a small settlement on the banks Entertaining 8 of the Tiber River to one of the most glorious cities in the ancient world. Players are responsible for nurturing and managing all aspects of the city by positioning different Design Features 9 types of houses, building roads and aqueducts. The sounds and graphics are beautiful, if Good Value 8 your graphics card can handle it. As far as we can tell, there's a great deal of historically accurate information in this game. We liked the Civilopedia feature that lets you click on ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+, Alcohol Reference different icons to learn about Roman life. Because multiple players can sign in, this would Mild Violence be an excellent supplement to any classroom studying Roman history. Key features allow players to: see inside villas, forums and the Roman baths; develop as many as 70 technologies over time to give their city a strategic advantage; follow the life of a Roman family; and research and build mighty wonders including Circus Maximus, Great Library and the Pantheon. Note that you'll want to have a good graphics card in order to make this game work. Fortunately, you can change the game settings if your computer can't handle the higher resolution version of the game. Created for 2K Games by Firefly Studios in collaboration with Firaxis Games and inspired by Sid Meier's Civilization. Details: 2K Games, www.take2games.com. Price: $40. Ages: 10-up. Platform: Windows XP, Windows 98. Teaches: history of Rome, logic, planning, creativity. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Review date: 8/22/2006. [WB] Crazy Machines 1.5
Your task is to drag and drop a set of ramps, robots, mice, pulleys or other simple machines on the screen in order to steer a ball into a cup. Once things are in place, you press "play" and the ball starts the chain reaction. If one ramp is out of place, the ball might bounce off the screen, requiring some adjustment. That's the idea behind Crazy Machines 1.5, which is another set of about 100 new experiments. Crazy Machines 1.5 is actually two independent programs on one CD. Inventor's Training Camp contains 50 experiments, and New From The Lab is a collection of harder games. Both run separately, but are installed at the same time. Also, they each contain open-ended modes where you can freely design the parts. Old-timers will note the immediate similarity to The Incredible Machine (1995, Sierra Online), with the exception of some lame narration and clunky features. For example, the narration and music keeps looping, which can get annoying, and it is still hard to get help when you get stuck. The professor's "witty" comments have no connection with the puzzle you're working on (fortunately they can be turned off), and the main menu in "New From The Lab" looks as if it was translated incorrectly, and could be confusing. We would have liked an acknowledgment of the original creator (Jeff Tunnel and Sierra Online) in the credits. Still, the puzzles are an excellent exercise in problem solving, and there's a nice variety of them. Designed for Viva Media by Fakt-software, Oetinger Media and Pepper Games. Details: Viva Media, www.viva-media.com. Price: $20. Ages: 8-up. Platform: Windows XP, Windows 98. Teaches: science, inventing, creative/logical thinking, problem solving, physics. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.1 stars. Review date: 3/21/2007. [WB]

CivCity: Rome

Ease of Use Educational Entertaining Design Features Good Value

ESRB Rating: Everyone

FEATURE REVIEWS, APRIL 1, 2007

Disney Digital Cameras

Once upon a time, there were three Disney digital cameras designed especially for Educational children. The baby camera, the Pix-Micro was only a bit larger than a keyless remote with Entertaining an impulse-buy price of just $20. But it lacked even the most basic features, like a preview screen, so children could not tell when they have taken a picture. That's not much fun. Design Features The medium-sized Pix-Click, just $40, included a flash and a small preview screen. But Good Value the pictures were grainy (just 640 x 480 pixels) and the flash was hard to control, making the resulting photos look washed out at best. The biggest camera, the $80 Pix-Max had ESRB Rating: Everyone more grown up features, such as 3.0 megapixels of resolution, an autoflash, a view finder, review screen, an SD expansion slot and 32 MB of internal RAM. Alas, like its smaller siblings this camera also ran on AA batteries, representing an added expense. However, it had a fun built-in set cast of Disney characters, making it possible to superimpose Piglet in with your own dog, right there on the viewfinder. Not too bad. But still, consider that $80 is almost equal to a "real" digital camera, that could increase the odds of a happy ending. Details: Digital Blue, www.playdigitalblue.com. Price: $80. Ages: 7-up. Platform: Windows XP, Mac OSX. Teaches: creativity; digital photography. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 3.3 stars. Review date: 1/30/2007. [WB]

Ease of Use 7

Flipper Critters (DS)
Combine an addicting pinball game with a peaceful adventure, and you get the idea of this beautifully illustrated one-player game for the Nintendo DS. There are five pinball worlds, including a town square, a mountain, a castle and the moon. These scenes create an exotic pinball table, always with a pair flippers and a variety of targets. The game uses both screens on the Nintendo DS allowing for a full view of the pinball area that may side scroll into another world, making the playable pinball space seem large. From a pure pinball point of view, this is a very creative game. In the two worlds we tested, your ball can launch rockets, bump into apple trees to knock down fruit or fly into other parts of the world. Good scores let you advance the story line, which is described using cartoon text bubbles. The characters and art look a bit like Animal Crossing. Other features include a set of mini-games that can be unlocked, some of which use the touch screen and the DS microphone. Note that a lot of reading is required to understand the story, and games are automatically saved. If you're looking for an addicting and fast paced game that will keep you concentrating, this is a good option. Developed by Zen Studios for Ignition, the studio best known for Mercury Meltdown. Details: Ignition Entertainment USA, www.ignitionusa.com. Price: $call. Ages: 8-up. Platform: Nintendo DS. Teaches: logic, reading, temporal relations. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Review date: 2/9/2007. [WB]

Ease of Use 8 Educational 10 Entertaining 10 Design Features 9 Good Value 9
Ease of Use 7 80% Following a similar format as Tetris and Bejeweled, Mateos is sorting game that Educational 8 requires matching falling items in order to keep the screen from filling up. Thanks to the Entertaining 9 DS touch screen, you can drag and drop the blocks into position using the stylus. When you get three in a row the blocks explode, leaving more space and earning you more time Design Features 8 to earn a higher score. Good Value 8 One innovative feature of this game is that you turn the DS on its side. The game is played entirely on the right screen, while the left screen is used to display illustrations ESRB Rating: Everyone, Mild Violence and instructions as text. The blocks in this case feature small photos of popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Jack Sparrow, Winnie the Pooh, Ariel, Simba and so on. The setup menus are confusing, offering a variety of setup options. One of those is a multiplayer mode, where you can transmit a trial version of one level to up to two other players. Next, you can compete against them, to see who can win the highest score. The more you play, the more new Disney themes you can unlock, which helps to keep things more interesting. Still, the similar format of each level could grow to be repetitive. Progress is saved automatically. Developed by Q Entertainment for Disney. Details: Disney Interactive Studios, www.disney.com. Price: $30. Ages: 5-up. Platform: Nintendo DS. Teaches: reading, logic, matching, classification. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4 stars. Review date: 3/2/2007. [WB] Ease of Use 7 84% Like Pokmon (only with frogs) this maze-based challenge is different that the usual Educational 8 jump-across-the-road and avoid traffic format that made the Frogger brand famous. The Entertaining 10 goal in this game is to get to a toy pet contest before time runs out, by collecting things, talking with characters to pick up clues, and succeeding in a variety of 12 timed games Design Features 8 where you pick up coins while rolling a frog (he curls into a ball) through a variety of Good Value 9 mazes. The mazes use both the touch screen to roll, and the microphone to scare monsters or wake up your frog. Content that includes six types of items to collect and five ESRB Rating: Everyone, Comic Mischief costumes. There is wireless multiplayer options for up to four players in three minigames. One of the games, Fly Ball, is like Dodge ball; with each player either helping to defend a goal or throwing the ball with a flick of the stylus. The start of the game can be confusing -- the challenge isn't well explained, unless you read through what amounts to hundreds of text bubbles, and some of the mazes can be very challenging. However, it is possible to jump directly to the variety of minigames, making this a rich adventure with no worrisome content certain to occupy many hours. Details: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., www.konami.com. Price: $30. Ages: 7-up. Platform: Nintendo DS. Teaches: reading, strategy, logic, timing, fine motor skills. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Review date: 8/28/2006. [WB] My Frogger Toy Trials

Ease of Use 9 Educational 10 Entertaining 9 Design Features 9 Good Value 10
Soliloquy Reading Assistant Version 4
Now it its fourth edition (the first edition was in 2000), Soliloquy Reading Assistant uses speech recognition (the demo kit we used came with a $40 Andrea Anti-Noise USB Headset) to evaluate a child's reading, in real time. So it's a bit like having an objective, patient reading teacher looking over a child's shoulder, listening to their reading. The software can correct miscues if necessary, and pronounce the hard words, in either English or Spanish. Essentially, your voice "drives" the progress of the story one word, sentence or paragraph at a time. After you train the microphone to your voice, which takes about five minutes, you can choose from a variety of reading selections, depending on your interest. Once a reading selection is finished, a multiple-choice comprehension test is given, followed by a detailed report on a child's progress. It is then possible to play back the selection with the child's voice. Note that reading sets are sold separately for $60 each. For example, one of the primary levels included nonfiction, fiction, and poetry selections from Cricket Magazine Group. Improved features over version 3.0 include the ability to customize individual voice profiles, password protection, and better classroom management tools. The reading selections start at first grade, and go up to middle school. Details: Soliloquy Learning, www.soliloquylearning.com. Price: $229 and up. Ages: 6 -10. Platform: Mac, Windows. Teaches: reading fluency. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.9 stars. Review date: 3/25/2007. [WB]
Ease of Use 9 Educational 10 Entertaining N Design Features 10 Good Value 10
Ease of Use 7 84% This is a new kind of Sonic, due to the Wii controls. In this game, you race Sonic Educational 8 through the maze of ramps and platforms as you hold the Wii remote like handlebars Entertaining 9 giving a very different type of experience compared to prior racing games. Our younger testers found the controls in this game to be tricky (despite the good tutorial that carefully Design Features 9 walks you through each move), making this the kind of game that will be frustrating to Good Value 9 some. Players hurtle Sonic forward by rotating the controller from side to side and perform ESRB Rating: Everyone, Cartoon Violence combo moves with a flick of the wrist. Players must tilt the controller left or right to stay on the platform, or swing the controller forward to destroy enemies. In the story, Sonic is turning the pages of the book, Arabian Nights, when he is visited by the Genie from the book. The Genie tells him that the last pages of the book are missing. He grants Sonic the ability to enter the book's world to find the missing pages, thus setting the world of the Arabian Nights back in order. While the main part of the game is designed for one player, there are over 30 mini games for up to four players which vary in quality, such as a canoe race where you "paddle" with the remote. Our testers had mixed feelings about the Wii controls -- this is one case where the traditional method of moving through the mazes seems more straightforward. Details: Sega of America, www.sega.com. Price: $50. Ages: 6-up. Platform: Wii. Teaches: fine motor coordination, logic, timing. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Review date: 5/28/2006. [WB] Sonic Rivals

Ease of Use 8 Educational 9 Entertaining 9 Design Features 8 Good Value 10
Story Logic: Jungle Animals
Designed to let children create their own stories, this language experience is a prime example of a weak, non-interactive design. Children first choose which animals to include in their story by pressing either the left or right mouse buttons, which takes some getting used to. For example, to respond to the question, "Should we put a parrot in the story?" you would press the left button for "yes" or the right button for "no". All instructions and questions are read aloud to you, and the instructions cannot be bypassed. There are four pages in each story, and one question per page is given. Therefore, if you answer "no" to a question on a page, another question is given, to which you will need to answer "yes". Only after the completion of the tedious task of answering questions on each page is the story read to you. We created stories using this program with a five-year-old tester, and I felt that it didn't allow him to be creative. He answered a question, and then an entire page of a story was created; however, it wasn't any of his language. You can really only write about the monkey, tiger and elephant, but the panther, hippo and a few other jungle friends can be other characters in the story. Once the character selection is made, you can't changed your mind there is no going back. Also, there is no way to print a copy of your story, or adjust the challenge. In addition, as the stories are read to you, the words aren't highlighted, so there is no way for children to follow along. All in all, this program falls far short of its claim of "building intelligence" and "improving social skills." Details: Smart Neurons, www.smartneurons.com. Price: $25. Ages: 3-6. Platform: Windows XP, Mac OSX. Teaches: language, reading, storytelling. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 2 stars. Review date: 3/8/2007. [DC]

Turning Point

This PowerPoint polling system is known as a PRS (Personal Response System) designed to make static slides interactive. First, you start with a Macintosh or Windows computer that has PowerPoint installed. Next, you install the TurningPoint drivers and software, either from the included CD-ROM or by downloading the software from www. turningtechnologies.com. Once the installation is completed (registration required), you start PowerPoint and notice a new Turning Point toolbar. After you create some slides with polling features (more on this later), you insert a USB wireless transmitter/receiver ($200) and distribute one polling device ($50 each) to each member of your audience or small group. Because the system uses Wi-Fi instead of infrared, the signals are likely to be picked up in a typical lecture hall. The remotes are powered by button cell batteries, and have just 12 membrane buttons and a tiny LED that blinks when a signal is sent. The keys could be better labeled; both letter and numerals are on the same round key, making the controls look cryptic. Making a slide interactive takes some practice. First, you open a presentation and then choose the type of interactive slide you want to make. Ten options are available, including True/False, Likert scales, and generic multiple choice questions, with up to ten possible answers. After the slide is designed, you start the slide show as you normally would. When you get to the question, you'll see a small green "polling open" indicator. You can program your slide so that you can see when everyone has entered their answer. To see the results, you click and see a graph with the results. We tested the system on a Toshiba Satellite A135 laptop running Windows Vista and Office 2003 with no problems. Turning Point is designed to work with PowerPoint, Web CT Campus Edition and Examview software. Details: Turning Technologies, LLC, www.turningtechnologies.com. Price: $900 (30 seats). Ages: NA. Platform: Windows, Mac (Microsoft PowerPoint required). Teaches: a presentation utility for Microsoft PowerPoint. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.2 stars. Review date: 2/26/2007. [WB]

Virtua Tennis 3

Looking for a good clean game of Tennis, with great graphics and a well designed Educational interface? Since we reviewed the first version of Virtua Tennis seven years ago, this Entertaining franchise has evolved nicely onto the new game platforms. In the PS3 version, you can choose to play a standard game either against or as tennis celebrities such as Roger Design Features Federer or Venus Williams, with real cut scenes between each set. In the Tournament Good Value Mode, you can create your own player, letting you choose details as the the number of arm bands, height, weight and stroke style. ESRB Rating: Everyone There are seven mini games to train for footwork, shot accuracy, and overall skills to build up stats, and compete in exhibitions and tournaments to become a world champion. If you have a PS3, this is a great choice for a tennis game. We are still looking at the XBox 360 and PSP versions. The price for the PSP version is $30. Developed by Sumo (Xbox 360 & PSP) and AM3 (PS3) for Sega. Details: Sega of America, www.sega.com. Price: $50. Ages: 8-up. Platform: PlayStation 3*, Xbox 360, PSP. Teaches: sports, tennis. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.4 stars. Review date: 3/21/2007. [WB]
Wario: Master of Disguise
Mario's wild cousin and rival, Wario, is on a quest for money and treasure. It is up to you to explore eight worlds that take place inside a TV show to help him find it. As you explore, you might have to draw symbols on Wario, putting him in outfits or giving him items needed to attack the enemies in each location in order to get past obstacles. The opening menu is confusing, presenting you with a number of options. Reading is required at many points in the game, (e.g., "Whadda entrance! And for my big break in TV too! I'm on that dork's show." Notice the unconventional English). While there's a bit of "dorky" humor and language, there's nothing extreme to worry about in any of the content we played. Our testers noted this game would be fun for fans of past Wario games. Content includes eight stylus/microphone-driven mini-games that grow more difficult as the game progresses. Several are excellent for exercising fine motor abilities as well as memory and timing. For example, there's a dot-to-dot puzzle, several timed tracing challenges, and a sliding square game where you must create a match for a target picture. Progress is automatically saved. Developed by Suzak for Nintendo. Details: Nintendo of America, www.nintendo.com. Price: $35. Ages: 9-up. Platform: Nintendo DS. Teaches: fine motor development (tracing), memory, logic, counting, creativity, reading. Rating (1 to 5 stars): 4.3 stars. Review date: 3/1/2007. [WB]

OTHER NEW & FUTURE RELEASES APRIL 1, 2007 Fight Night Round 3 This is the third release in the Fight Night series from EA Sports. Features include three new impact punches (land a perfectly timed Flash KO or jump into a quick mid-fight mini-game to land a knockdown punch). Players can also watch ESPN classic footage of bouts or re-create the greatest fights from past and present including Ali vs. Frasier. In addition, you can establish rivalries of your own by intimidating opponents before the fight, as well as create a style of your own to see how you match up against the world's best fighters. Our tester, Nick (11), liked the graphics and the fact that he could play as famous boxers. He notes, "The game has a little blood, but not too much, making my mom happy. The only time I saw blood was when you hit your opponent in the face, causing them to sometimes spit out blood." He felt the Training Mode instructions weren't very clear. For example, it took him a while to figure out that he had to punch in a certain place on his opponent. Overall, he felt it was an exciting game and would definitely buy it. Online play is available with Xbox Live, PSP and PlayStation 2. Note: XBox 360 version is $59.99. Details: EA Sports (Electronic Arts Inc.), www.eagames.com. Price: $40. Ages: 13-up. Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP. Teaches: sports; hand-eye coordination. Review date: 2/21/2006. Fight Night Round 3 (PS3) This is the third release in the Fight Night series from EA Sports and the first for the PS3. As with other platform versions of the game, features include three new impact punches (land a perfectly timed Flash KO or jump into a quick mid-fight mini-game to land a knockdown punch). Players can also watch ESPN classic footage of bouts or re-create the greatest fights from past and present including Ali vs. Frasier. In addition, you can establish rivalries of your own by intimidating opponents before the fight, as well as create a style of your own to see how you match up against the world's best fighters. Exclusive to the PS3 is the Get in the Ring Mode that allows players to experience the game through a unique first-person perspective. Players feel like they are the boxers throwing combinations and experiencing the impact of their opponent's punches. In addition, gamers can also play through an entire career of a boxing legend such as Mohammed Ali, or go glove to glove with their friends online or via split-screen using the First-Person Mode. They can also switch between the First-Person Mode or play in the Third Person Mode perspective to mix up the fights. Details: EA Sports (Electronic Arts Inc.), www.eagames.com. Price: $60. Ages: 13-up. Platform: PlayStation 3. Teaches: sports, boxing, hand-eye coordination. Review date: 12/14/2006. Finger Beats This small touch-sensitive pad makes it possible to record or play drums with your fingers along with a music source, either an iPod or MP3 player, or a built-in synthesized rhythm. There are four varieties, including Go Bongo Crazy and "Intergalactic Music Madness." A headphone jack lets you keep the music to yourself. We found it to be a bit gimmicky. Details: Jumpin Banana, www.jumpinbanana.com. Price: $30. Ages: 10-up. Platform: toy. Teaches: music, rhythm. Review date: 3/2/2007.

GameSnacks: Family Showdown Kids vs. Parents Family Showdown is an interactive DVD game that has kids trying to outsmart their parents on various trivia subjects, including sports, TV, science & nature, movies, music and more. The parents in our test family thought the questions were "way too easy for the adults; they didn't seem any harder than the kids' questions. However, much to our surprise, the kids wound up beating us, which of course, they loved." They played the game only once, which seemed to be enough for the kids. Part of the GameSnacks trivia game series, the game works on both home and portable DVD players. An updated version ($10) was released February 2007 that features 50 additional trivia cards that serve as a road trip warmup. See also GameSnacks Pop Culture, Gender Wars and Kids Trivia. Details: Snap TV, www.snaptvgames.com. Price: $12.99. Ages: 7-up. Platform: Interactive DVD. Teaches: trivia: sports, science & nature, movies, TV, music. Review date: 7/17/2006.
OTHER NEW & FUTURE RELEASES APRIL 1, 2007 GameSnacks: Gender Wars - Girls vs. Guys Designed as a party game for girls vs. guys, this interactive DVD game includes thousands of questions on subjects such as fashion, movies and sports. It is part of the GameSnacks series, and features six game categories and will work on either a home or portable DVD player. See also GameSnacks Family Showdown, Pop Culture and Kids Trivia. Details: Snap TV, www.snaptvgames.com. Price: $12.99. Ages: 13-up. Platform: Interactive DVD. Teaches: trivia: fashion, movies, sports. Review date: 7/17/2006. GameSnacks: Pop Culture Trivia Part of the GameSnacks trivia game series, this interactive game features six game categories with thousands of questions on pop culture, including celebrities, trends, movies and music. It works with both home and portable DVD players. See also GameSnacks Family Showdown, Gender Wars and Kids Trivia. Details: Snap TV, www.snaptvgames.com. Price: $12.99. Ages: 13-up. Platform: Interactive DVD. Teaches: trivia: pop culture. Review date: 7/17/2006. GTR2: FIA GT Racing Game This racing simulation features 140 cars and 34 track-layouts. There are three game modes, ranging from novice to simulation, and six game events including Open Practice, Race Weekend, Championships, Time Trials, 24 Hour Races and Driving School. There is also a multiplayer mode for racing against other drivers from all over the world. Developed by SimBin Development Team and 10tacle Studios. Details: Viva Media, www.viva-media.com. Price: $39.99. Ages: 10-up. Platform: Windows XP, Windows 98. Teaches: sports, racing, coordination, spatial relations. Review date: 10/5/2006. LessonBoard This is a standard-sized 108-key QWERTY keyboard that is color-coded by finger. The keyboard connects to the computer by way of USB port. There is no software required; you just plug it in. Note that the keyboard will work on a Macintosh computer, although it does not have Macspecific keys. Details: Chester Creek Technologies, www.chestercreektech.com. Price: $38. Ages: 5-up. Platform: Windows XP, Windows 98. Teaches: keyboarding. Review date: 3/28/2007.

OTHER NEW & FUTURE RELEASES APRIL 1, 2007 MVP '07 NCAA Baseball In this game, players can build a college dynasty for multiple seasons with year-round recruiting, stat tracking, and authentic equipment upgrades from the top baseball brands in the sport. Players can also create their own tournament and compete against the toughest college teams in the nation. New features include one-player and two-player pitching mini-games, as well as Rock and Fire an analog pitching system that lets you use the right analog stick to determine the effectiveness, location, and accuracy of every pitch; college fight songs and actual College World Series footage; plus, new teams, stadiums and conferences for 07. Players can also use a teams standard lineup or field strength-specific rosters such as Sluggers and Small Ball. In addition, you can also choose your own bat, a first for this type of game. Full ESPN Broadcast Integration that lets players stay up to date with ESPN radio, news, and ticker feeds, and commentary by ESPN's Mike Patrick. Not yet reviewed. Details: EA Sports - Electronic Arts Canada, www.eagames.com. Price: $30. Ages: 8-up. Platform: PlayStation 2. Teaches: baseball. Review date: 2/13/2007. MY Q Two new LCD handheld games, MY Q and MY Q Junior, each will include a mix of ten ageand skill-appropriate games ranging from math and word challenges to memory and concentration tests. An additional two titles, MY Q Pocket NUMBERS and MY Q Pocket WORD Edition, will provide games designed to be played in three minutes or less. Coming Summer 2007. Details: Hasbro, Inc., www.hasbro.com. Price: $25. Ages: 6-up. Platform: smart toy. Teaches: logic, math, language, vocabulary. Review date: 3/2/2007. MySims Coming Fall 2007, MySims is a version of The Sims, designed especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Players begin by creating their own Sim, choosing pigtails, baseball caps, dreadlocks and Mohawks. New clothing, hairstyles and accessories can be unlocked. You then enter a town, where you can design furniture and appliances, architect new homes and businesses, and redefine the landscape. As players explore, they meet and help new characters, such as Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall and Buddy a very lazy hotel Bellhop. For example, they can create a new Pizza Oven for Gino or put the finishing touches on a new roof for Buddys busy hotel. Each completed task helps the town grow. As it expands to new areas, players receive special building blocks, decorations and patterns that help customize their unique creations. Details: Electronic Arts,. Price: $call. Ages: NA. Platform: Wii, Nintendo DS. Teaches: creativity. Review date: 2/26/2007. Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 Developed by 8ing, and published by TOMY Corporation, this sequal to Clash of Ninja features more new players. Players can choose to play as one of 23 ninjas including Haruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Up to four can play in the Multiplayer Mode, choosing from four different battles, including 1 vs. 3; 2 vs. 2; two-player co-op vs. team; and team battles. There are over a dozen game modes including Single Player Mode, Training Mode, Story Mode, Shopping Mode and an unlockable demo mode where you can choose different characters and watch them battle. Details: D3Publisher of America, Inc., www.d3publisher.us. Price: $39.99. Ages: 12-up. Platform: GameCube. Teaches: fighting, logic. Review date: 10/6/2006. NBA '07 NBA '07 for PSP features an all-new Conquest Mode allowing players to take a team and challenge NBA squads across the country. It also features a Pick Up Mode where players have a chance to choose from 10 different NBA players for a playground style match-up. The Highlight Reel option gives players the opportunity to view a select reel of highlight shots, passes steals and dunks at the end of each game. There are mini games including Horse, Dodgeball, Own The Court, Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest. Details: Sony Computer Entertainment America, www.scea.com. Price: $39.99. Ages: 7-up. Platform: PSP. Teaches: basketball. Review date: 10/6/2006.

OTHER NEW & FUTURE RELEASES APRIL 1, 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean Online Like stepping into the movie with other people pretending to be pirates, in real time, this MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game) will be free, although it looks as if a credit card will be required in order to register. Like Club Penguin or RuneScape, this site will make money by selling a premium $10/month subscription option, but will let anyone in for free. We were given limited access to the game and found it to look and feel a like the 2000 LucasArts release called "Escape from Monkey Island" that featured a funny pirate named Guybrush Threepwood. In this adventure, Captain Jack Sparrow provides the bad puns, which are nicely integrated into a twisted storyline that features plunder, sword fights, voodoo and ship-to-ship battles. Like the Sims, you can create an incredibly detailed avatar -- in this case a male or female pirate. Jack Sparrow who helps you learn the game, and different things happen at different times of the day. You can sign up to play for free in the "public beta" version this month at www. piratesonline.com. The game will launch officially in May when the third movie is released. Details: Disney Online, www.preschooltime.com. Price: $free, or $10/month. Ages: 10-up. Platform: Windows XP, PSP, Nintendo DS. Teaches: logic. Review date: 6/1/2006. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords This handheld game incorporates strategy and role-playing element into a game board setting. The playing sessions are timed (five to fifteen minutes each) and feature a turn-based play style. Set in the Warlords universe, players must create a hero to save the land of Etheria from the evil Lord Bane. In order to advance, players will battle in turn-based, head-to-head match-three style puzzle games in one of three modes: Single-player (battle against the computer AI in 150 quests), Instant Action (play continuous battles to level-up characters without participating in quests), and Multiplayer (fight live opponents via wireless connectivity on both the PSP system and Nintendo DS). Victory will advance the players hero, magical arsenal, creature companions. Co-developed by Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd., Vicious Cycle Software, Inc. , Infinite Interactive Pty. Ltd. and 1st Playable Productions, LLC. for Japanese-based D3Publisher of America, Inc. Details: D3Publisher of America, Inc., www.d3publisher.us. Price: $30. Ages:. Platform: PSP, Nintendo DS. Teaches: strategy, logic. Review date: 3/21/2007. Sims 2 Seasons, The (PC) Want your Sims to have a snowball fight? Or, how about a romp in the fall leaves? This expansion pack for the Windows version of The Sims 2 contains content related to the seasons. Before you read further, note that you must have an installed version of either The Sims 2 or The Sims 2 Holiday Edition in order for this expansion pack to work. Content includes such things as a swimming pool with a water slide and a greenhouse for the summer, and an ice skating rink for winter. Along with these items comes new related events. In other words, your Sims could get a cold in the winter or a sunburn in the summer. Again, note that this is a $30 expansion pack, which means you must have a pre-installed copy of The Sims 2 (another $30 to $50) in order to make this expansion pack work. Visit http://thesims2.ea.com/. Details: Electronic Arts, Inc., www.ea.com. Price: $30. Ages: 13-up. Platform: Windows XP. Teaches: creativity. Review date: 3/5/2007. Smart Cycle This child-sized stationary exercise bike plugs into the A/V jacks of your TV. A child must pedal and steer in order to race, avoid obstacles, or get to games, that are found in pull off areas by the side of the road. One software title, called "Learning Adventure", is included with the bike, and others are sold in cartridge form for $20 each. These will feature Dora, Barbie and others. Runs on 4 D batteries. Coming July 2007. Details: Fisher-Price,. Price: $100. Ages: 3-6. Platform: TV. Teaches: physical fitness, logical thinking, movement. Review date: 2/26/2007.