Zoomer Chimp - A 'Must Have' Toy for Christmas 2016 | A Review

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Zoomer Chimp by Spinmaster has been hyped as one of this year's 'must have' Christmas toys. With an RRP of £119.99 (although currently on sale for £89.99 via Amazon here), it is definitely the type of toy you would give as a 'main' present. £100 ish for a robotic toy is a lot of money and I will admit that I was skeptical - would it be worth the cash? We were sent our very own Zoomer Chimp to try out and I can hand on heart say it's a big fat yes - we LOVE him and it's as if he part of the family now.

Zoomer Chimp has bags and bags of personality and is really cheeky. He has three modes:-

• Automatic mode
• Command mode
• Guard mode

Automatic Mode

Automatic mode is when Zoomer Chimp has been switched on and left to find his own adventures. He is actually quite adorable as he roams around the room, dancing, singing and generally looking for mischief. Very entertaining! If you put your hand under his nose and beckon him towards you, he'll follow you around the room too.

Command Mode

Command mode has definitely been our favourite. Zoomer Chimp is pretty clever and reacts to 10 various voice commands including 'Go Bananas', 'Let's Dance' and 'Flip'. He is honestly SO much fun and the way the kids interact with him kind of makes me think that this is what they'd be like if we bought a puppy. Zoomer's body is super flexible and if he falls over, he'll easily stand back up again. I LOVE it when he's feeling particularly cheeky and rolls on his back, kicks his legs in the air and starts laughing right from his belly. You can't help but laugh along. 

Guard Mode

Guard mode has the kids in stitches. Zoomer Chimp will protect your possessions or guard your bedroom and if anyone dares to go near he will CHARGE at you and force you away. Haha I love the pic further down this page of Zoomer Chimp chasing Jack around the room - hilarious! 

How To Use Zoomer Chimp

One of the huge plus points for me is that Zoomer Chimp does not require batteries. Halleluliah! The worry with expensive toys like this is that once the batteries have ran out they'll be soon forgotten about. Zoomer Chimp comes with his own micro USB charging cable that simply plugs into a USB plug socket (like your iPhone) or your computer/laptop. Zoomer's eyes turn blue when he's charging and switch to green when he's good to go. He takes about 1 hour to fully charge.

If you want to use any of the 'commands' you simply tap this button on top of Zoomer's head and wait for his eyes to switch to purple before you speak. This toy is aimed at children aged 5+ but it is honestly child's play to operate and I bet younger children would manage to play with him too.

I was worried we might have to keep hunting out instructions to remember all of the various commands but luckily, Zoomer Chimp is provided with his very own cheat sheet which is a simple guide to his voice commands, eye colour meaning and on/off switch. We found this very handy to begin with and it really eased us into playing with him nicely. To be honest though, after a few days this has been discarded as the kids know what they're doing now.

If you're interested to see Zoomer Chimp in action, check out our video below which features some of his moves in action (look out for 'Go Bananas' - we love this one).

 Here are a few pics of the kids playing with Zoomer Chimp this weekend. I love them - I think you can see in their eyes and faces how much they adore him. Zoomer Chimp works just as well on carpet as well as wooden floor by the way.

If I had to state any negative about Zoomer Chimp I would say that I would like him to last a little longer between charging - he probably lasts a couple of hours of non-stop play before needing to be plugged back in again. If he isn't being constantly played with, he will last longer. I also remember that as a child I was so scared of anything robotic. Santa once brought me a robot-type toy and I was so scared that it had to be donated to a neighbour - if your child is a sensitive soul, Zoomer Chimp may not be for them as he can be unpredictable and start running around the room shouting which although is fun for our family, I realise isn't for everyone.

I would not recommend a toy to you if I didn't think it was worth it but if you can pick up Zoomer Chimp for £100 or less, then I would say go for it. He'll provide lots of entertainment whizzing around your floor on Christmas day and his personality will win over guests young and old. If my grandma was still with us, I can imagine Zoomer Chimp would even give her a few laughs.

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