12 December 2014

Chicago – VTech (www.vtechkids.com), a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children, today announced seven products were honored with the acclaimed Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center in their Holiday Report. VTech's winners included industry standouts Kidizoom^® Smartwatch, Smart Shots Sports Center™, Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Ultimate Amazement Park Playset and Go! Go! Smart Animals™ Zoo Explorers Playset. Rounding out the honorees were the Sit-to-Stand Smart Cruiser™, InnoTab^® Learning Cartridge Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Busy Day in Alphabet Town and Switch & Go Dinos^® Turbo Triceratops Deluxe Launcher. VTech products have earned 13 Seals of Approval from the organization this year. Seal of Approval winners are determined following eight weeks of consumer testing by parents, children and educators.

"The reception to our new innovations this year has been extraordinary, and we are thrilled for multiple products to be recognized by The National Parenting Center this year," said William To, President, VTech Electronics North America. "These honors demonstrate our commitment to high-quality, age-appropriate toys that engage and excite kids, and parents can trust to ensure their children are learning as they're having fun."

"VTech's expansive collection received the highest praise from our panel of judges, including parents, kids and educators," said David Katzner, President of The National Parenting Center. "These seven products represent the educational and innovative content that we've come to expect from VTech."

VTech's National Parenting Center Seal of Approval winners include:

Kidizoom^® Smartwatch (www.vtechkids.com/kidizoomsmartwatch): The interactive Kidizoom Smartwatch lets kids capture photos, add photo effects, record videos and play built-in games for learning fun on the go. Complete with an easy-to-use 1.4" color touch screen, as well as more than 50 digital and analog clock displays, the multi-functional Kidizoom Smartwatch is perfect for kids learning to tell time. It boasts a rechargeable battery, alarm clock, timer, stopwatch, voice recorder with five voice changing effects and parental game controls. Made just for kids, the Kidizoom Smartwatch features a durable design to withstand drops and bumps and is splash and sweat proof. Kidizoom Smartwatch is PC and MAC compatible for uploading photos, videos and recorded voice files and offers access to VTech's Learning Lodge^® app store, where parents can download even more games and watch displays to extend the learning fun. Available in four vibrant colors: blue, pink, white and green. (Ages 4 years and up; MSRP: US$59.99)

Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Ultimate Amazement Park Playset (www.vtechkids.com/gogosmartwheels): Race through three AMAZING features in the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Amazement Park Playset! Place the race car at the top of the tower, pull the flag and watch as it races through the 360 degree loop, spiral or ramp. Drive the included SmartPoint™ race car over the eight SmartPoint locations to hear fun music and sounds. The Ultimate Amazement Park can be connected to other Go! Go! Smart Wheels or Go! Go! Smart Animals playsets (sold separately) to encourage creative play. It's playtime with miles of learning fun! (Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$59.99)

Go! Go! Smart Animals™ Zoo Explorers Playset™ (www.vtechkids.com/gogozoo): Playtime goes wild with learning at the Go! Go! Smart Animals Zoo Explorers Playset! Go on a tour of the zoo with the SmartPoint™ rhino as he responds to the zoo's seven SmartPoint locations with different phrases, music and fun sounds. Children can strengthen their motor skills with seven manipulative features including a turning gate, spinning water tank and sliding elevator. The colorful tracks can be reconfigured or connected to other Go! Go! Smart Animals or Go! Go! Smart Wheels playsets (each sold separately) to encourage children's creativity. The zoo also features an electronic entrance that teaches animal names, animal traits, letters, colors and plays music. (Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$39.99)

Smart Shots Sports Center™ (www.vtechkids.com/smartshots): Parents can cheer on their little sports stars with the Smart Shots Sports Center. The electronic sports center features a soccer goal and basketball hoop for a fun 2-in-1 experience. Kick the soccer ball into the net to hear fun sounds or toss the basketball into the hoop and the magic sensor will count the number of baskets scored, up to ten. Three buttons introduce shapes, numbers, opposites, sing-along songs and more. Turn the gears or flip the page to hear fun phrases and sounds. The sports center also features a light-up screen that plays a variety of fun animations and shows numbers, shapes and letters to reinforce learning. (Ages 12-36 months, MSRP: US$39.99)

Sit-to-Stand Smart Cruiser™: Cruise into the learning zone on the Sit-to-Stand Smart Cruiser™ by VTech. This 2-in-1 toy has an interactive steering wheel that includes driving, learning and music modes. Attach the steering wheel activity panel to the cruiser, and it becomes an exciting ride-on toy. Turn on the engine, move the gear shifter or press the horn to hear realistic driving sound effects. Choose one of six places and your child can pretend to drive to fun locations. Press the six animal buttons to be introduced to animals and hear fun melodies. Then, learn the concept of direction and road safety with the arrow buttons. The Sit-to-Stand Cruiser also has a front activity panel with fun manipulative features and under seat storage your child can fill with small toys for more fun on the go! (Ages 6-36 months, MSRP: US$39.99)

InnoTab® Learning Cartridge Go! Go! Smart Wheels^® Busy Day in Alphabet Town (www.vtechkids.com/downloads): Explore Alphabet Town with Casey, Paul, Frank and Cyrus in the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Busy Day in Alphabet Town game for InnoTab Learning Tablets. Read about their adventure in the e-Book or join the residents of Alphabet Town as they build roads, rescue kittens and more in fun learning games. This InnoTab software title features nine creative activities and learning games that teach letters, numbers and more. (Ages 2-5 years, MSRP: US$24.99)

Switch & Go Dinos^® Turbo Triceratops Deluxe Launcher: Rip and roar with the Switch & Go Dinos^® Turbo Triceratops Deluxe Launcher. It includes an electronic Switch & Go Dinos Turbo Triceratops that easily transforms from a dino to race car in a few easy steps. Use the launcher to turbo charge the dino or race car, then blast it from the mouth of the Triceratops. The faster kids charge, the farther it goes. At top speeds, the Triceratops races more than 20 feet! Kids can set the boulders inside the volcano and see if they can launch the car through the narrow tunnel. But be careful – if they hit the sides of the volcano, it will explode and send boulders flying! (Ages 3-8 years, MSRP: US$19.99)

VTech works closely with a panel of children's learning specialists on the development of its infant and preschool learning products. Each one of the Expert Panel members specializes in developmental or educational fields for children from birth through nine years of age. VTech and the Expert Panel collaborate to ensure their products and content deliver the best learning experience possible for every child at every stage of development. To learn more about VTech's Expert Panel, go to www.vtechkids.com/parenting.

Each child grows at a different pace mentally, emotionally and physically, and has different needs as they grow through various life stages. Insight from these developmental and education experts allows VTech to provide parents with guidelines and recommendations to help them make informed choices. VTech delivers an expansive selection of toys that are appropriate for their child's particular age and stage and to accompany them as they continue to grow and reach new developmental milestones. These recommendations have been compiled into a Milestones resource, which can be found at www.vtechkids.com/milestones.

For more information about the complete VTech product range, please visit www.vtechkids.com.

About VTech

VTech is a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children. As a pioneer in the learning toy category, VTech develops high-quality, innovative educational products that enrich children's development and make learning fun. With a rich, almost 35 year history, VTech has not only established itself as a learning authority but also consistently remains at the forefront of innovation with multiple award-winning products such as the InnoTab^® MAX, its first children's learning tablet with Android™ learning content, Kidizoom^® Smartwatch, the first smartwatch for kids, InnoTab^® 3S, MobiGo^®, V.Reader^® and V.Smile^®. The Learning Lodge^®, VTech's comprehensive app store, features a robust library of more than 800 educational and entertaining games, e-Books, music and videos with engaging age-appropriate content across the widest variety of curricula, with content expanding to offer even more titles. The company also has a broad range of award-winning infant and preschool products available in 24 different languages worldwide, with more than 100 new products introduced every year. In order to further strengthen VTech's position as a learning authority, the company's Expert Panel, with esteemed experts in reading, language arts, science, math and child development, consult on new product introductions and Learning Lodge content.

VTech Electronics North America, LLC is based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. VTech Electronics Ltd. is headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution globally. VTech is the global leader in electronic learning products from infancy to preschool.

For more information on VTech's additional product lines, visit www.VTechKids.com, www.facebook.com/VTechtoys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter.

About The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval Program

The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval program, created in 1990 as an adjunct to TNPC's support services, identifies the finest products and services being marketed to the parent/child audience. From educational and entertainment products and equipment to travel destinations, the consumer-oriented testing process solicits evaluations from parents and their children. This award signifies to other parents that their peers have acknowledged a product's quality and desirability based on a wide variety of determining factors.