Baby battle: Cabbage Patch Kids Baby So Real doll vs. a real baby
Tech Industry
[MUSIC]
Hey Bridget.
This came in for you.
It's another one of those high tech toys.
Okay.
Cabbage Patch Baby So Real.
Interactive baby, lifelike Like, just like a real baby.
We'll see about that.
How can a high tech baby compare to a real baby?
To find out I put it to the test at our CNet lab.
Let's start with those eyes.
It's the main attraction to the Cabbage Patch Kids Baby So Real doll priced at nearly $100.
The LCD screens animate expressions, indicating if the baby is sad, laughing, surprised, or happy.
Glowing eyes mean you'll never lose your baby in the dark.
To compare, my real baby has more expressions the more you play with her.
I can expect software updates for the rest of my life.
No need to decipher baby cries, the doll tells you exactly what it wants with cutesy phrases.
In fact she won't stop talking, asking for diaper changes, bottles, burps, and tickles.
She'll even tell you when she needs medicine with glowing red cheeks My real baby cries out when she needs something, but at least she'll give you a break and a smile when she's feeling better.
The doll finds nourishment in a special pink plastic bottle, which much be placed in just the right spot in the mouth for the sensor to activate feeding sounds.
My real baby, is a boss, she can hold her own bottle.
Although the experience can be a little messy.
Diaper changes with the doll are simple.
There's a sensor on the waistband that knows when a diaper is removed and put back on the doll.
But the doll lacks that realist diaper charm.
Getting the doll to sleep is simple.
Rock it in your arms or just leave it on the table and walk away slowly until it It starts to snore.
The doll does have an off switch in the back, but real baby does not come with an off button, or removable batteries for when you need a break.
If you need some guidance on how to make your doll happy, you can open up her smart phone app.
It connects to the doll via bluetooth.
An animated version of your doll tells you what the doll needs.
Real baby does not come with an app or bluetooth or any tooth for that matter.
But of course when you add technology to toys there's more room for things to go wrong, off camera I accidentally drop the doll and broke it.
The eyelids wouldn't open and close anymore.
If it happens to you, the company said it will replace the doll, because the toy was designed to withstand three year olds.
From our lab tests, we can conclude that we're entering a new era for play time.
I'm not sure if stuffing a doll with sensors necessarily makes for a better toy.
For now, I'll be keeping busy with my real baby, and maybe in a few years when she asks me for her own robot baby, I hope it'll come with removable batteries.
For CNet, I'm Bridgette Carey.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
