"For younger kids there's still nothing better than the Video Now for the price, but...what's with all the Nickelodeon titles?"

---from the review

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Create Your OWN Discs...? Yes!...and, no. See; some really smart thinking folks over at My Stuff Now discovered a means to make your own discs on Video Now; your own home video, or even your own cartoons. All you'd need is some blank three-inch CD-R's (hard to find, but not impossible) and you're set. The bad news? They only made it for the black and white version. The worse news? For whatever reason, the color version plays black and white Video Now discs, but not My Stuff Now discs, for reasons too technical to list here. While they claim to have a prototype of a color version of My Stuff Now, they don't want to get burned twice. Go to their web site (link above) and let them know if you're interested in software that can make your own, color, Video Now discs!

Add-ons Available Separately...as always! As with any toy priced at around $75, there are several accessories you can buy...separately. Here is a small taste of them:

---Video Now Color Carrying Case. NOT to be confused with the Video Now Carrying case of old (which may not fit for the new color model); this case puts your Video Now Color snigly in its own portable case, made so perfectly that you can even use the video now while it's in the case. The above order link is for a purple case; also available in blue, Purple, and orange.

---Video Now Color Car Adapter. One of the perks of the new Color unit is a DC power jack, which allows for a car adapter, as well as AC power supply. As of this review the car adapter is not yet available, though this order link will allow you to check on its availability.

---Video Now's "Official" Headphones. It deserves mentioning that the stereo mini-jack on the Video Now unit is just like any walkman's; your favorite headphones plug into the socket without any problem. However, these headphones are "ergonomically designed" to match the black and silver chassis of the Video Now player. Fair enough... 

---Video Now Screen Light....is not needed for the Video Now Color, FYI, since the unit now has its own backlit screen. Just FYI in case a parent sees the Video Now Screen Light available (for the older model), wondering if their child needs it...

When I reviewed the Video Now just under a year ago, it was certainly a very cute "video walkman" for kids, and yet it had its share of flaws. With the Video Now Color, one thing is clear: Hasbro has listened to consumer comments about these flaws, and corrected them, very admirably. For an approximate price of $75, this is a cool little thing.

For those who are unaware: Video Now was arguably "the" tech-toy to buy kids in the holiday season of 2003. You can read the Techtite review here, or there's an official web site for this toy, which has recently been upgraded to publicize the Video Now Color. In short; this is a portable video player that uses its own format of mini video discs, each roughly three inches in size. Although Video Now Discs are all that can play on the unit (though conversely, a Video Now is the only unit that will play Video Now discs), the bottom line is that this is a cute little portable video unit for kids who are frequently on-the-go.

Obviously, with the word "color" added, this unit can now play color video, unlike the grayscale of its predecessor. What else is different...? One addition is the possibility for external power; a power port allows for a power cord to be used, either from a standard wall outlet or a car's cigarette lighter (sold separately; order link here). There is also a "backlit" screen option, which may be half the reason why a third AA battery is required (the original unit only required two).

Otherwise only subtle changes have been made. The proportions have been only slightly altered, from 6.5" by 4.5", to around 4.75" by 5.75". The screen itself has been modestly enlarged from 1.7"x1.3" to 1.85x1.45". For the techno-minded who want to know about screen resolution, the image has been enlarged from the original 120x80 pixels, to 216x160; in other words, the picture is almost twice as sharp. Best of all is that it's a color image, not just "larger" in size.

The good news for owners of the original Video Now is downward compatibility. All your original black and white discs play perfectly well on the new color unit, though of course, not in color. These were videos that were created in black and white, so black and white they remain. However, there's no denying that downward compatibility wasn't necessary to include, so it was nice of them to include it at all. It also helps for all future shopping of Video Now titles, since this unit plays them all. Owners of Video Now Color need not look for a label distinguishing a black-and-white title from a color one, unless they're specifically looking for a color video disc; both discs work perfectly well on the unit.

One may ask what can you watch on this little toy, really? Here's some order links of some discs currently available for the Video now Color: both for convenience, and to inform you of what sort of discs are available. For starters there is not just one, nut just two, but three Spongebob Squarepants discs, plus discs for fans of Jimmy Neutron, Fairly Oddparents, Teenage Robot, and Nick Rocket Power. For the science-lovers, there's Dinosaur Planet, while "A Day in the Life of Romeo" offers a look at one day in the life of a young musician, with similar videos about skateboarder Eric Koston, and BMX star Jamie Bestwick. For older kids there's volumes one and two of Trading Spaces, an episode of Monster Garage, a Discover Channel special about sharks, The Jeff Corwin Experience (an animal show perfect for kids), and one among many planned funniest videos discs: America's Funniest Home Videos: Dimwitted Dogs and their Nincompoop Owners.

All the above discs are sold for just around 7 bucks, for one disc. However, there are "3 pack" sets available, sold for around $17. They include a trio of episodes of Trading Spaces, a trio of episodes of "The Amanda Show," a trio of episodes of Dinosaur Planet, a trio of Monster Garage, and three volumes of Nickelodeon cartoon assortments. Volume One has 2 full-length episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants, 4 full-length episodes of ChalkZone and 2 full-length episodes of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius. Volume Two has 2 full-length episodes of My Life as a Teenage Robot, 2 full-length episodes of Rocket Power and 2 full-length episodes of The Fairly OddParents. Volume 3's details were unavailable as of this review's posting date, though the box cover looks to include Fairly Oddparents, The Thornberrys, and Nick Rocket Power.

Mind you, this all totals to well over three dozen discs, for a video player that's barely been out all summer. This isn't even getting into the black & white Video Now discs some kids may already have. Be this as it may, one might prefer a little more variety in titles, especially for cartoons. Not a single Bugs Bunny cartoon is in sight, nor older-kids' favorites like Justice League, nor any Disney toons. Still; for the Nickelodeon fan this is a cool little video player, and if your child is the sort who prefers Spongebob over Justice League, they may not even miss any "other" cartoons at all.

Adults may be a bit wary of getting a new Video Now too soon, though. Many adults, much like myself, had only just bought the black and white "Video Now" for a child last holiday season! Won't they come out with a better one...and a better one...and a better one? Well, yes and no. For one thing there really isn't too much more they can do with the concept, aside from simply give kids a portable DVD player, which isn't going to happen for $75. However, parents of little preschoolers be warned; there is indeed a "Video Now Junior" in the works, intended specifically for the kindergarten/nursery school set. It's just like Video Now Color, only with huge buttons and a thicker plastic casing that's said to be able to take a heck of a beating. Just to let you know, if your child is under 6.

The truth is, this is a nice unit for the price. It may be outshined by higher-priced DVD players and so forth, though it's not like children between the ages of 5 and 12 are given portable DVD players. For such children, this is a really cool little item. Kids can watch video on the bus, in the back seat of the family minivan, or wherever else they may want to whittle away half an hour. If I were a kid I'd like a Bugs Bunny cartoon classic or two, though for the price, this will more than do for most kids.

Click order links to see availability of this toy in the following colors : Orange, Blue, Purple, and Sapphire.