Music boxes for children: an overview of six mobile audio cubes

Toniebox and Co.
Music boxes for children: six current models with mobile sound

The Toniebox is one of the pioneers in the market for mobile music and radio play boxes for children. But there are some competitors who are making the market exciting.

© tonies.de

They’re smart, compact, and deliver great sound for little people. Music boxes for children are currently experiencing a hype. We present six mini powerhouses for at home and on the go.

Children of the 1980s will still vaguely remember the legendary Walkman. Listening to music on the way to school or in the classroom. What an innovation. The much less successful Discman followed and later the MP3 player. Millions of people now drag all the sounds of the world around on their smartphones. The headphones are wireless. And anyway, listening to music on the move is child’s play these days. Not quite. Because who – like many daycare and elementary school children – does not yet have a smartphone, needs an alternative. For several years now, they have been supplying jukeboxes specially tailored to children. In addition to the Toniebox, which got the sound rolling as the pioneer of the mobile audio cube, there are a handful of other jukeboxes for children. You can find out what they are and what they can do in the following article.

1. Tigerbox Touch

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 11.5 cm edge length
  • Weight: 550 grams
  • Material: Real wood (bamboo), fabric cover
  • Music performance: 2 x 2.4 watts
  • Connections / interfaces: Micro-USB, 3.5 mm jack
  • Storage: 8GB internal flash
  • Color selection: Green, red, purple, black, blue, gray
  • Age recommendation: 3 to 10 years

The Swiss hi-fi company Lenco launched the first version of its Tigerbox (bamboo edition) in 2017. Two years later, in November 2019, a revised version followed, the Tigerbox Touch. Since then, the new addition has been at the forefront when it comes to jukeboxes for children. The radio play and music cube consists of a coated wood fiber board that is partially covered with colored fabric. The heart of the Tigerbox Touch is an almost four-inch touch display. To get something on your ears, a so-called tiger card is inserted into a slot on the top. There are currently around 80 different ones available. from “Bibi & Tina” above “The little bumblebee bobble” and “TKKG” until “Sandman”. Alternatively, a kind of streaming subscription can be concluded with a Tiger ticket with different terms and music, as well as more than 10,000 radio plays, audio books and the children’s podcast “tigershow” can be downloaded from the Tigertones media library.

The radio plays, all of which are suitable for children, and all other sounds come from two 2.4 watt speakers. A clear plus point over the competition. About so-called Wildcards As with the Creative Tonies, your own stories can be recorded and played back. Tip and gift idea: Grandma and Grandpa read in their grandchildren’s favorite stories and save them on a wildcard that the little ones get for their birthday or Christmas. This is suitable for collecting and stowing the tiger cards Scrapbook.

The starter package includes a tiger card and a tiger ticket for one month of listening fun.

Stern editor Mareike Fangmann tested the Tigerbox Touch.

2. Toniebox

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 12 cm edge length
  • Weight: approx. 600 grams
  • Material: “skai Evida” natural fabric with leather grain (washable)
  • Music performance: 5 watts
  • Connections / interfaces: 3.5 mm jack, bluetooth
  • Storage: 8 GB internal flash (micro SD)
  • Color selection: Berry, anthracite, pink, green, red, light blue, black
  • Age recommendation: 3 to 8 years

Two family fathers from Düsseldorf put their heads together a few years ago to develop a child-friendly jukebox. The result was a square box that was henceforth called Toniebox started its triumphal march through the children’s rooms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The principle is as simple as it is ingenious: the heroes of the many hundreds of children’s and youth stories are placed on the box. The Toniebox recognizes which radio play or song is to be played via an integrated chip and downloads the audio files from the Toniecloud – regardless of whether “Wickie”, the “Gruffalo” or “The little dragon coconut”. The imaginative plastic figures have to be bought in. But they make a top figure on every children’s room shelf and are also suitable for play.

With the Toniebox starter package comes a creative Tonie that you can discuss yourself. A smart idea for grandmas and grandpas who rarely see their grandchildren. The Toniebox’s battery should last up to seven hours. At around 600 grams, the music cube does not matter either on train journeys or on longer car journeys. The inventors have a practical solution for undisturbed listening to radio plays, audio books or music. The Tonie eavesdroppers with volume limitation, but also other children’s headphones, can be plugged in via the headphone socket (3.5 mm jack). The Toniebox does not have a touchscreen. Similar to wireless headphones, you can navigate through the current playlist by tapping the box. Little music lovers control the volume via the ears on the top.

3. Hörbert

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 18 x 24 x 7 cm (height x width x depth)
  • Weight: approx. 1000 grams
  • Material: Wood, stainless steel, ABS plastic
  • Music performance: not specified
  • Connections: no
  • Storage: 4 GB SD-HC (pre-recorded)
  • Color selection: no
  • Age recommendation: from 2 years

Ten years ago, Hörbert set out to find a place in children’s rooms. The wooden box made in Germany is reminiscent of a portable radio from dad’s youth. Only without cables. Hörbert draws its energy from four batteries (AA), which should last for around 50 hours of listening pleasure at medium volume. The wood is sweat-proof and saliva-proof. The sound comes from a loudspeaker on the front of the housing. With the nine colorful buttons next to it, the little DJs can choose their own personal playlist. The buttons are fed from a re-recordable SD card that has space for more than 17 hours of radio plays, songs and stories. The forward button and a button to jump back to the beginning are reminiscent of the good old cassette recorder.

Nice extra: Hörbert can be ordered with an individual name engraving. New additions to the Hörbert family are barrier-free models for people with disabilities. The inventors at Hörbert deliberately do without an interface for Bluetooth or WLAN and connections to an app. When you buy it, Hörbert comes with more than two hours of nursery rhymes and stories. All other audio files must be loaded onto the SD card using a PC or laptop. For all parents who are really interested: the Hörbert frame and handle are made from beech wood. Poplar and birch plywood are used for the front and rear walls.

4. V-Story radio play box

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 15 x 17 x 19 cm (height x width x depth)
  • Weight: 640 grams
  • Material: plastic
  • Music performance: Not specified
  • Connections: Micro USB
  • Storage:
  • Color selection: Blue and pink
  • Age recommendation: 3 to 8 years

Vtech is also counting on its V-Story radio play box to a concept that works without a connection to the Internet or an app. For this purpose, the V-Story radio play box is filled with more than 75 popular and well-known stories, songs, fairy tales and poems. New content can be uploaded via a USB connection, the supplied cable and a dedicated download manager. As a narrator, the little dog on the top of the box accompanies the children singing through the musical stories. With a simple recording function, grandma, grandpa, mom or dad can also speak a short fairy tale or a bedtime story. A small light projector also throws animated motifs that match the stories onto the ceiling. A bit of a shame and out of date: The V-Story Box is only available in blue or pink.

5. Technifant

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 14.5 x 14.5 x 4.5 cm (height x width x depth)
  • Weight: approx. 400 grams
  • Material: Mixture of plastic and rubber
  • Music performance: not specified
  • Connections / interfaces: USB, bluetooth
  • Storage: 2 GB (per cone)
  • Color selection: no
  • Age recommendation: from 3 years

The Technifant from TechniSat is a smart idea and alternative to Tonie- and Tigerbox. For just under 100 euros, the youngsters can get an audio player with an integrated night light. Analogous to the Tonies and Tigercards, the Technifant small cones in different colors for the right sound at the right time. A small magnet holds the cone on the technician’s back. The green hat with a total of 13 tracks for dreaming and falling asleep is included with the delivery. The themed hats in Purple (stories), Blue (knowledge with fun), Orange (nursery rhyme), Red (Christmas magic) and Turquoise (audio books) can be bought later.

Each cone can be fed with up to 2 GB of audio files from the Technifant shop via a USB cable. In contrast to its competitors, the Technifant manages without WLAN. Playlists from smartphones or tablets, on the other hand, can be transferred and played via Bluetooth. If you want to listen to audio books or stories undisturbed, you can plug in headphones. The sound experience is controlled by five colored buttons on the front of the little blue music elephant.

6. DogBox

The facts at a glance

  • Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 4.5 cm (height x width x depth)
  • Weight: approx. 240 grams
  • Material: Plastic, rubber, textile handle
  • Music performance: 3 watt power rating
  • Connections / interfaces: Micro-USB, 3.5 mm jack, Bluetooth
  • Storage: Micro SD card
  • Color selection: no
  • Age recommendation: from 4 years

the Dogbox could be the inexpensive cross between Tonie- and Tigerbox. The look of the dog box is much more childish. The dog’s design is likely to appeal to toddlers from two years of age, although the manufacturer only recommends the box for four-year-olds. Noticeable: the jukebox is the smallest and also the lightest of the ones presented here. An integrated headphone jack protects parents from the 126th repetition of Petterson and Findus. All of your favorite audio files can be sent to the dog via an SD and USB slot.

A cooperation with Sony Music opens the way (unfortunately not for free) to the Ooigo app, which offers a large selection of radio plays, playlists and audio books. You can also transfer music from your smartphone via Bluetooth. Impractical and not thought through to the end: USB stick and memory card are not hidden and protrude clearly visible from the dogbox during operation. Especially with smaller children, it should only be a matter of time before the storage media disappear into the depths of the children’s room, never to be seen again. The handle, on the other hand, is very practical. In addition, the dog box is robust and made suitable for children. The dog’s ears and nose are used as operating elements. The little DJs navigate the playlists using five colored buttons on the top.

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