Hörbert

Singing along to a song at the top of your lungs, listening spellbound to an adventure story, wiggling your body rhythmically and practicing what you will soon be able to call "dancing" - you can't do it without music and stories. And because children need their freedom and like to discover this exciting world of music and stories on their own, there is Hörbert, the MP3 player.

The materials and workmanship make it clear: Hörbert is made for children's impetuous hands - carefully crafted by hand. The robust solid wood frame, made from local copper beech, is impressive at first glance. The front panel made of strong poplar plywood is neatly glued to the frame, while solid steel screws secure the speakers and keypad. The precisely fitted rear panel is also held in place by a large steel screw. A stainless steel grille protects the speaker from all too stormy expressions of enthusiasm; the speaker is also moisture-impregnated - this is not apparent at first glance, but can certainly become important in the heat of the game. The robustness of the entire construction means that Hörbert's child's foot can take it in its stride if it is accidentally knocked over - or if the fidgeting child's finger lays the device flat for quicker access. And even in the event of an unintentionally rough fall, Hörbert remains a faithful companion: all parts can be repaired or replaced.

A simple, intuitive operating concept, based on nine clearly arranged, colorful and robust wooden buttons, enables the device to be used immediately - your offspring will be able to "grasp" the operation quickly. The nine buttons can be used to access nine playlists; the child zaps through the respective playlist by repeatedly pressing the button. The black and gray buttons can be used to skip backwards and forwards within a song. It's child's play. As with the memory game, children will easily outperform their parents, parent friends and relatives when it comes to instantly finding their favorite song.

Whether you use Bluetooth streaming, Internet radio via WLAN or the integrated memory card as a sound source: The songs and stories sound in amazingly good quality. The clean sound is particularly important to the manufacturer based at the foot of the Swabian Alb, because it is important to be able to hear "that it is called 'mustard' and not 'Sempf'". He is right: the development of expressiveness and vocabulary, a sense of rhythm and the art of singing goes hand in hand with a clear, pure sound. Hörbert offers high sound quality even at high volumes. In consideration of sensitive children's ears and adult nerves, the volume does not exceed 60 decibels in piano mode and a maximum of 70 decibels in forte mode - this is still below the maximum volume of 80 decibels specified by the EU safety standard for ear toys.

Hörbert comes with a 4 GB memory card, which offers space for around 50 hours of music and audio games. With the help of a WLAN-enabled smartphone, tablet or computer, it can be loaded with your own files via a user interface in the browser (browser set mode), and audio can also be recorded on the SDHC card via Bluetooth streaming, Internet radio and the built-in microphone. So if your child wants to practise for their appearance on "Voice Kids" or their future job as a presenter, they can also record their own voice onto the memory card using the microphone and play it back as often as they like. When Hörbert comes to you, the memory card is already pre-recorded with songs and stories for a total of 150 minutes of listening pleasure.

You can choose whether you want to connect the MP3 player to the mains via the USB-C port (USB-C cable and power adapter not included) or use it as a mobile device and insert rechargeable batteries (sold separately). Then all you and your children have to do is switch it on and simply listen. And dance. And sing. And play along.