Not so long ago we received one of the Project Mc2 Dolls to review. Olivia is a big fan of the series on Netflix. All of the dolls and toys related to the show come with projects to help the girls who play with them learn more about the different S.T.E.A.M. subjects.

The Pixel Purse is no different and comes with the ability to put your own design on the LED display via the app. I am very keen on Olivia learning more about technology and coding to help her get ahead in a never increasing technological world. Using toys like this for fun is a great way to either help girls gain more knowledge or learn a new skill as they play.

How cool that you can design your own handbag!

Using the Project Mc2 Pixel Purse.

It’s pretty easy to use straight from the box. There are batteries in and we used it straight away. There is a little button on the front that allows you to flick through the 10 preset designs. The purse doesn’t work like an actual bag/purse you can put money in. It is a pink hard plastic case that opens by pulling the ‘zip’ across the top. Inside you will find space enough for your phone and a connector to connect your phone to put your own designs on the front.

To Do This You Need To Download the App.

You can use the purse as it is and just change the display using one of the preset designs. However, by doing this you lose out on the fun of creating your own patterns and personalising the purse. The app is available for android and ios. We used it on our Samsung phones so we can’t comment on the ios app.

Personally, using the S7, I found the app a bit on the awkward side to use. You are shown a screen with ‘dots’ on and you pretty much tap on the dots to make your pattern. Maybe that was just me? If you find that difficult too, try switching modes and using the ABC screen instead. Your chosen words or phrase will then display on the screen.

There are so many more options to choose from and Olivia used all the colours and settings available for words and images alike. You can make your own designs freehand or select preset shapes to use. There are also tools to help you create your own moving display you can have more than one display at a time!

Actually, it was just me.

We do still have issues using the app and getting to connect with the S7, however, Olivia has a Samsung A3 and fared much better than I did.

How Did Olivia Find It?

She seemed to really like it and found making the new designs quite easy on the app and figured it out much quicker than I did! Not hard though really as I am rubbish with this kind of thing. It was really good to see her designs flashing across the front of the purse and she was quite impressed with it. I loved how easy she found it as it means she won’t be following in my footsteps and being technophobic!

Loading the design was a bit hit and miss though and sometimes it did take a couple of tries to get it working but eventually, it did connect. It may be that the app needs some extra work or possibly the designs couldn’t save as well depending on the size and details created. With some tweaks to the app, it would definitely make it more user-friendly. We still think it is a great toy for anyone who wants to learn a bit more about coding!

If you have a Project Mc2 fan who would love this, you can purchase it for £29.99 at Smyth’s (on offer from £54.99) or Amazon for £36.99. 

For more tips and advice you can check out the Project Mc2 site for more ideas on introducing girls to S.T.E.A.M. subject through play

*disclaimer: we were provided with the pixel purse for purpose of this review. all thoughts and opinions are our own based upon using it*