Yes, there’s an iPod on the box, and yes, Zizzle’s new iZ ($39.99) can in fact connect to an iPod. But in our opinion, he’s not really an iPod accessory. Like the last invention from his designers (Furby), he’s a toy who will inspire equally strong reactions from younger and older users. Kids will love him. Adults will be confused by him. And in fact, iZ appears to be designed to provoke both reactions.
Pictures don’t do iZ justice: he’s really a musical puzzle in an alien body. His plastic shell – mostly red, blue or yellow with white plastic – contains a synthesizer and mixer with pre-recorded beats, audio loops, and voice samples. You can either listen passively to the music or mix the sounds together into your own tracks. The goal, if there really is one, is to master his unique body part controls to make something that sounds like real music.
Our full review of iZ can be found by clicking on Read More below.
Design
iZ stands on three adjustable white legs, any of which is strong enough alone to support his entire body. The legs do nothing more than position him, and don’t rotate – they just move through around 180 degrees of freedom on an arc.
His most prominent features are two weird eyes, a clear horn-shaped mouth, and a huge white and yellow button located on his stomach. A single speaker is hidden on his bottom.
But out of the box, he’s silent and immobile. Before he’ll do anything, you’ll need to insert four AA batteries (not included) into a compartment in his back. Surprisingly, the compartment is locked with two Philips head screws, so you’ll need a screwdriver – a requirement that necessarily will bring an adult into contact with iZ, at least temporarily.
With batteries inside, iZ comes to life, and you begin to realize that he’s more complex than he initially looked. Like the iPod shuffle’s Control Pad, the central “belly” button actually contains five buttons in North, East, West, South and center positions. When he’s powered on, iZ’s horn mouth begins to glow in different colors. You’ll figure out that each of his ears can be twisted in a crank-like way. And a dangling “flicker” bulb on his head can be, well, flicked with your finger.
You’ll also see that he makes sounds, plays music, and moves his eyes – all in ways that will charm kids. (iZ is appropriate, says Zizzle, for people aged 5 and up.) Within a few more minutes, you’ll make efforts to control the sounds and music by twisting his ears, pressing buttons on his belly, and flicking his flicker. He won’t make sense, but he’ll have your attention.
Using iZ
Eventually, you’ll want to look at the included instructions, which wryly explain iZ from the point of view of an adult who mostly, but not entirely understands him. To turn iZ off, the manual explains, you’ll “press the 9:00 position on his belly. This could be one, two or three presses until you hear a ‘beep beep’ and he says something like ‘Catch you on the flip side’ and goes to sleep.”
That’s a quote.
“Something like” is accurate, too. If ET had learned to talk and make noises by listening to the radio, he’d sound a lot like iZ. The “catch you on the flip side” line, for instance, is delivered in the gravelly voice of a DJ, and he’s loaded with both fresh-from-the-synthesizer and original samples.
North on his belly button increases the tempo and pitch of whatever music he’s playing, while South slows it down and lowers the pitch. East changes volume through six levels – “softest” to “loudest,” in rotation, each noted with a ding sound, loudest signaled with two. The center button flips between seven different beats. Hit the button enough and you’ll discover that iZ is ticklish; he will giggle and eventually lose control. This is the point at which we briefly mention that he’s occasionally gassy from both ends. Because kids like that.
The West button is perhaps iZ’s most important one: it flips between three modes and turns him off. Mode 1 is “Play,” 2 is “DJ,” and 3 is “WZIZ FM.” Play is the default, a completely interactive mixing mode. All of his belly buttons work, and twisting his left and right ears will flip between seven lead and seven rhythm tracks. His left eye moves in sync with the lead, and right in sync with the rhythm. Flicking his flicker will spark a sound effect, and his horn will glow in sync with the beat you choose on his belly.
