Related talk at the Chaos Computer Club congress https://media.ccc.de/v/37c3-11993-toniebox_reverse_engineeri...
Hacking a Toniebox
11–20 of 41 posts
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#12Like many others in threads like this, I initially felt repelled. It’s restrictive, it’s super expensive, and I dislike some (though not all) of the design choices.
But then I remind myself: it’s not a product made for me. I don’t have to like it. Clearly, the target group loves it. My kids have adored it for years. Even now, with my oldest having access to Spotify Kids, she still prefers her Toniebox in the evening before bed. The figurines aren’t just a medium, they’re toys in their own right. They’re shared, traded, and loved. And they really enjoy squeezing those silly ears.
Many other families in my circle tell the same story. Some tried similar products that launched soon after the original, often ones using cards (though not Yoto). But after a few weeks, their kids lost interest and asked for a Toniebox instead. (It reminds me of when my parents bought me a Sega Master System, even though all I wanted was a Super Nintendo.)
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#13A different hack I do for my son’s Toniebox is download podcasts using this tool I wrote and add them to his Creative Tonie https://github.com/harryscholes/podcast-downloader
This is what we are doing as well. Can absolutely recommend! Kids are really happy with it and enjoy random Checker Tobi episodes every afternoon. This is what I'm using: https://github.com/alexhartm/tonie-podcast-sync
Thanks for sharing! I will try this out. Sounds like something my kids would love.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#14I decided to go for Yoto over Tonie because it explicitly encourages "Make Your Own" cards which you can put any MP3 files of your own or RSS links to podcast.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#15Sony Minidiscs works great with little kids as well, especially when used with a non portable "Salon" player which you slot the minidisc on. They are large enough that you can print stickers on them for easy recognition and the media has an arrow drawing that tells people in which direction to slot it in. Any kid learns quite quickly how to use the triangle play button and the square stop one.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#16I decided to go for Yoto over Tonie because it explicitly encourages "Make Your Own" cards which you can put any MP3 files of your own or RSS links to podcast.
Same. It's much more customisable out of the box and has a lot of nice features.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#17We really liked the idea of our kids being able to select what music they want to listen to, without having to look at a screen.
So we bought them a cassette/CD player from Sony for €100.
The idea that you’d buy a speaker with super expensive and proprietary figurines is a bit crazy to me.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#18While I hate the TonieBox using DRM like everyone else, I feel like it's still one of the best options. (And one of my best purchases.)
Just like Nintendo Switch cartridges, kids can borrow the figures to each other. And here in northern Germany, we even have a public library where you can borrow a selection of figures for free (up to 2 at a time, up to 2 weeks). That means apart from the pricey initial purchase, you can get a wide variety of content legally for free, if you're willing to accept the slight inconvenience of renting/returning the figures in person. Plus no spyware, no notifications, no ads, no subscription. It's superior to YouTube kids in every way.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#19I decided to go for Yoto over Tonie because it explicitly encourages "Make Your Own" cards which you can put any MP3 files of your own or RSS links to podcast.
If anybody here is looking for an audio player definitely go with the Yoto.
Making your own cards is awesome and the players themselves are very repairable and sound great.
Re: Hacking a Toniebox
#20I just bought a Yoto Mini for my one year old daughter, she loves it already. I prefer the format of cards over small figurines, and it seems doable to use standard NFC cards and associate them with content I own. I'd vastly prefer being able to load an SD card in it instead of having it connect to the wifi, though.
Our daughter absolutely loves her Yoto Mini. We have a hundred or so cards, half of them were blank cards that we print and tape pictures on based on the content. This is probably the best purchase we made for long car rides and flights or just a lazy afternoon on the couch.
My kids love to go to new libraries and find old audiobooks to add to their yoto.
I'm also in the process of trying to get my extended family to record something about their life for sort of an oral family history yoto card.