EDT Computing behemoth Intel makes toys. Sure, and Frankenstein's monster is into needlepoint. Its latest offering, Intel Play Computer Sound Morpher, is due at retail in mid-October and should be a hit with kids 10 and younger. Sound Morpher goes well beyond that repertoire, with all sorts of special effects, including ballpark, echo and reverb.
Users can also sound like a cartoon Martian or a rubber band, or use any of several other filters.
As a child is saying sounds, a wide range of clever animations respond on the screen, giving a visual connection to the audible variations. And kids can create speaking animations. The game's microphone looks very futuristic, a cross between a TV controller and a satellite dish. The software allows you to save the sound creations and to e-mail them to someone as an executable file with both the message and a player. Both the installation interface and the user interface are very hip, slick and graphically excellent.