ENGINO kidCAD (3D Viewer)

Every time it opens it downloads updates, sometimes for up to 10 minutes. I don’t have slow internet either. Then, you have to tap through like five nested menus to get to the kit my kid wants to build, and after tapping that… same story, waiting to load. Then, the instructions are weird, sometimes impossible to actually replicate in the real world. Whoever thought replacing paper instructions for kids toys with this junk ought to be fired.

You are much better off downloading the pdf instructions from the web site. These are poorly ordered, require pieces to slide through other pieces in impossible ways, and even show pieces floating in space. They have a button to report problems with the instructions, but it causes the app to lock up. The toy itself is great, though.

This App is nice, but needs several important to make it good. Positives 1) All the kits are included in this app showing you everything you could get. Great way to preview another kit. 2) The exploded view is great to see what how projects are put together. Negatives 1) The step-by-step instructions and confusing and poorly planned. I often had to take sections of the kit apart to add the next piece in the project. Instead of finishing one section of the project, the instructions skip around in an odd order. 2) Not everything is explained. For a rubber-band car, there was no explanation for how to attach the stretchy string. 3) You have to okay the app’s agreement ever time to start up the app. Also, the is no way to bookmark your place in the instructions. So, you have to navigate all the menus to get back to where you left off. Overall, this app is cumbersome, but I will continue to use it as the exploded view is helpful.