Toy Fair 2010: Hot Tech Toy Trends

Written on Feb 19, 2010 by RuthJS and filed under News

Boasting 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and 100,000 products, over 7,000 of which were brand spanking new to the world of toys, Toy Fair 2010 didn’t disappoint.

Toy fair is every kid’s dream: acres of every kind of toy imaginable surrounded by product specialists anxious for you to stop at their booth and try their offerings. Oh yeah, and did I mention that almost every booth had free candy? Too bad for the little guys that you have to be over 18 to even enter the show. Fortunately, I met the age requirement and got to play with a whole host of new toys and new takes on old toys. Here are some highlights of what I saw.

Hot Trends

So, what’s big for 2010, you ask?

Licensed Characters — In the world of tech, licensed characters based on TV shows and movies are bigger than ever this year. With Toy Story 3 and a new Cars movie on the horizon, there were many offerings sporting the visages and themes of our favorite characters. Avatar, Ironman, Transformers, and Star Wars had a big showing along with i-Carly, Dora, The Princess and the Frog, Hello Kitty, Barbie and Disney Princess. Showing up as robots, cameras, music players, online games, and action figures, licensed characters were everywhere at Toy Fair. Here are a few examples of what I saw:

• The Marvel Ironman Whip-It car (Silverlit) has an articulating middle that “whips” for tight turns.  At $40, this car stands to be a good deal in the spring for any little RC or Ironman enthusiasts five years and up.
  

  Marvel Ironman Whip-It RC Car

• The Buzz Lightyear Deluxe Action Wing Pack (Mattel) is designed to take a child’s imagination to “infinity and beyond.” The wings extend, light up and lower with the push of a button. They even have a sensor to tell when they are tipped horizontally which cues “flying sounds” to accompany little space rangers as they go on their adventures. Geared toward 6+ and retailing at $50, these wings were a lot of fun.
  

  Buzz Lightyear Deluxe Action Wing Pack

• Barbie Video Girl (Mattel) looks just like a regular doll, but she sports a real video camera inside a necklace (no really, the batteries are seriously in her legs and everything) with an LCD screen on her back. Girls can create movies from Barbie’s point of view and then edit and enhance the films with music, visual and sound effects at Barbie.com. Video Girl is recommended for girls 5+ and will retail for $50. The really great thing is she’s the same size as other Barbies, so she can share clothes with her friends.
  

  Barbie Video Girl

“Grown Up” Electronics — Continuing another trend, many companies are offering electronic devices for the 3+ crowd that imitate those that belong to adults, including readers, mp3 players and video cameras. Here are some items that stood out.

• Just check out this video camera with the flip out screen and USB connector from Sakar. It’s brand new, and it will be available soon in Hello Kitty,iCarly, and Batman (a newly licensed character for Sakar). It’s designed for a user who’s 6 or older, and it’s frighteningly similar to the one I just got for Christmas (though mine is not pink).
  

  Sakar Flip Video Camera

• And the MobiGo gaming console with touch-screen technology and an app-based home screen (a la iPod) from VTech was really cool. While the slide-out QWERTY keyboard and flip-up screen styling is reminiscent of many popular cell phones, the MobiGo is geared to ages 3-7 and will be available in the fall for about $60. In addition to the pre-loaded games, others (many of which are based on licensed characters) can be added for $20.
  

  VTech MobiGo

• If it’s a Kindle that you love, your 3-7 year-old can have that technology too with VTech’s new FLiP. It’s an animated e-reader that kids can use to read along, look up words, and explore the world in the story they are reading. In classic VTech style, parents can use software to track the progress of little ones. Available in August, the FLiP will retail at $60.
  

  VTech FLip In Pink and Blue

• There’s also the iXL story book, game player, art studio, photo album, music player, and notepad all in one from Fisher Price. This cool combo toy also sports an app-based touch screen and was developed for 3-6-year-olds. It will be available in the spring for about $80.
  

  Fisher Price iXL (also available in pink)

• For the aspiring scrapbooker, Sakar has a Crayola Kids’ digital scrap booking kit that includes a digital camera with interchangeable face-plates (for the style conscious). There are even blank face-plates that kids can design and decorate based on their own styles. Also included are Color Genie software, scrapbook, markers, paper and stickers. The kit will retail for $30 and is targeted to 5+.
  

  Crayola Scrapbook

Toddler Tech — Many companies are also expanding their toddler tech lines, offering a plethora of remote controlled toys for the little ones.

• Silverlit introduces JoJo the bunny to American toddlers after great success in the European market. Seen here in “Bump Bump,” the RC bumper car, JoJo and friends will pop from the car, follow you around, or play hide and seek. The complete line of JoJo is geared toward 1+ and will retail from $15 to$45, depending on the toy.
  

  Bump Bump JoJo

• Fisher Price showed off the new Follow Me Thomas, a remote control toy that works off of infra red technology. Simply shine the light on the ground,and Thomas will follow the red dot as it travels across the floor, forward, backward, left, right, zig zag, circles, he can do it all. For $45, I can see Thomas making the holiday wish lists of many 2+ children when he is introduced in the fall.
  

  Follow Me Thomas

Music and Dance – Making music and moving to it was a fun theme this year. Some of the most popular toys were designed with music and movement in mind.

• The Sing-A-Ma-Jings from Fisher Price are in the running for the cutest toys . . . ever.  These plush creatures sing when you press their bellies, and the best part is that they actually harmonize with each other when you have more than one. To add to the cute factor, they open their little mouths, and you can see their tiny teeth and tongues. At $13 and available this spring, these cuties are sure to please 30+ . . . I mean 3+
  

  Sing-A-Ma-Jing

• Move over James Brown! Dance Star Mickey (Fisher Price) walks, talks, and gets his groove on to Latin, Disco, Soul, and Techno beats. For the 2+crowd, he may just be more fun than Tickle Me Elmo when he does the moonwalk. Mickey will be groovin’ into stores in October and groovin’ back out again for about $70.
  

  Dance Star Mickey

• The We Did It Dora was created by Fisher Price to help them celebrate Dora’s 10th year. The doll sings Dora’s signature “We Did It” song in both English and Spanish and dances to the music. She’ll be on shelves in the fall to teach your 3+ child to do her dance and sing her inspiring song. Her MSRP is$40.
  

  We Did It Dora

Old School Updates — I saw a lot of updated and re-released toys that took me way, way down memory lane.

• Arrange and rearrange the Scrabble Flash tiles (Hasbro) to create as many three, four or five-letter words as possible in 60 seconds. The “SmartLink Technology” allows the five electronic tiles to communicate with each other, keeping your score and timing the game. This is a fun and updated take on a classic game, plus it’s portable, it’s designed for one player, and it will be available in the fall for around $30.
  

  Scrabble Flash

• This is NOT your father’s Alphie (though he may have had one)! New and improved and available this fall, Alphie (Hasbro/Playskool) is still geared for children ages 3+, but he has more personality than the one I had growing up. Still, Alphie is all about learning, and he comes with 60 educational games for$40. Booster packs of questions are $10 enabling Alphie to grow with your little one for several years.
  

  Alphie

And, of Course, Online — Beyond having a basic online component, licensed toys now have a gaming presence. This is a trend that has been growing steadily, and this year is no exception. Two big online launches include Cars and Littlest Pet Shop.

• Cars is joining Disney Fairies’ Pixie Hollow, Club Penguin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Toontown with an online gaming world. Create your own car(including custom paint from Ramone) and then cruise Radiator Springs meeting people and playing games. There’s a lot of free functionality available to users,but a subscription fee (on the order of $6 a month) will unlock additional games and customizations. One of the best features is that the voices of the Cars characters from the movie were recorded by the original actors (Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, etc.). Look for the official launch of the site later this year.
  

  Disney World of Cars Online

• Littlest Pet Shop Online is a collaboration between EA and Hasbro. Following the launch of the video game, Littlest Pet Shop opened www.LPSO.com in fall 2009. This is a space where girls can create their own pet, customize their pet’s home, meet other girls,play games and explore. A series of plush toys accompany the online world, and with every plush toy purchase, children get a free 30-day pass to the premium world beyond the basic free-play. Then, for a subscription fee, they can keep the premium features and games beyond the 30 days.
  

  LPSO.com Screenshot

Overall

While none of these trends comes as a huge surprise to anyone who has spent time in a toy aisle recently, the new toys that represent the trends are definitely fun and many show real innovation and forward-thinking. Of course, what I’ve listed here barely scratches the surface of the tech toys I saw, saying nothing of what the greater Toy Fair has to offer. But, still, it gives you a taste of where manufacturers are going in 2010, and it might even help you get a jump on your holiday shopping. At the very least, you will have a vague recollection of hearing about the Sing-A-Ma-Jigs and MobiGo when your children start reciting the commercials

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