Mater Cruises Through a Virtual Radiator Springs on the iPad

Radiator Springs becomes an interactive and imaginative play zone as kids drive Cars 2 characters around town, taking part in races, completing missions, and collecting hubcaps (the game’s virtual currency). Kids can drive the characters anywhere in the virtual world, splash through mud puddles, go up ramps, visit friends at Flo’s V8 Cafe, and even knock other cars off the road. The virtual world responds with sound, music, and a changing landscape, depending on where you drive.

Kids can trick out their cars with unique horns, green exhaust, special tires, etc. by trading in their hubcaps. They can also buy missiles or machine guns and other virtual gadgets at no cost, just hubcaps. In fact, currently, once you have the Appmate cars, there is no additional cost to explore the entire world of Radiator Springs.

Finn McMissile Fires a Virtual Missile in the App

Enabling this interaction is a unique touch footprint on the bottom of each car that the iPad recognizes. The touchscreen can tell which character you are using (Lightening McQueen, Tow Mater, Finn McMissile, or Holley Shiftwell) and will narrate play with the character’s voice. And, conveniently, no cable or wireless connection is required for the app to respond.

The Radiator Springs app is a free download for both iPad and iPad2, and Appmates cars will be sold in packs of two for $20 at Disney Store retailers and online. In addition to the four characters available now, Francesco Bernoulli and Shu Todoroki will launch in November.

Finn McMissile, Missile Firing RC Car

Out of the Box

Finn McMissile, Missile Firing RC car retails for around $45 and looks just like the character from Cars 2. He’s sleek, sophisticated, and full of gadgets. With side compartments that hide four missiles and a pop-up scope, he’s ready for action, once you install the four AA batteries in the car and the three AAA batteries in the controller, that is.

Finn McMissile, British Inteligence

Finn comes with 10 missiles, so there are more than enough for when one gets lost under the sofa. He also has three “targets,” cardboard cut-outs of other cars, which can be knocked over. But, really, with an RC car that can fire missiles with the press of a remote button, the sky is the limit! Warn the cat.

Finn McMissile and His Accouterments

Play Time

Using the remote is pretty straight forward. In addition to the on/off switch, there is a controller to move the car forward and back, another for left and right, a lever to open and close the missile doors on the sides of the car, and a firing button on the top. Our testers figured it out very quickly and then were off playing.

Controller Close Up

When you push the missile door control to the right, the bays on the side of the car open, and the missile launchers slide out and point up. At the same time, Finn starts talking, saying phrases like, ” Finn McMissile, British intelligence” and ” A spy never gives up his sources.”

Finn: Locked and Loaded

With the doors open, you can either load the four launchers or fire them two at a time. Loading the missiles required getting fingers into a tight space and some dexterity, but our testers had no trouble with it. Launching the missiles led to laughter, building targets, and lots of fun. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Fired Missile (this one bounced off the target)

Once the shootout is over, you can close the doors remotely and speed away . . . or over your target, whichever you prefer. Just watch the video.

Tester Feedback

Our testers really liked Finn McMissile, Missile Firing. Still, he had some minor drawbacks.

Pros

• He shoots missiles
• He has hidden launch compartments that can be activated remotely
• He says phrases from Cars 2
• He’s fast!

Cons

• He’s fast! So fast, in fact, that his speed can make him difficult to control
• Sometimes his missles got stuck and wouldn’t fire

In a Nutshell

Finn McMissile, Missile Firing RC is really fun. He talks, he’s fast, and he shoots things. What more could you want? We give Finn McMissile, Missile Firing:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Meet Finn McMissile Zero Gravity

Out of the Box

When you first take Finn out of his packaging, you’ll need to put 6 AA batteries into his remote and then plug him in to charge. The car draws charge from the batteries in the controller, allowing Finn to be very light and keeping the weight of heavy batteries in the remote. There’s a handy storage area that houses the charging cable and clips closed when the cable is not needed.

Charging Finn McMissile Zero Gravity Via the Remote

I was curious to see what kept Finn stuck to the wall, and, as he was charging, I flipped him over. The secret to his spidy-action comes from a fan under the car body which is surrounded by flexible, clear, plastic “fins.” When the fan is on, these plastic flaps create a seal against a smooth, flat surface (like a wall) which causes a suction that keeps the car stuck.  Pretty nifty.

Finn McMissile Zero Gravity -- Undercarriage with Suction Flaps

However, I should note that these fins look an awful lot like clear tape, and, being the obsessive person I am, I started to pull them off before I thought better of it and read the instructions. It’s a good thing I did, too, because several of my testers started by pulling at the “tape” as well, and I was able to head them off.

Finn McMissile Zero Gravity "Suction Flaps"

One other feature to mention are the wheels; Finn has a LOT of them. First, there are two drive wheels under the body which make him go. These wheels are rubbery and give him good grip on smooth surfaces. Second, there are two wheels on the front and two on the back of the body. These are designed to help Finn make the transition between walls and floors.

Finn McMissile Zero Gravity Rear Auxiliary Wheels

Finally, there are Finn’s own tires. While these are just for show, they do rotate if you spin them, they just don’t help him to roll.

Charge

Once I plugged the car in, Finn was fully charged in less than half an hour. The charge lasted about 20 minutes before the car stopped responding when I tried to get him to climb walls. Not surprisingly, the suction fan drains the battery, and I was able to play with Finn on the floor a lot longer than when he was climbing.

Handling

As for steering, Finn was not the best at taking directions. Even with trim adjustments, he listed to the left. But, he would get where I wanted him to go, albeit in a roundabout way. Once he was on the wall, the handing was even less accurate. Still, he glided around my light switches and pictures like a champ, much to the delight of anyone watching.

Getting up onto the wall was sometimes difficult for Finn, but the directions mentioned making a ramp to get him past baseboards on the floor and up to the flat wall surface. This worked reasonably well, but it was also very satisfying to just turn on the suction fan and stick the car to the wall and watch him stay.

Here’s a video of Finn McMissile Zero Gravity in action.

Tester Response

So, how did my testers like Finn McMissile? They LOVED him! Not one was bothered by the semi-accurate handling or the need to sometimes put the car on the wall manually if Finn didn’t feel like climbing up the ramp. The only negative comment I got was, “I wish the charge lasted longer.” Other than that, I was hit by a barrage of, “Cool!” and “This is awesome!” and “I really like this toy!”

In a Nutshell

The Zero Gravity Finn McMissile had a few drawbacks, but overall, he was a lot of fun to play with. Here’s a summary of what we found:

Pros

• Super cool wall-climbing action makes Finn McMissile more than just another RC car
• Takes easy-to-find AA batteries
• Reasonably priced at around $40
• Charges quickly

Cons

• Charge lasts only around 15 or 20 minutes with the wall fan on
• Is difficult to keep in trim/traveling in straight lines

We give Finn McMissile Zero Gravity RC car:

4 out of 5 stars

Lightning McQueen Alive

Mattel is behind the headliner, Lightning McQueen Alive. Media were shown a video of Alive in action and the performance was impressive.

First off, the car is the size of your typical die cast car – tiny. When pressing Lightning McQueen’s roof, he’ll take of, driving around the floor in one of several pre-programed routines like zig zags, backwards and 360′s. And while that’s neat, the real fun is his mouth is rubberized and moves when he talks, as do the eyes. The voice is Owen Wilson, so the entire experience is very authentic…just in a little tiny way.

Lightning Alive has an internal battery and charges off the gas station, via a plug on his left side.

Lightning McQueen Alive is targeted more toward the collector, with a $59.99 price point. The release is scheduled October 10th, however units can be pre-ordered at Matty Collector.

Zero Gravity Finn McMissile

Spin Master’s Air Hogs line is releasing the Zero Gravity Finn McMissile, which lets kids drive the spy car up the sides of walls. Finn starts out as a remote controlled car that drives along the floor like any other car, but when he comes up to a wall the front wheels allow it to transition up the wall to continue on the mission.

Zero Gravity Finn McMissile will see a May release with an MSRP of $39.99.

Missile-Firing Finn McMissile Vehicle

Finn has all sorts of remote control action – this one though is more than just a basic RC car. Finn McMissile can be driven in his “normal” mode but with a press of a button on the remote, he transforms into full attack mode with missile bays opened. What’s more, the missiles can even be fired with the remote, giving kids more flexibility with imaginative RC play. They also get authentic character voice spoken from  the remote.

Missile-Firing Finn McMissile Vehicle will be available in May for $44.99.

1:24 RC Vehicles

An entire series of smaller RC cars will be available for younger kids, including Lightning McQueen, Mater and Francesco Bernoulli. They have great styling and even feature moving eyes when steering, a nice touch that made the kids we saw playing with the demo models smile. The cars are  largely geared for indoor play and use a simple RF remote with front/back and left/right buttons.

The suite of 1:24 RC Vehicles will be available in May for $24.99.

There will be many other Cars 2 licensed tech toys. We spotted a revised slot car track and several new GeoTrax sets. Pricing and availability for these units were not revealed. There will also be a new Cars 2 video game available on all major platforms.

The game follows Wild Planet’s formula of getting kids up and active, while playing games individually or in teams. Woody and Bullseye sit atop an RFID reader that wireless recognizes the character pieces when placed atop them. Kids are prompted to find one of the characters, placing the reader over the correct piece leads to another call out.

In addition to the main game, Woody’s Run-Around Roundup also features a sequence-building memory game, a hide-and-seek treasure hunt, and multi-player modes.

Woody’s Run-Around Roundup is designed for 1-6 players, ages 3+ and will be available May this year at a suggested retail of $25.

Getting Started with Buzz

Buzz comes in “Try Me” mode and a demo set of batteries. It’s important to switch to new batteries, as Buzz will partially function, leading parents to think he might be broken. This is noted in the manual, but I mention it here, as most of us don’t start with the manual. On the battery front, Buzz loves them. He needs 14 total batteries, four AA in each leg, three AAA in his back and three AAA batteries for the remote. Buzz is relatively gentle on them though, we tested for a few hours on rechargeable batteries before needing to swap them out.

Using Buzz

The Buzz Lightyear robot is pretty advanced in terms of the embedded technology. The unit has three sensors to help make him more interactive. The level sensor lets the robot detect is he’s fallen over, which does happen from time to time. The positioning sensor is used in programming Buzz and there’s also a touch sensor in his right palm which is used in some of the games.

There are also several ways to interact with Buzz. There are direct activation buttons on the robot, the remote control, a voice command mode and a programming mode. The depth of control is pretty impressive and as robust as any robot we’ve tested.

The other fun thing is that Buzz has two personalities, the Space Ranger Buzz and the Toy Buzz. It’s pretty fun for kids who are familiar with Buzz’s story to be able to flip him between the two modes. Kids can change his mode by using the remote or they can use the voice commands “You’re a toy” and “Space Ranger.” It’s worth mentioning that not all of this is obvious outside of the 20-page manual. The manual is easy to manage though and is a worthwhile time  investment to read it.

Our testers mostly worked with Buzz through the remote control. They liked walking him around, even though he’s pretty sluggish. Buzz more waddles than walks, rolling his feet on the ground. It takes a bit for him to turn as well, but kids didn’t seem too worried about his lack of mobility. The interaction with the robot was more appealing to them.

The remote has 15 buttons that cover all off Buzz’s functions. Buzz also has receivers on the front and back, so as long as kids are within 20 feet or so of Buzz, the remote should work just fine. From the remote kids can control Buzz’s persona, have him perform activities like a salute or laser blast and kids can launch the target game, program mode and voice activation.

Buzz is also open to quite a bit of programming for older kids who might be interested in that. The interesting thing is Thinkway has made this available through what they’re calling “puppeteering.” This means kids can program Buzz by manually moving his arms, body, head and legs. When kids push the playback button on the remote, Buzz will go through their specified sequence. Buzz can record one program at a time of us to 64 moves.

Aside from controlling, programming and playing the targeting game with Buzz, kids love that he has personality, similar to what they’ve experienced in the movies. That’s probably the strongest sign that Disney and Thinkway got this robot right. Ultimate Buzz really feels like he came out of the movie, which isn’t  a connection that’s always there with licensed toys. While Buzz is recommended for 8+, kids down to 5-6 appreciated him, while the older kids found the programming and more advanced features to be fun.

Here’s a brief video showing Buzz in action:

Bottom Line

Ultimate Buzz Lightyear is a lot of fun and a respectable incarnation of the toy from the movies. We have only one complaint and that is his walking and turning movements are sluggish. But that appears to be more of a parental issue, kids didn’t seem to mind. It is worth mentioning though; if your child is expecting Buzz to cruise around the floor with any speed, they won’t be happy.

Buzz isn’t cheap, with an MSRP of $149. We find the value to be above average though, as kids in a wide age group had fun with Buzz. Couple that with the fact that everything but the walking is well done and there’s a lot to like here.

Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars

Watch and listen to Animal play, then match Animal’s beat and timing to score points and unlock new songs. Users can also use a free play mode that lets you rock out with your existing iTunes library. You can even use the App to create original music, then hit the record feature and watch Animal replay your jam session.

The Muppets Animal Drummer is available now on iTunes for $1.99.

• Twist screen for self-portraits
• 5 Megapixel Resolution
• 128MB of internal memory (no external storage)
• 2” LCD
• Adjustable flash
• 4 x digital zoom
• Disney PhotoFriends feature

Disney Pix Twist Off the Shelf

Out of the Box

The features of the Pix Twist were designed with a tween in mind.  From the twist feature that allows the photographer to take a self portrait easily to the Jonas Brothers branding and the ability to add Disney PhotoFriends, this camera was made for fun.  And, the wrist strap and sturdy plastic housing make this camera easy to take with you.

Disney Pix Twist Action

Along the bottom of the back, there are triangular buttons for scrolling, a trash button, and a button to adjust the flash.  Running up the right side are a wand button which allows you to add PhotoFriends, and zoom buttons.  There’s also a 2-inch display (more on that later).

Dsiney Pix Twist Back (Partially Twisted)

The Pix Twist uses three AA alkaline batteries (not included), and seems to be judicious about it’s power usage.  I didn’t have to replace the batteries, even with several hours of use.  Considering that there’s no on/off switch, and the camera shuts itself down if it hasn’t been used, that’s worth a mention.

Camera Operation

The designers of the Pix Twist have made the operation of the camera simple and straight-forward.  My 7-year-old figured it out within a matter of minutes and was adding crowns to my mug, the dog, and even my husband. Kids being able to learn the camera’s features on their own is a huge plus.

Appropriate Crown Picture Using PhotoFriends Feature

While I don’t argue with the crown at all, I do wish that the buttons were more responsive.  As I was playing with the camera, I found that, once pressed, the buttons didn’t always do what they were supposed to.  In fact, I sometimes had to press very hard to get the images to scroll in playback or to select a particular PhotoFriend.  This didn’t seem to slow my son down much, but several adults mentioned having the same difficulty.

Button sensitivity aside, the Disney Pix Twist has some features that you would expect to see in a more advanced camera including zoom, adjustable flash, and a twisting screen.  Additionally, it has some features that are geared toward it’s user-group.  Read on, and I’ll tell you more . . .

Zoom

There’s a 4x digital zoom feature that, while not a serious optical zoom by any standards, does allow the photographer to crop out some background and “get closer” to the subject.

Typical Picture

Typical Picture With Zoom

Unfortunately, as with old school point and shoot film cameras, this zoom does not improve the picture quality, it just makes your subject look closer.  So, don’t expect any improved clarity, but it definitely works. Indoor photos also come out dark, which is typical of the sensor used in this type of camera. For best shots, kids will need to be outside with at least moderate sun.

LCD Display

The LCD on the back is a good size for the camera, but it’s very difficult to see your subject unless you have just the right lighting conditions.  Using the camera in my living room with all the lights on, my son’s comment was, “Mommy, this screen is pretty dark.  I can’t even see you.”  That about sums it up.  Below is a sample of the display in good light . . . we’ve seen better.

Display In a Brightly Lit Room

Sadly, the screen is essential to aligning pictures when you add PhotoFriends, so unless you are outside but not in direct sunlight, or in a VERY brightly lit room inside, you’ll be guesstimating at the framing of your pictures.

Flash

The flash is adjustable and very strong.  You can set it to on or off as well as auto.  I found that the auto feature didn’t always force the flash in low light conditions, making the picture fuzzy and grainy.  Still, if the picture doesn’t turn out, you can always adjust the flash button and try again . . . isn’t that the way we always used to do it before the age of fully automated cameras?  The upside is that with digital pictures you can preview the photo to determine if you need to make adjustments.  But, I digress.

As for the pictures that we took, I was disappointed to see that the flash washed out many of them.  As a result, I ended taking many of my sample shots twice (both with and without the flash) to see which turned out better.

Below are two pictures of the same subject, one taken with the flash, the other taken without.  Frankly, I’m not sure either was a complete success.

Overexposed

Photo Quality

As I’m sure you’ve noticed with the samples I’ve included, while the camera offers 5 MP resolution, the image quality is poor.  There’s no focus ability, and the pictures turn out looking very flat with almost no depth of field.  When I viewed them on my computer, they were adequate, but don’t expect much if you print them.  Still, if the camera is used as a toy (it’s intended purpose) and not to create an archival quality photo album, the picture quality isn’t much of an issue.

PhotoFriends

As I mentioned above, one feature that I really liked was the ability to add Disney-themed PhotoFriends.  These are graphics that include various Disney-contracted actors (like the Jonas Brothers), picture frames, and hats that you can select and add to your picture.  (Note: the princess-themed camera has more princess graphics and no Jonas boys).  The graphics show up both on the display screen and in the final picture, so you can frame your subject with the graphic.  It’s worth noting that once a graphic is in a picture, you can’t take it off.  Still, my young testers loved being able to create photos with these neat little add-ons.  This is definitely the highlight of the camera and the thing it does best.

In a Nutshell

What I like about the camera:

• Adding the PhotoFriends to pictures was seriously fun
• Adjustable flash settings
• Very durable
• Twist action for self portraits (very helpful if you want to use the Hannah Montana wig PhotoFriend)
• Has a display screen though this it is ineffective in low or bright light

What I did not like about the camera:

• Buttons were temperamental and did not always work well
• Poor focus
• Pictures that were not print quality

As a toy, this camera is fun.  The twist and PhotoFriend features are really fun.  However, as a camera, it is seriously lacking.  Overexposed or fuzzy pictures are common, and at a MSRP of $60, you could get a better traditional digital camera for the money, though, admittedly, it would not have Photo Friends.  Still, if you can find one of these on sale, it is entertaining for a tween.

Rating - 3 out of 5 stars

The Mix Lights comes in four designs: Jonas Brothers, Wizards of Waverly Place, Princess Wish and Hannah Montana.

Disney Mix Lights Specs

• 2 GB Internal Memory
• SD/MMC Card Slot for Additional 2GB External Memory
• Holds up to 1000 songs/64 hours of WMA music or 480 songs/32 hours of MP3 music
• USB 2.0, Type B mini-USB connector, 3.5mm Headphone Jack Outputs
• Built-in Rechargeable Battery – Up to 16 Hours of Playtime (recharges via USB port)
• Supports Disney Mix Clips, MP3, WMA, SD/MMC Cards
• Dimensions: 1.4″ L x 3″ W x .5″ H:
• Weight: 1.2oz

Getting Started

Disney and Digital Blue have definitely made it easy to work with the Mix Lights series of media players. In the box is everything you need including USB cable for charge and file transfer, a set of earbuds, lanyard, and the Disney Mix Central software.

To get started, you’ll want to charge the battery on the unit. To do this simply plug it into a computer. On a PC the player shows up as a storage device, which makes it easy to manually copy files over. If you have an SD card in the player, the card will show as a separate storage device. For some kids copying files straight to the player might be easiest. For those who are a little more advanced, the included Mix Central software is also available. The software lets kids sync their music to the player, create playlists and other related activities.

Listen Up!

After you load up the player with songs, it’s time to get listening. All the navigation is handled with the cutely designed Mickey Mouse ears buttons on the back of the player. The buttons are the key interface, as there’s no visual display on the player. The mouse ears are used to put the player in a repeat loop, or to have it make random playlists in the mix it mode. The mouse head if you will, is used to play/pause songs and to skip/fast forward and previous song/rewind. The power button, with hold lock, is on one side while the volume control is on the other.

The fun part is on the front – where the mix lights are. When you press the Disney logo button, you toggle the dancing lights on/off. When they’re on, kids get to see a light show that bounces around to the beat of the music. The lights are pretty fun. While it’s difficult to figure out exactly what each one represents, like treble or bass, they seem to move around appropriately. Kids who tested the unit largely enjoyed the option to have the lights on, they felt it gave the device a little more personality. It’s also a unique way to broadcast the fact that you’re listening to music.

Bottom Line

We listened to a few hours of music on the Mix Lights. The only problem we found was a small stutter between songs on the media card. The issue is really only noticeable on live tracks, so it’s hard to complain too much. Of course any MP3 player is going to get compared to the iPod. The 2GB Shuffle runs $20 more MSRP (Mix Lights is $39) and doesn’t have a memory card slot or the lights and Disney branding. The media player comes with everything you need out of the box, has a long lasting battery and the Mix Central software is pretty solid too if you choose to use it. Kids quickly figured out how to use it, meaning parents don’t have to help much. All in all, it’s a solid offering and reasonable purchase for kids who aren’t ready yet for a full-featured media player.

Rating – 4.5 out of 5 Stars – Editors’ Choice

Disney Flix Jr. in Box As My Friend's Daughter Spotted It

Out of the Box

Framed in pink and purple, Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle are ready to join any little princess on a documenting adventure.  The camera features a rubberized, non-slip grip and simple to use buttons.

Disney Flix Jr. Princess-View

There’s a small LCD screen (about 1 x 1.25 inches) on which young directors can view their masterpieces as they film, and a red light on the front alerts their subject to the fact that film is rolling.

Disney Flix Jr. Back

The princess picture on the right side (if you’re holding the camera) hides the jacks for the USB and TV connectors.

Disney Flix Jr. USB and TV Out

TV out and USB cables are included, and the software for downloading is conveniently installed on the camera.  Setup takes just a minute the first time you transfer a video to your computer.  One thing to note, is that there is no file selection capability in the download software.  So, in order to avoid duplicate downloads, delete the videos from the camera after they have been transferred.

Pressing any button will turn the camera on, and it turns off automatically if you stop using it.

Now, on to the fun part . . .

Taking Flix Jr. For a Test Drive

Upon seeing the Flix Jr. in a box on my table, my friend’s daughter gasped and said, “oh, I want THAT for Christmas!”  She didn’t even know what it was, but she was already bubbling over with excitement.  When I explained that it was a video camera, she nearly burst.  After freeing the camera from it’s plastic prison, installing the requisite three AA batteries and pealing her off the ceiling, my friend’s daughter was off and ready to film.

Disney Flix Jr. Battery Compartment

Here’s what I learned following her around:

• The camera is sized perfectly for little hands.
• The buttons are simple and easy to navigate.
• The microphone does a decent job picking up the audio as long as the child isn’t screaming with excitement.
• It is VERY easy to download videos onto your computer or to watch them on a TV.
• The simple act of holding the camera produces spontaneous fits of giggles and causes those around the filmer to act completely ridiculous; and if that’s not a glowing recommendation, I don’t know what is.

Disney Flix Jr. in Action

As, as for production quality, here’s a sample:

NOTE: due to the length of the videos taken by my testers and the fact that I am not a film editor, the video I included is one which I took that is substantially less giggly than those of the kids who used the camera.  Sorry.

You’ll notice in the video that the focus isn’t super sharp, nor does the camera keep up with very quick movement.  However, in all reality, it’s almost as good as old school VHS cameras, which is plenty good enough for a small child (who will no doubt drop it, pick it up, and keep filming).

Speaking of dropping it, just so you know, the Flix Jr. does bounce, and was no worse for the wear after falling down the stairs twice.  Sadly, I can’t even blame this on my young testers.

Things that I would changeabout the Flix Jr. are very few, but they include:

• I wish it had a wrist or neck strap for easy portability.
• Retailing between $70-$80, this seems like a potentially expensive investment.

These two negatives are the only things that keep the Flix Jr. from earning full marks.

In a Nutshell

The Disney Flix Jr. video camera is a fun gadget that is easy to use and built to withstand the “loving” play of three to eight-year-old kids. My testers had an absolute blast with the camera and didn’t want to give it back.

The Flix Jr. models are available now direct from Amazon.

Rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice