Review: Ultimate FX LightSaber by Hasbro
Written on Oct 18, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Brands, Featured, Hasbro, News
“An elegant weapon for a more civilized age,” is how Ben Kenobi describes a lightsaber in “A New Hope.” The Ultimate FX Lightsaber, new from Hasbro, is hands down closer to that description than any other toy lightsaber we’ve played with. And, agreed with us, our testers did. Overview Hasbro’s Ultimate FX Lightsaber is well-designed [...]
Review: WowWee Alive Baby Animals (Leopard Cub)
Written on Oct 6, 2009 by RuthJS and filed under News, Reviews, WowWee
The Alive Leopard Cub by WowWee is part of a series of plush animals that aims to provide children with an interactive baby animal that is somewhat lifelike. When a child touches the cub, it responds by blinking it’s eyes, moving it’s mouth and making baby cub sounds.
Review: Matchbox Rocky The Robot Truck
Written on Oct 1, 2009 by Brian and filed under Matchbox, News, Reviews
When we saw Matchbox’s first interactive toy at Toy Fair this year, we knew they had a winner. Combining robotics with trucks is a no-brainer; but throw in dance moves, load dumping, cheeky commentary and voice activated responses and you have something even better. In this case, that’s Rocky the Robot Truck.
Hexbug Nano Coming this Week
Written on Sep 29, 2009 by Brian and filed under Hexbug, News
Hexbug is about to release another in their line of robotic bugs. The Hexbug Nano will be formally released October 1st. The Nano features 12 angular legs that are propelled rather quickly by a small motor (see the video below). Each Nano also comes with a unique identification number that can be added to an online account where kids can earn points, play games and learn about scientists.
Mattel Announces Release Date of Dora Links
Written on Sep 6, 2009 by Brian and filed under Mattel, News
Mattel has officially announced a release date for the Dora links doll and online suite of tools – September 29th. Dora Links was first announced in February, then we got a secret first look at a prototypeof the Dora Links doll. As part of this announcement comes the ability to pre-order Dora Links at select retailers. Mattel is also showing a tiny piece of the online Dora Links world.
Dell Gets in on Kids Netbook Game With Slimy Nick-themed Inspiron Mini
Written on Aug 13, 2009 by Brian and filed under News
As the Disney Netbooksjust start to ship, Dell has announced the Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition. Similar to the Disney/Asus effort, the Dell netbook features a Nick-branded shell, which of course means slime, and operating system skins from their big shows like SongeBob and iCarly. Dell has also included extra safety software so parents know kids are only exposed to safe content online.
VTech Rolls Out Bugsby – Sets Sights on Tag Reader
Written on Aug 11, 2009 by Brian and filed under News, VTech
It’s hard to look at the new kid’s reading tool from VTech, Bugsby, without drawing an immediate comparison to the popular LeapFrog Tag Reading System. From what we can tell, VTech decided to get into the action by knocking off the LeapFrog system in a less elegant, albeit less costly system.
Disney Flix and Pix Twist Cameras Announced for Tweens
Written on Jul 14, 2009 by Brian and filed under Disney, News
Disney will have two new digital imaging products available this fall for tweens. The Flix digital video camera comes with blue screen backdrop to let kids put themselves in fun scenes. The Pix Twist digital camera uses a rotation mechanism so kids can take great self-portraits and group shots.
Disney Flix Jr. Digital Video Camera Announced
Written on Jul 9, 2009 by Brian and filed under Disney, News
Disney has announced a new line of digital video cameras designed for young cinematographers. Two versions of the cameras will be available, one featuring Lightning McQueen and the other a collection of Disney Princesses.
LeapFrog Issues Voluntary Recall on My Pal Scout
Written on Jun 18, 2009 by Brian and filed under LeapFrog, News
Just out on the market a short while, MyPal Scout has been recalled due to a problem with the paw decals. Apparently in two cases have been reported of children peeling off the decals, though no injuries have occurred. LeapFrog will be updating Scout to include embroidered paws and through the recall will replace existing Scout units with a new one.
Asus and Disney Announce Disney Netpal – Netbook for Kids
Written on Jun 16, 2009 by Brian and filed under Disney, News
Asus more or less invented the current category of lightweight, low-cost portable computers called Netbooks. Disney and Asus have partnered to make the Disney Netpal, a kid-friendly portable computer. The Disney Netpal features more than 40 parental control options, an 8.9″ display, WiFi, Windows XP Home, and kid-friendly software featuring Disney characters. The Netpal will hit retail in July and will start at $349.99.