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: FyrFlyz by i-Star
Written on Oct 18, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under FyrFlyz, i-Star, Reviews
New from i-Star, FyrFlyz are a cool, creative toy for kids ages 8 and up. Simple to use and endlessly entertaining, I’m a fan, and so are all of my revewers. Overview The toy consists of a plastic cross piece, in a sort of “8″ shape with LED lights on the ends. Two looped strings [...]
Review: Spy Gear Security Scanner, Lie Detector, Secret Agent Pen, and Decoy Listening Device
Written on Oct 3, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Brands, Reviews, Wild Planet
Here, at KidsTechReview.com, we love Spy Gear (queue MI theme song). So, when we got our hands on the Security Scanner, Lie Detector Kit with bonus Secret Agent Pen, and Spy Decoy Listener, we could not have been more excited. And, we were not disappointed. All or the items require batteries and are appropriate for ages [...]
Review: Fish Eyes, Video-Enhanced Fishing Pole
Written on Sep 20, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Reviews
The FishEyes rod and reel with integrated video camera is a lot of fun for kids over eight and even adults. Our testers enjoyed playing with the camera, and we were impressed with the clarity of the picture on the screen, even under water. Overview Retailing at about $80, Fish Eyes is an all-in-one rod, [...]
Review: Finn McMissile RC Car From Disney’s Cars 2
Written on Jul 11, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Disney, Reviews
Finn McMissile Always Get’s His Target. Disney, Pixar, and Air Hogs have introduced Finn McMissile, Missile Firing RC car. He’s fast, he talks, and he is locked and loaded. The missile firing Finn is a lot of fun to play with, though his speed and pep can get him into trouble. But, retailing for $45, [...]
Review: MicroViewer 200x and 500x by Learning Encounters
Written on Jun 21, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Learning Encounters, Reviews
Learning Encounters has come out with the MicroViewer 200x and the MicroViewer 500x, each of which amount to a small, portable, digital microscope. These microscopes link directly to your computer via USB and allow you to view, photograph, and video specimens with ease and clarity. The MicroViewers are very cool, and our testers thoroughally enjoyed them. Overview [...]
Review: Finn McMissile Zero Gravity Car From Disney’s Cars 2
Written on Jun 13, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Disney, Reviews
Fans can see Finn McMissile make his debut in Cars 2 when it comes out in a few weeks. But, in the meantime, for about $40, kids 5 and up can take the new RC Zero Gravity Finn McMissile for a test drive . . . up the walls! Disney has introduced some of the [...]
Hasbro Ji Ga Zo Review
Written on Jun 6, 2011 by Brian and filed under Hasbro, Reviews
Ji Ga Zo is an interesting combination of a personalized puzzle and technology – not something we often say, even at KidsTechReview.com. Hasbro’s Ji Ga Zo is also one of the few products featured at Toy Fair 2011 that’s actually ready to buy. It only took one nasty weekend in March to incentivize us to get Ji Ga Zo in the hands of some antsy kids to see what it was all about.
Review: StarScout and SkyViewer Telescope Kits From Learning Encounters
Written on May 13, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Reviews
Learning Encounters’ affordable high-quality telescopes are designed to bring out the astronomy and science lover in all of us. Appropriate for beginners to more advanced users, the StarScout and SkyViewer kits let you build your own telescope and even personalize it. We reviewed both scopes as well as the Diagonal view piece and tripod. Overall, [...]
Review: Dark Side Detector Mini Lightsaber
Written on May 6, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Brands, Reviews, Uncle Milton
So you want to know whether your friends and family are Jedi or Sith? Luckily, Uncle Milton has made it easy to do just that. The Dark Side Detector Mini Lightsaber is the perfect way to figure out whether someone is to be trusted. Plus, it works based the science of electricity which lands it [...]
Review: Tarantula Planet’s Creepy Crawlin’ Pets
Written on Apr 25, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under Reviews, Uncle Milton
Here they come! Sound activated tarantulas from Uncle Milton are ready to race, chase and scare. While these toys are entertaining, we don’t see them holding a child’s attention for a long time, so we would classify them as a fun diversion or novelty. Additionally, while they are definitely creepy, we had some performance and reliability issues [...]