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: Scooby-Doo Shiny Spooky Knights for the Tag Reading System
Written on Apr 16, 2009 by Brian and filed under LeapFrog, Reviews
Recently LeapFrog launched three new books for the Tag Reading System. Scooby-Doo Shiny Spooky Knights offers what you’d expect from this crew, lots of mis-understandings, Scooby Snacks and the requisite trip to the kitchen for Shaggy and Scooby.
Review: WowWee Mr. Personality
Written on Apr 14, 2009 by MKowalski and filed under Reviews, WowWee
A robot with multiple personalities? That’s the idea, at least, behind Mr. Personality, yet another highly interactive robotic toy from WowWee. Similar in design and over function to WowWee’s Tri-bot, the tri-wheeled, wisecracking Mr. Personality adds the ability to download and install different personalities using a simple software interface and a USB connection.
LeapFrog Number Rumble Released for Apple App Store
Written on Apr 13, 2009 by Brian and filed under LeapFrog, News
The Apple iPhone and Touch series of devices are arguably the most innovative mobile platforms in years, but one thing that’s been lacking in the application space is educational content for children. Today LeapFrog has released their first, of presumably many, educational software packages for the Apple App Store. Number Rumble is available now and lets kids age 6-10 multi-touch, shake and tap their way through math equations.
Vtech Spring Software Sale
Written on Apr 8, 2009 by Brian and filed under News
We’ve been logging a good deal of time on Vtech’s latest round of new V-Motion games, all of which add much more in the way of two-player activities. The games are also much more arcade-like, all six of the new games are probably better than all of the games that were released before. Vtech has a new promotion, new games included, where you can buy one and get one half off.
Review: WowWee Panda Cub (WowWee Alive Series)
Written on Apr 1, 2009 by Brian and filed under Reviews, WowWee
The WowWee Alive series of plush animals includes a lion cub, white tiger cub, panda cub and polar bear cub. All four do roughly the same thing; they try to provide children with a baby animal that is somewhat lifelike – these cubs respond to touch with blinking eyes, moving mouth and baby cub sounds. The segment is quite popular, WowWee announced four new alive cub varieties at CES this year to complement their offering.
Dora Links Preview and Tween Dora Update
Written on Mar 26, 2009 by Brian and filed under Mattel, News
By far the most popular story we’ve written this year, at least in terms of comments, is the Toy Fair announcement of Dora Links and the new Tween Dora line. Mattel is taking a big risk here, it’s quite uncommon for a kid’s icon like Dora to be “grown up” to appeal to an older audience. Perhaps Mattel’s biggest mistake though, or not, if you think any attention is good attention, was the release of the Tween Dora silhouette that made some think Dora looked a little too “pretty.” As one of the few people who have seen some of the new Tween Dora toys, including Dora Links, it seemed appropriate to get those interested on the same page.
Smart-e-Bear and Friends Gets Software Update, New Free Games
Written on Mar 21, 2009 by Brian and filed under Intellitoys
When we reviewed Smart-e-Bear and Friends, we liked the idea but held back because the software was difficult to use and the free content was limited. We did like that the platform could be updated though and that’s what has happened. Intellitoys has released a new software update for the computer that will make it easier to manage Playdates and Playlists. They have also released more content, including a few free games.
Review: WowWee BladeStar
Written on Mar 16, 2009 by Thomas S. and filed under Reviews, WowWee
The WowWee BladeStar is a remote controlled helicopter designed for manual or assisted flight indoors. The BladeStar uses special sensors to automatically detect ceilings, floors, and walls to fly around obstacles without much user input. Powered off an internal battery that recharges through the remote for quick bursts of flying fun, the BladeStar needs little maintenance on a day to day basis.
First Thoughts: Digital Blue Night Vision Digital Video Camera
Written on Mar 12, 2009 by Brian and filed under Digital Blue, Reviews
Digital Blue has been on a tear this year, announcing all kinds of fun kids optical devices. We’ve been working with their Night Vision digital video camera which uses Infrared to let kids take pictures and video in the dark. While it’s designed for kids, there’s no doubt parents, especially the geeky types like me, will have fun here too.
Review: Green Eggs and Ham for Tag Reading System
Written on Mar 7, 2009 by Brian and filed under LeapFrog, Reviews
In late January LeapFrog announced several new books to extend the Tag Reading System platform. One of the new releases is a kid’s classic, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. We love the Tag Reading System and the Dr. Seuss classics; this latest book release makes for the perfect combination.