Toy Fair 2010: Off the Beaten Path, Technology-wise
Written on Mar 2, 2010 by RuthJS and filed under Featured, News
One of the really cool things about Toy Fair is that along side the big toy manufacturing conglomerates like Mattel, Fisher Price, Hasbro, VTech, and Lego, you also get to see small mom and pop shops, toys that are waiting to be picked up for manufacturing, and items sold overseas looking for a market share in the US. Here’s where I found some of the coolest items.
Review: Dora Links (Dora’s Explorer Girls)
Written on Oct 19, 2009 by Jaime and filed under Mattel, Reviews
The new Dora Links doll has finally arrived after much anticipation. Dora links is an, “interactive, computer compatible doll,” for ages 5-8. Dora has grown up and lives in her virtual world of Puerto Verde, (a fictional beachside city) with her four best friends-Naiya, Emma, Kate, and Alana. The girls go to school, and work together in their community to help keep it “clean and green.”
Review: Hexbug Nano
Written on Oct 14, 2009 by Brian and filed under Reviews, Vex Robotics
The Hexbug Nano is the latest autonomous robot in Hexbug’s bug box. The Nano features 12 rubbery legs that propel the mini robot rapidly across hard surfaces. Nano quickly scurries about, bouncing off objects and otherwise frequently changing direction. Hexbug has also included online tools that let kids register and “collect” Nanos online.
Review: WowWee Alive Mini Cub (White Tiger)
Written on Oct 10, 2009 by RuthJS and filed under Reviews, WowWee
The Mini White Tiger Cub is the little sibling of the WowWee Alive baby animals. While it’s designed with fewer interactions, this mini version of the motorized fuzzball is every bit as cute, cuddly, and hard to resist as its older siblings.
Review: Star Wars Republic Squadron (TV Games)
Written on Oct 8, 2009 by Brian and filed under Jakks Pacific, Reviews
Jakks Pacific is known for their line of plug and play TV games. Star Wars Republic Squadron is their latest effort, this one conceptually based on the Clone Wars TV series. While a lot has stayed the same, just add batteries and connect two cables to get started, Jakks has freshened up the concept by adding motion controls. The only game buttons are for firing, all other movements are handled by tilting the controller in the proper direction.
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 News, Vex Robotics
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.
Review: Hyper Blast
Written on Sep 29, 2009 by Brian and filed under Reviews, Wild Planet
Hyper Blast is part of Wild Planet’s Smart Step games series which are designed to be educational while getting kids active at the same time. Hyper Blast is a numbers based game, that times kids while they try to return five colored balls to the base station. Multiple levels make the game progressively harder by mixing in math and other new commands.
Review: WowWee Lightstar
Written on Sep 28, 2009 by Brian and filed under Reviews, WowWee
WowWee’s Lightstar is a hovering remote flight vehicle with a few twists, including light effects. Lightstar has an internal battery that gives it up to four minutes of flight time, and comes in three colors and channels so three Lightstar’s can be flown at the same time.
Review: Mickey’s Mouse-ke-TAG
Written on Sep 22, 2009 by Brian and filed under Reviews, Wild Planet
We first head about Mickey’s Mouse-ke-TAG from Wild Planet at the beginning of the year and caught an early mock-up at Toy Fair. Mickey’s Mouse-ke-TAG is ready for release now though, we’ve been playing with our review unit. The game gets kids up and moving with an engaging game that leverages RFID technology and a kid favorite brand, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.