Children
October 31, 2007 TOMY Toy Corporation's i-SOBOT, has been certified as the “smallest humanoid robot in production” by Guinness World Records. Despite its diminutive 6.5 inches stature, the fully articulating and bipedal robot is endowed with 17 custom developed servo-motors, 19 integrated circuit chips, a built in gyro-sensor, 2 LEDs and a voice command recognition chip that can recognize 10 voice commands. i-SOBOT, which has just hit shelves in the US, can also speak over 200 words and phrases, features hundreds of preprogrammed actions including walking, dancing, martial arts, push-ups, soccer - even air guitar, plus over 90 kinds of sound effects and the ability to play five songs. Read More
October 31, 2007 Major automotive manufacturers recently showcased their visions for the automobile of the future as part of the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, but now comes a competition of a very different kind. Clean fuel and artificial intelligence take a back seat as speed, power, performance and attitude become the key criteria in Mattel’s 40th anniversary Designer’s Challenge™ in which leading manufacturers were invited to create an original vehicle for the company’s die-cast Hot Wheels® toy range… but there is one special requirement: each vehicle must be able to perform a loop on classic Hot Wheels® orange track. Read More
June 5, 2007 The US$400 Meade mySKY is a remarkable mash up of technologies that creates a very cool educational toy and the first of a new breed of augmented reality informational products. It is NOT a telescope! mySKY is an interactive, hand-held, point-and-identify multimedia guide to the heavens. It locates, identifies, and describes 30,000 celestial objects in the night sky – every object visible to your unaided eye, as well as many you’ll need a separate telescope to see. If you like this new “browse function for the heavens” ability, it has the added ability to control a Meade computerized telescope. No knowledge is needed - just turn it on and mySKY does the rest. It incorporates full GPS Auto Alignment using a 12-channel GPS receiver which aligns itself on the sky without any input from you. Read More
September 13, 2007 In days gone by the only virtual reality was the one we created in our heads. Before Atari and Space Invaders, and certainly before Tamagochi and Wii, kids had to rely on their imagination to generate fanciful worlds in which to play. Nowadays the imagination gets a kick-start from electronic gadgets, gizmos and games based on emerging technologies that are transforming the world of "playtime". Bratz dolls and MyPets are among the latest to embrace this idea with the launch of websites based on their respective toys that act as virtual worlds for kids to explore. Read More
September 12, 2007 Lego is a household brand synonymous with childhood fun that also aides learning and motor skills. The toy giant has just announced its latest offerings in the Lego Technic range for 2007 with some notable improvements in technology including remote controlled functionality for models designed to replicate real-life vehicle movement and functions. Read More
September 7, 2007 ToyQuest and Mad Science have developed a new line of science-based toys designed to combine learning with play. The range consists of five different toys for children aged six and up including a Hydraulic Robotic Arm which is powered completely by water. Read More
RipRoar Creation Station allows kids to create personal videos
August 29, 2007 This new video creation system designed for tweens enables the creation, editing and one-touch uploading of videos directly to YouTube. Toy manufacturer ToyQuest recently announced the release of the US$99.99 RipRoar Creation Station, which features the ability to shoot in "green screen" and drop in background animation. Read More
August 4, 2007 From entertainment game play to information research and skill enhancement software, the computer is now firmly established as an essential learning tool for 21st century kids. Recognizing both the importance of acquiring these skills at an early age and the cost barriers presented by access to such technology, educational product developer LeapFrog has introduced the ClickStart My First Computer, an interactive system aimed at preschoolers that converts the humble TV into a kid-friendly PC and introduces basic computing skills without the need for an expensive desktop or notebook PC. Read More
June 27, 2007 Fitting squarely in the “I wish they had these when I was a kid” category, this DIY Animated Movie Maker lets you create animated movies and cartoons at home using your own action figures, drawings, posters, toys… or anything that your imagination can come-up with. The Marvel Heroes themed “Ani-movie Studio” is an integrated movie stage and digital camera that enables creation of animated movies – including sound effects – that can be played back on your TV. Read More
June 24, 2007 Chewing gum of various natural forms such as tree sap has been a human pastime since at least the ancient Greeks, and most likely for thousands of years before that, though it was first patented in 1869. Blowing bubbles with gum appears to have begun with a 1928 patent for Dubble Bubble, though the inventor of this global phenomena is in dispute. Now Cadbury Schweppes is seeking to popularise its Bubblicious gum and own the category in the minds of the world’s children by creating the Ultimate Bubble Blowing League (U.B.B.L.) – a competition-based U.S. league to see which kids can blow the biggest and fastest bubbles, with the championship event scheduled for October in Los Angeles. Truth is often stranger than fiction! Read More
