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Toys
Time to connect with the iXP3 Internet Messaging Clock
By Mick Webb
04:15 September 24, 2009 PDT
When communicating via the typed word, sometimes a text or regular instant message just won’t do the trick. Here to take personal communication to a quirky new level is the iXP3 Instant Messaging Clock, which, through a simple Internet connection, changes from a mild-mannered clock to a personal messaging device that projects messages in the air. Read More
The puzzling Revomaze is a maze wrapped in metal - updated
By Darren Quick
00:40 September 23, 2009 PDT
Ever since the Rubik’s cube took the world by storm in the 80’s there has been a steady stream of puzzles looking to capture the public’s imagination – even Prof Erno Rubik has tried to recapture lightning more than once. The latest brainteaser to take a stab at puzzling glory is the Revomaze, a cylindrical device that has been individually milled from a solid block of metal, and that features an internal labyrinth which must be navigated to remove the metal core and solve the puzzle. Read More
Avatar toys ‘come to life’ on home computers
By Jeff Salton
22:48 August 5, 2009 PDT
Toy-maker Mattel is releasing a range of action figures that incorporate augmented reality technology, based on characters from the Avatar movie hitting our screens around Christmas. The toys, to be launched in October, ‘come alive’ on your home computer when scanned on a webcam. Each action figure in the range has a unique 3-D web tag (i-TAG) which, when scanned, reveals special content onscreen. The animated 3-D models will show off “engaging, evading or defending moves”, says Mattel. And when two i-TAGs from the same Battle Pack are scanned together, the 3-D characters will interact on-screen. Read More
Toy Amphibious Tank packs water cannon and 4WD
By Darren Quick
05:53 May 6, 2009 PDT
May 6, 2009 If there’s one thing besides the retreat of my hairline and expansion of my waist that makes me wish I was a kid again, it’s the seemingly endless supply of cool toys that today’s youngsters have to entertain them. While I was forced to make do with a stick and a piece of string growing up, the children of today get to enjoy toys like the transforming Amphibious Tank – a remote controlled tank that is as happy on land is it is in the bathtub and comes complete with a water cannon to smite your enemies. Read More
Lego set to launch a line of portable electronic gear for kids
By Jude Garvey
17:53 April 15, 2009 PDT
Lego Systems has joined with Digital Blue to produce a range of colorful Lego-inspired electronic gear for kids. The range of portable electronics includes an alarm clock (pictured), boom box, MP3 player and later in the year, a stop animation video camera. Designed to appeal to little and big kids, the first products will be released mid-year. Read More
Star Wars Force Trainer in action
By Darren Quick
20:31 March 23, 2009 PDT
What kid hasn’t lain in bed at night and tried to transport some object to them using just the power of their mind, just to see if maybe that Force thing was actually real? I’ll admit I did. Of course nothing happened, but a new toy is designed to give players the feeling that they do have the Force flowing through them by harnessing brainwaves to "levitate" a ball. Gizmag’s resident Jedi Master Loz Blain got a first hand look at the Force Trainer. Read More
Barbie at 50: revered and reviled
By Karen Sprey
05:48 March 17, 2009 PDT
Barbie turned 50 this month but she doesn’t look a day older than at her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. Sure, she’s copped some flak along the way for being empty-headed and ‘tarty’, and reinventing herself to conform to current fashions, but essentially she’s still as glamorous as ever, not to mention technologically savvy. Read More
Rubik's Cube gets high-tech touch
By Darren Quick
21:10 March 4, 2009 PST
Looks like mobile phones aren’t the only things going touch screen crazy. As a new Rubik’s puzzle gets ready to hit stores an updated version of the classic Rubik’s Cube does away with the manual turning of the cube’s sides in favor of utilizing the very latest in touch and motion technologies, so users swipe a finger across the surface to “turn” a side. Read More
Dora the Explorer is growing up
18:07 February 16, 2009 PST
Many parents will be familiar with the educational exploits of Dora the Explorer. The bi-lingual cartoon character designed for pre-schoolers has developed a strong presence both on the box and in spin-off products like books and toys over the past 10 years, and now she's set to grow-up alongside her young fans. Mattel and Nickelodeon have announced that a "tweenage Dora" for girls five years and up will be released later this year. The new look line will be built around an interactive "Dora Links fashion doll" which plugs into a computer and can be customized using an interactive website - change Dora's hair, jewelry or eye color online and the doll will be transformed to match. Read More
Teddy Bears in space
By Kyle Sherer
03:05 December 8, 2008 PST
For half a century, the friendliest face of space travel was Laika the space-dog, launched into Earth orbit aboard Sputnik II. Now Britain has challenged Laika’s supremacy by launching two teddy bears into the stratosphere. The toys, named MAT and KMS, wore space suits designed by children at the Parkside and Coleridge community colleges. Read More
Sprig toys: eco-friendly, battery free fun
By Emily Clark
22:50 November 30, 2008 PST
Sprig Toys earn an eco-friendly tick on two fronts. Firstly, they are made from a child-safe composite of recycled wood and reclaimed plastic with minimal packaging and no decorative paint and secondly, rather than contributing to the mountains of used batteries littering the planet they use a "kid-powered" system to operate lights and other electronics. Read More
Alexis Olson
- November 9, 2009 @ 21:08 UTC
