Toys2.0
Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts and Dec, 6/20/2011 5:53:22 AM
Moshi Monsters line includes soft toys of six characters plus figures of Moshlings pets. Include online codes. Spin Master Ltd. 800.622.8339.
That technology drives toy development has been true for generations, from softer Teddies to the revolution of plastic. But now technology is front and center on the consumer end as well as the manufacturing. And today's tech toys seem far more than a generation removed from Speak and Spell and Teddy Ruxpin.
However the dire predictions that video games would replace traditional, offline toys completely, at least for the older child set, have not come true either. Indeed, one of the most intriguing trends to come out of Toy Fair shows just the opposite: online favorites are coming off screens big and small to add an analog presence.
Tetris Wall Graphics are movable and “playable.” Comes in all seven Tetrimino pieces. 4”-12”. Walls360. 888.244.9969.
Online Gets Real Tetris is one of the most iconic computer game phenomena out there, known to millions around the globe. And without characters or a plot, it might seem at fi rst glance to be a poor candidate to translate into other forms. But that's not how things are playing out in the real world: Only a year aft er Tetris moved into retail merchandising, the brand is coming off Toy Fair and the Licensing Show with dozens of deals for real-world objects from companies such as Basic Fun, Techno Source, Crazy Bands, Walls 360, and Pollard Banknote.
Nor is it the only one: Mind Candy's online kids' game moshimonsters. com recently entered 3D with a line of soft toys from Spin Master. And the iPhone gaming sensation Angry Birds turned into plush and other low tech items from Commonwealth Toys. It turns out that what's true of TV is true of other electronic media as well: they are powerful branding tools, but when kids - and some grownups - come to love an idea, they still want to touch it. Indeed, some people go beyond just touching. In Terrassa, Spain, Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds, created and filmed a giant-sized, real-world reenactment of the game, which has been making the social media round ever since. 
AR.Drone is controlled by an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. $299.99. Parrot North America. 248.354.5400.
Inter-Activities
Perhaps the single hott est trend in techie toys is interactivity. And the biggest question is, with what and how does the toy interact?
One major trend is toys that interact with those other ubiquitous "toys" for all ages - iPads and smartphones. There's no such thing as too young for tech anymore. Perhaps in response to the many parents who use their gadgets to keep their kids entertained on the go, Fisher-Price introduced the Baby iCan Play Case, which holds a parent's iPhone or iPod Touch to interact with downloadable Laugh & Learn apps. 
Cookie, My Playful Pup from the Furreal Friends line includes voice recognition, touch sensing and eye tracking. Ages 4 and up. $59.99. Hasbro. 800.255.5516.
For the older set, Identity Games' "Living Game Board" is a sleeve for an iPad which connects to sensors on a game board. The iPad knows if players move illegally, assign points and cards, and play media at the right times. As K. Tempest Bradford pointed out in Laptop magazine, the system counteracts the isolating tendency of tablet computers, since everyone must gather around the one iPad. 
Skylander’s Spyro Adventure figures interact with the game. $70. Individual toys, $10. Activision. 310.255.2000.
The AR Drone "flying video game" features a real world flying gadget which can be controlled by an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad - but it's not just a phoned-in version of a remote controlled vehicle. On the screen of the gadget the flyer appears against a game background, and the game can be played alone or with others via wifi . Does this doubled vision work for users? Apparently so. "I had the sense of taking gaming away from the TV and transferring it into a real-life scenario," wrote Sean Bacher of the toy's interface in Gadget magazine. 
Radica Fijit Friends can identify 30 phrases, remember music and speech, dance to external music and respond to sonic chirp codes. Mattel Inc. 310.252.2000.
Even the technology side is getting into the toy act: to promote its new Android Open Accessory initiative, Google built a giant version of the Labyrinth balland- maze game, and rigged it so that it could be controlled externally by the gyroscope in an Android tablet.
And of course, the trend that began with Webkinz continues as offline toys offer an online gaming component. Freaky Pets transformable plush creatures turn inside out, while online play winnings can be turned into customization of the child's pet. I Love Robots' remote-controlled robots also have online gaming counterparts. 
Gyrowheel is an alternative to training wheels: Three settings lets parents reduce stability as skills improve. 12” and 16”. Full bike also available. Gyrobike. 415.684.7214.
Activision is taking the integration of toys and videogames to the next level with Skylanders. Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, says of the product, which took two years to develop, "Skylanders truly defies categorization and creates an entirely new genre of play, bringing the world of digital and analog play together like never before." The toys cross platforms from Xbox to PS3 to Wii to handheld gaming devices, mobile devices and PCs. "The game marks a wholesale change in the interaction between toys and video games, opening up new possibilities to our players and new revenue streams for the company." Hirshberg added. Activision CEO Robert Kotick called Skylanders "one of the biggest investments we've ever made in a new intellectual-property." 
Angry Birds 8" plush plays sounds. $12.99-$24.99. 5" minis also available. Commonwealth Toy. 212.242.4070.
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure includes a video game, "Portal of Power" device, and 30 "interaction figures."
Tandars Interactive Pets sense and speak to each other, detect movement, make sounds and move head, ears and mouth. $49. Yoha Toys. kchin@yohaonline. com.
But the many kids who don't have a smartphone or tablet or even Internet access aren't left out in the cold. A second, soft er side of interactivity features toys that interact with the user and/or each other - oft en both. Radica's Fijit Friends from Matt el respond to more than 30 verbal commands, interact with each other and recognize different musical "Friendsbeats." Like other toys that interact with users, Fijit Friends' colorful looks and focus on social connection refl ects the fact that they're geared specifically toward tween girls, another new trend in a marketplace in which technology, like most science, has historically been considered primarily a boys' interest. 
Electronic motorized Hot Wheels recreate models like Twin Mill III, Rat Bomb and Arachnorod. Light-up features, engine sounds and motorized stunts. ToyQuest. 310.231.7292.
Similarly, YoHa Toys' Tandars pets will interact with each other and their owners, and have eyes with sensors that follow motion. Hasbro's Cookie, My Playful Pup from the Furreal Friends line uses voice recognition technology to cue head movement, blinking, and barking. The toy also responds to being touched on the sensors located on her head and cheeks and tracks her squeaky toy with her eyes and head as it's moved in front of her.
Tradition Goes High Tech
In 20Q, The Next Generation, the game does the guessing. New housing has glowing faceplate, AI and feature buttons like skip and sound control. TechnoSource USA. 212.929.5200.
Meanwhile, starting from the other extreme of the spectrum, some extremely traditional and low-tech classic toys are getting a modern makeover thanks to technology. According to Shantou Custom, "intelligent toy" exports from the area grew by nearly 90 percent. That's big news when you consider that Shantou is the toy making heart of China's Guangdong province, and Guangdong produces more than 60 percent of the toys coming out of China.
Examples abound. Matt el's venerable kid-powered Hot Wheels brand will be motorized for the first time thanks to licensee Toy Quest; while electric cars are not new, the change bespeaks a shift in what today's kids expect. And TechnoSource gives that standby for long car rides, 20 Questions, a further electronic makeover with 20Q, The Next Generation. 
Recordable storybook records the reader’s voice to play back as the pages are turned. Three more will release this fall. $29.95. DaySpring. 877.751.4347.
Even those that decry such electronic additions to classic toys as unnecessary bells and whistles are likely to respond warmly to "stealth" technological innovations such as these: Gyrobike uses technology to make training wheels obsolete. A battery operated disk inside the wheel corrects the bike's balance even at slow speeds, making it easier to learn to ride and to transition to unassisted balancing. Both a whole bike and a single replacement wheel are available. And Dayspring offers the warmest and fuzziest technological makeover of all: the Bedtime Prayers and Promises recordable storybook lets a parent or grandparent record their own voice into the book, so they can read their child a story of faith even when they can't be there in person.
Picking and Choosing
As technology toys proliferate, it's no longer useful to think of them as a single category that one can ignore - or embrace. The key is to focus on the end without being distracted by means. It will quickly become clear which are right for your customers.
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