(Credit:
David Carnoy/CNET Networks)
Yes, Monday was a work holiday for most people. But the Toy Fair is in town at the Javitz Center in New York, and like every other online gadget publication, we wanted to give you a little taste of what's there.
Granted, with somewhere around 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers, and sales agents from 30 countries making the rounds at the convention center, we're only highlighting a small fraction of all the products that are on display. But hopefully there's a little something for everyone in this lengthy photo montage (see slide show below).
Enjoy--and as always, feel free comment.
Our pals over at Crave UK indulged their inner children with a trip to London Toy Fair trade show last week.
Luckily, they brought cameras along so they could share all the geeky goodness, including game action figures, Watchmen merchandise, and a couple of toys that scared the "living bejeebus" out of them.
Click on the gallery below for an excerpt of their very cheeky tour of the toy extravaganza. You'll understand why we've been trying so hard to get CNET to send us on vacation (or should we say holiday?) to the U.K. office.
EyeClops Night Vision, for adorable little black ops
(Credit: Jakks Pacific)When a kid's toy claims to offer "night vision," it usually means some red- or green-colored lights to actually illuminate the darkness. Real night-vision devices, on the other hand, use an electronic imager to let user navigate in total darkness with an infrared light that's completely invisible to the naked eye. They also cost several hundred dollars, and are not for kids.
Jakks Pacific has decided to bridge the gap between light-up toy and half-grand military technology with the EyeClops Night Vision. It's a functional night-vision device that uses an infrared imager and LCD monocle to let kids navigate around in complete darkness. The company claims its built-in IR LEDs let the goggles see up to 20 feet in completely dark environments. While Jakks Pacific didn't have a final version available at Toy Fair, it did offer a prototype demonstration of the mechanism that indeed made a nearly pitch-black room navigable.
The company also revealed the EyeClops BioniCam, a digital-camera-equipped version of the EyeClops digital microscope. Like the original EyeClops, the BioniCam can magnify objects by 100x, 200x, or 400x and display those objects on a television. This new model adds its own LCD screen, so you don't need to plug it into anything to see things close-up. It can also record pictures and video of your subjects to an included USB memory key, so you can upload them to your computer and share them online. The EyeClops Night Vision and BioniCam are both scheduled to ship in fall 2008, and will retail for about $80 each.
(Credit:
Chip Chick)
The fact that someone labored to create a Guitar Hero-DS Lite mashup tells us that guitar mania is definitely ready to go mobile. But alas, the aforementioned combo was but a conceptual dream.
Still, there may be something to appease the ever-expanding legions of heroes for the time being in the form of a miniature version created by Basic Fun, apparently with Activision's blessing. The "Guitar Hero Carabiner," which is to make its debut next week at the International Toy Fair in New York, measures a petite 7.75 long and 3 inches wide, though the neck can fold down to cut its length in half. And if your pockets are already full with your DS Lite and PSP, the carabiner can dangle from your bag or backpack, as Chip Chick notes--though you may want to keep an eye out for moochers trying to sneak a game while you're looking the other way on the bus or subway.
The little guy has its own small LCD so it needs no console or computer to work. And even though it may look like something for Playskool toddlers, it's still far less humilating than yet another rendition of "Smoke on the Water" via air guitar.
(Credit:
Mattel)
I haven't checked in with Barbie since I was about 10, but apparently a lot has happened since then. Barbie's sartorial choices notwithstanding (satin halter tops?), the fact is, she's getting kind of geeky.
At the American International Toy Fair going on this week in New York, Mattel introduced a Barbie that connects to an MP3 player and can sing the songs that are playing AND answer the phone. OK, the Chat Divas Barbie Doll doesn't actually sing, she lip syncs and dances to the music. But when the phone rings, you can hold the receiver up to her ear and she'll "answer" the phone.
As one fellow Craver noted, the gadget-toting angle is a cute idea, but there are plenty of songs that should never come out of Barbie's mouth. For instance, I think hearing my favorite childhood toy belting out any Pussycat Dolls song might scar me permanently.
A display of stuffed 'gwins at the Toy Fair.
(Credit: CNET Networks)A few of us Cravers have been at the American International Toy Fair in New York City this week, and we've been thoroughly impressed by the selection of fun playthings that might be geared at a slightly younger audience but which we certainly wouldn't mind taking home anyway.
--LEGO Millennium Falcon. Will Greenwald kind of went nuts over this 5,000+ piece Lego building set that was released to commemorate that 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie. (Crave)
--Nerf gear for your Wii. Will also dug these super-soft "accessoriies," with a caveat: "Just remember that regardless of what they're made of, you shouldn't throw things at your television." (Crave)
--Photos: Hasbro's new toys for '07. From Spider-Man 3 to Star Wars, Hasbro was all about the tie-ins. Check out that iList music player, too! (CNET News.com)
--Legos galore at the Toy Fair. Looking at AquaRaiders, MindStorms, and...SpongeBob Squarepants? (CNET News.com)
--Where are all the Stormtroopers? Aside from Lego and Hasbro, there weren't a whole lot of Star Wars toys at the Toy Fair. Kind of weird... (CNET News.com)
--Photos: Science toys for kids. Some are serious, like those telescopes. Others look a little more exciting, like the gross-out chemistry lab sets. (CNET News.com)
--So, um, is it cool to like science now? Sound off. Does the ubiquity of science toys at the Toy Fair mean that you can readily admit you used to love watching Bill Nye the Science Guy? (CNET News.com)
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