Cute, but ask parents before gifting.
Tech toys are all the rage this holiday gift-giving season, and I have a request for all the cool, creative, and wired aunts, uncles, and friends who are choosing presents for the kids in their lives. Please consult with parents before you buy a child a high-tech gift, especially any toy or gadget that has an online connection.
Just as you wouldn't spring a puppy on a family as a surprise, you should check in with parents before you give a tech toy. I can testify on behalf of frazzled parents, even those of us with a techie bent ourselves, that we are dancing as fast as we can to keep up with the implications of computers, gadgets, and online communication for our kids.
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My First Computer, for ages 3 to 6
(Credit: LeapFrog)
The New York Times' Technology section leads with the story headlined "For Toddlers, Toy of Choice Is Tech Device," declaring:
Cellphones, laptops, digital cameras and MP3 music players are among the hottest gift items this year. For preschoolers.
On the plus side, retailers and toymakers have learned that children are not satisfied with fake gadgets. Hooray for authenticity!
On the minus side...
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Screenshot of the U.B.Funkeys virtual world, Terrapinia.
(Credit: Mattel)NEW YORK--U.B.Funkeys is a new line of vinyl figures from Mattel that double as avatars in a virtual world.
Instead of entering a code as with the Webkinz, you place your Funkey in a USB docking station. The character is then recognized in the virtual world of Terrapinia, a place filled with funk and other music.
The starter kit with USB docking station and two characters is available for $19.99, with additional Funkeys vinyl figures for $4.99 each. There are over 40 different Funkeys and each one has unique abilities in-world in addition to a bio and personality.
There are "normal," "rare" and "very rare" Funkeys. The more rare, it seems, the more power they have in-world.
Scratch, for example, is a character with a turntable for a face. He's marked "rare" and whenever Scratch plays music while in a room with other Funkeys, they are compelled to dance, according to his bio.
As with the Webkinz, owners can use their Funkeys for their corresponding vinyl figure to play casual games, earn points and buy virtual stuff for their virtual crib.
The funk music that plays in some areas of the world and the less cutesy non-pastel graphics, make the U.B.Funkeys a likely step-up as kids grow out of the Webkinz.
Adults will find them charming, too. The story and characters are written at a level of double-meaning that may go over kids heads, but will give parents a knowing chuckle.
Sprout
(Credit: Mattel)
Fallout
(Credit: Mattel)
Bones
(Credit: Mattel)
Tiki
(Credit: Mattel)
Vroom
(Credit: Mattel)Throw away those beanie babies; they are old news. There is a new sheriff in munchkin town.
Webkinz.com is a Web site children can join and interact in an online society while adopting a physical representation of the pet. The catch is that a Webkinz stuffed animal must be purchased first, followed by entering the "secret code" found on an attached tag. The cute plush toys have been quite popular, grossing over $45 million last year for Canadian gift company Ganz, the creators of Webkinz. Like its TY Beanie-Baby predecessor, Webkinz also has a high collection value, with each one selling from $12 to thousands of dollars at online retailers.
What makes Webkinz different from any other toy is its relation to the online universe. Here are the top five features that differentiate this virtual toy from the typical Mr. Potato Head:
1. Love is for sale: Turns out what mom said was bogus. On Webkinz, the user can buy love. Every time the Webkinz owner logs in, the pet communicates by using thought bubbles, most often loaded with positive comments. If you feed or nurture the pet in some way, it will most likely send a virtual heart or utter something sweet.
2. "Kinz cash": Each Webkinz account starts with 2000 "Kinz cash." This can go fast since the Webkinz and Curio shop offer fantastic virtual retail therapy, from marshmallows to cute furniture for the pets room. Kinz cash can be acquired by playing enjoyable arcade games.
3. Will work for food: Another way to bring home the bacon is by getting a job. Players can flip burgers at the Webkinz burger joint, paint a fence, sell shoes, or be a health assistant to Dr. Quack. These interactive games are fun and require exercise.
4. Free health care: In this country's administration, universal health care is unlikely. Lucky for Webkinz users, Dr. Quack's clinic has free office visits and all Kinz are welcome. He does a pretty good job of assessing what may be wrong with any under-the-weather pet.
5. Cautious chatting: Ganz ensures a safe environment for children by setting a few parameters--all safety measures, according the Webkinz.com. First, kids can chat only with designated friends and cannot add someone who is unknown. Second, a number of the chat forms are premade templates. Finally, children cannot type any numbers, preventing the exchange of personal information.
For more about the personal experience with Webkinz.com, read the CNET News.com Reporter's Notebook on Webkinz.com.
In the '80s, it was the Cabbage Patch doll. In the 1990s, Beanie Babies.
What better toy to rule the millennium age than with a social-networking stuffed animal? A relatively Web-savvy concept by gift company Ganz, these plushies hope to usher in elementary-level children into the Web 2.0 realm.
Love Puppy: would you buy me for $100?
(Credit: Ganz)Webkinz--stuffed animals that also live virtually through avatars that interact with others in their own online world--have become increasingly popular since their introduction in 2005. Like Beanie Babies, certain they're available for a only limited time, then retired. On eBay, the retired Webkinz Cheeky Pet Dog and Cat are at a whopping starting bid of $3,000. On Amazon, the seasonal Love Puppy is selling for $99. But if you peruse a card shop in your area that carried Ganz toys, you may be able to score a non-seasonal or retired Webkinz for the relative bargain of just $12.
"Actually, a lady before you came in and purchased nearly 100 of the Webkinz," Jean Amirbagheri, manager of a Carlton Cards store in San Francisco, told us. "They've been really popular for events where a bunch of kids get together, like Easter, church functions and birthday parties."
An eBay search for Beanie Babies turned up an auction for 450-plus retired beanies, buddies and teenies for a starting bid of $2,500. An entire case of Cabbage Patch Dolls (six in all) are going for $150, while two "classic" cabbages selling for $2,000.
Will Webkinz retain their value-ad allure? The answer is as clear as the stock market.
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