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Puppy Tweets will turn your Pooper into a world-class twitterer (Updated: with hands-on pictures!)
If you thought the downfall of Twitter began when Oprah said it was the best thing ever, well, you're probably right, but this latest toy from Mattel won't help to improve the situation. It's called Puppy Tweets, a little clasp that hangs from your pooch's collar and detects what it's up to -- presumably making wild guesses based on accelerometer and microphone readings. It was announced last month and is being shown off at the NY Toy Fair, where Mattel is pledging it can detect 500 different activities and turn them into 140-character witticisms, like: "It's not the catching of the tail, it's the chase," and "Guess what I'm licking right now." Yep, a real product, and $30 will get you yours in either pink or blue. Update: We had to check this thing out for ourselves at the Toy Fair today. Unfortunately, there wasn't a real pup on hand to demo, but we did confirm that this lightweight plastic collar can, as previously mentioned, tweet everything from licks to resulting carpet stains. Included in the box is a matching USB dongle which contains software that works with the collar to enable the Wi-Fi updates. It won't hit shelves until June, but check the gallery below. %Gallery-85482%
Jakks Pacific unveils EyeClops mini projector for the little ones
We see a ton of tiny little projectors these days around here. This one, by toymaker Jakks Pacific, is still pretty eye-catching, anyway. Expected to be on hand next week at the Toy Industry Association's annual International Toy Fair in New York, the EyeClops is obviously designed with children in mind, with a build similar to adult picos. We don't have full specs on this one yet, but it's capable of projecting a 70-inch images via its LED, and can be hooked up to all your child's favorite gadgets -- DVD players, digital cameras, and gaming consoles. The real kicker here is that the EyeClops is expected to sell for under $100 -- much less than most projectors for oldies. [Via About Projectors]
Bandai at the International Toy Fair
While Mattel and VTech are doing their best to keep kids imaginative, or at least assimilate them into the gadget-filled world, Bandai's new creation lets kids "live the Tamagotchi life 24/7." Forget "edutainment" and prepare your child for life as a WoW gold farmer, heavy raider or professional ganker. The new Tamagotchi Connection V4 lets your child enjoy his or her virtual pet through every stage of virtual life, including going to school and choosing one of 15 careers -- and hopefully a few solid years in a retirement home telling anyone who will listen how when it was young, pixels were this high. The V4 will be followed by the V4.5 in the middle of the year, and both versions will let you take your pet online for more games to play and items to win, while offline you can communicate with your friends' Tamagotchis via IR.
VTech at the International Toy Fair
While Mattel might've been liberal with the digital sprinklings across its 2007 lineup, VTech is most decidedly going for those tech-toy dollars with every fiber of its being at the 2007 International Toy Fair. Lucky for the kids, VTech is stepping a bit outside its normal educational role with some more entertainment-oriented gadgetry. Most notable is the $100 VTech Gadget, a phone-like device which includes a digital camera, movie maker, MP3 player, FM radio, games and a TV plug. The big seller is voice and text messaging up to two miles away, and VTech was kind enough to include 256MB of memory to store all that media you child will be messing around with. VTech's other media unit is the $60 Kidizoom Camera (pictured above), which cops that two-eye design from Fisher-Price and can shoot digital photos and videos, with computer and TV hookups for playback and editing. But if you're set on your kids actually learning stuff, VTech still has you covered with its Whiz Kid Learning System, which purveys interactive reading and learning via its portable "Whiz Pad" and touch-sensitive stylus. VTech is also upgrading its V.Smile edutainment system, which includes a sing-along microphone and writing joystick for an odd sort of educational video game platform. What a freaking brilliant time to be a kid.
Mattel at the International Toy Fair
Have no fear, worried parent, Mattel knows what's best for your kid. Riding high after a holiday season with T.M.X. Elmo and Barbie at the top of the most wanted list, Mattel is unveiling an incredible amount of toys at the American International Toy Fair 2007 in New York. Quite a few of those happen to be technology infused, which is only natural as your children attempt to keep up with the lil' Joneses. Notables include the Chat Divas Barbie Doll, which can plug into your iPod, bob to the music and talk on her fake cellphone; Pixel Chix Roomies, a sort of MTV's "The Real World" interactive game for dolls; Hot Wheels Maniacs vehicles with "a hilarious animated driver" stuck in an LCD windshield; Funkeys collectibles which unlock portions of a computer game which allows you earn coins and decorate your "crib" for friends to see; Easy Link Internet Launchpad, which plugs into your PC for internet and provides a safe and simple browsing experience for the kiddies; T.M.X. friends, with Ernie and Cookie Monster versions to keep Elmo company in the asylum; I Can Play Guitar System, a Guitar Hero-ish system designed to teach kids the guitar, not just make them think they can melt faces; and a Digital Arts & Crafts Studio which includes stylus for drawing on the computer. Other creations by Mattel include some Wii-esque one-off games designed to get your kids moving: Play TV MLB Baseball, Play TV Football 2, and the Smart Cycle stationary bike that lets pedal and steer through video games while burning those carbs.
