Boogie Board, manufacturers of LCD eWriters that write similar to pen and paper, have announced their latest eWriter innovation, the Play n’ Trace. It’s a see-through eWriter for kids that is meant to promote creativity while developing motor, communication, and writing skills through a companion iPad app. Featuring a dual-tipped stylus, Play n’ Trace is available today for $29.99!
When the youngest grandbaby comes over for visits, he (nearly two now) heads straight for the iPad or smart devices, and the four-year old plops down in my office chair at the computer. I see this and wonder, does anyone make “real” toys anymore and if they did, would today’s kids be interested in them? Hasbro has that answer.
What name is more synonymous with summer than perhaps Nerf? Nerf has been contributing to summer fun since 1969 when it released the world’s first indoor ball and since that time Nerf has been soaking us, blasting us, and allowing us to have a “ball” no matter which sport, indoor or out, is our preference.
I always have a blast getting to have my kids join me for a review. It just so happened we were able to obtain the Max Traxx Tracer Racers for review and some old school fun. The side-by-side lighted racers leave a glow trail on the provided glow-in-the-dark track through a loop. Read on to see how the $27.99 kit faired.
LEGO Maniacs have a full slate of video game releases coming this year including a surprising LEGO set announcement decided by fans. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group have set LEGO Jurassic World, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin plus LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham. The LEGO Movie Videogame iOS versions are available now. LEGO Jurassic World starts a new game series ahead of the upcoming film of the same name (June 12, 2015). This game will combine the storylines of Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, and Jurassic World. Available in June on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation…
Developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios, Disney Infinity 2.0 has released the second “wave” of figures, power discs, and other items. This newly released wave includes Merida and Stitch in the Starter Pack and the separate figures Aladdin, Tinkerbell, Maleficent, and Donald Duck plus Hiro and Brymax from Big Hero 6.
It’s my goal to make sure my son appreciates learning. He’s shown an early love of science, as his favorite CD is They Might Be Giants “Here Comes Science“. It’s great to see that as he grows he will have more options, like the soon to be released Trobo, the Storytelling Robot who focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math!
The Xtreem QuadForce Video Drone comes from Swann and is part of their latest line of products. The drone gives you impressive features at a low price of $89.99. If you have been wowed by all the cool drone video but balked at the price here’s you chance to fly a drone and record HD video while you do.
Here in South Texas, we are in full-blown heat mode. The temps and humidity can bring you down in the summer, unless you find a way to beat the heat. One way to cool off is a good old-fashioned water fight; the 2014 Nerf Super Soakers promise to provide the perfect way to win the battle.
I loved playing with Nanodots when I reviewed them a few years ago. They were a great fidget toy when you are concentrating on something at work. Their new magnetic Gyro Duo product is another example of a great desktop fidget toy; they are also not as easy to lose, since they are much bigger than Nanodots.
Sumo wrestlers aren’t known for their nimbleness, but you might rethink that when you take a look at Parrot’s new Jumping Sumo spy gadget/robot/toy. The Parrot Jumping Sumo is a WiFi enabled robot with a built-in camera, gyroscope, and accelerometer, which make it easy to pilot from your smartphone or tablet. Learn more about Parrot’s Jumping Sumo at Parrot’s website.
A while back I reviewed Nanodots. Nanodots are similar to Buckyballs (which had been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission because they posed an ingestion risk for children and teens). Nanodots has come up with another magnetic toy that looks like it might be less tempting to swallow by anyone, Nanodots GYRO.
One of the things I have learned extremely quickly as a new parent is that some kid’s accessories and toys come with crazy gimmicks. They’re either smartphone-connected for no good reason, overpriced, or they’ll make something simple overly complicated, all in an effort to part parents from money. The Toymail project on Kickstarter appears to nail the trifecta!
Take a look at the modern Barbie doll that Nickolay Lamm of MyDeals.com created; she’s the one on the right, in case you couldn’t tell. It’s been said before that if a human being had Barbie’s proportions, she would be about 5’9″ tall with a 39″ bust, and an 18″ waist. That living doll would have 33″ hips, she’d wear a size 3 shoe, and she would weigh 110 pounds. Those measurements are not at all realistic if you are a human being rather than a product made of molded plastic body parts.
The summer heat is upon us, and it is time to play outdoors. A favorite activity for my boys and me is to have water gun fights. Of course, we only have two guns that are worth using, so I always get stuck with a small, useless water weapon. Getting stuck with the smaller water gun not only means that I cannot deliver enough spray to get anyone wet, but I also have to refill more often. In fact, my boys think it is really funny to attack and soak me when I am filling up my tiny water gun. The…
Take one iPad with front-facing camera, one specialty stylus designed to look like a Crayola crayon, and one kid. Mix them together with some special tech sauce and what do you get? The Crayola Light Marker from Griffin. Here’s a video look at the new offering from Griffin. The Crayola Light Marker from Griffin features: Digital marker and free downloadable app for iPad Light Marker uses invisible light to play games and create on your iPad screen without touching it Fun in the dark with free downloadable Light Marker App – 6 activities and and hours of fun. Light Marker…
If you’re the parent of a youngster under 10, as I am, chances are your child will invariably start experimenting with learning how to draw and later on learning to write. If you are as old as I am, you probably learned to draw on boring sheet planes of cellulose from dead trees with a yellow-orange cylinder containing an allotrope of carbon, though hearing it from my kids you’d think I was using reeds on wet clay tablets. How interactive stylus technology has progressed since then! Today, to assist in children’s intellectual and creative grow, peripherals designer Genius offers an…
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the EGOFLY Hawkspy LT712 RC helicopter with spycam from xenonproject.com! Want to know what’s going on around the corner and need to do some reconnaissance? Xenonproject.com’s Hawkspy RC helicopter is just for you! Sporting a tiny DVD-scale (720×480) video camera with included removable 1GB microSD card, the Hawkspy is an affordable fun RC toy for vicarious pilots. In addition to the review, we are offering a lucky reader the chance to win a Hawkspy for themselves. Details below. But first, the review. RC helicopters just got even cooler with the new Hawkspy…
You can only sling so many angry birds at chortling pigs before your mind goes numb and you want something … different. Sometimes the simplest things can captivate the imagination; a case in point would be this lovely low-tech and natural puzzle made from a slice of cypress. The puzzle is made from the wood of Cypress trees, that died naturally and it does keep me wondering about the history of the tree and its surroundings. Unfortunately I didn’t find this object too near to the region of the Patagonian Andes lakes, where it actually comes from. I simply never been there,…
There is no denying that our kids are growing up in a constantly changing digital world. My two boys have developed the same connection with gadgets and digital devices as I have, only at a much younger age. I have been careful when turning them loose with my devices but often let them play with the iPad or iPhone, and they love it. Since they could barely walk, they have been able to use our IOS devices easily and without much instruction. While most of us remember the first time we used a TRS 80 or Apple IIe in school,…
A week before Griffin announced their new Help TC iOS remote-controlled helicopter, I saw the iHelicopter being advertised. For $59 I figured I would order one. It came yesterday and… well… it is fun. As the product page explains, The iHelicopter makes it possible to use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch as a remote control for a RC Helicopter! Plug the transmitter in the audio jack, download the free controller App and you are ready to fly! The gyro in the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch can be used to control the tilt of the iHelicopter. Tilt your iPhone…