Toys

Reviews September 5, 2009

SphereXYZ Review

Next year the Rubix Cube turns 30, so the fact that I was working part-time in a retail department store to support school / books / music / games / friends/ etc when it came out means a couple of things. First it means that there is a certain nostalgia attached to the Cube. OK, so it also says I’m old! Anyway, when I had the opportunity to try out the SphereXYZ, a challenging puzzle that invokes the spirit of the classic Cube, I jumped! So let’s find out of the game lives up to the classic and if it…

Reviews September 17, 2008

The WowWee Alive Lion Cub Review

When I was a child, I absolutely loved stuffed animals; I had such a massive collection residing on my bed that they threatened to push me off should I stretch out or roll over in the middle of the night. One of my fondest wishes at that time was that some of my favorite stuffed animals could be more life-like and animated. Granted, this was in the 70s, and the closest things we had to robotic toys back then were those obnoxious stuffed dogs that came with a wired battery pack so that they could walk a few steps, bark,…

Reviews March 11, 2008

The Stereo Mini Portable Sound Box from USB Fever REVIEW

A couple of months back, I asked my LEGO friends Beetle and Maynard with their girlfriends Sunshine and Faith to check out the new Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker that Thomas at USB Fever sent from overseas. (see the review: Make Some Music) Sunshine: “We were looking for an upgrade to a dual speaker setup. It was then that Judie from GearDiary told us about the Stereo Mini Portable Sound Box from USB Fever. That Judie girl ROCKS, because it as exactly what we were looking for!” (L to R) Beetle, Maynard, Faith and Sunshine with the Stereo Mini Portable Sound…

Reviews January 30, 2008

The Ugobe Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Review

When I was a kid, my parents bought me my first robot. Except this was in the early 70s, so it wasn’t a real robot – it was a fuzzy effigy, a mechanized kitten thing. The kitten was tethered by co-joined wires to a long battery box which also served as a remote control. It could walk forward…stop…walk forward…stop; it might have even meowed, too – but I honestly don’t remember. Anyway you get the idea; the kitten wasn’t very exciting, and it certainly didn’t replicate the fun of owning a real cat. In other words, the kitten reacted but…

Reviews January 25, 2008

Make some music: The Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker REVIEW

Good things do come in small packages. I asked my LEGO friends Beetle and Maynard with their girlfriends Sunshine and Faith to check out the new Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker that Thomas at USB Fever sent from overseas. Beetle: “As sound technicians for the Best Little LEGO Band from Nashville, we got frustrated with the round speakers that came with our Apple Shuffle.” Sunshine: “Then Kerry and Judie from GearDiary told us about these speakers from USB Fever.” Maynard: “It was awesome! They carry all of these cool USB items that work for our lifestyle. And for only $2.99, they…

Reviews November 26, 2007

Johnny Lightning’s V_Bot Review

At the same time that Gear Diary was approached to review the Johnny Lightning Battle Wheels, we were also invited to review the V_Bot. What is the V_Bot? Well, here is a clipping from the email describing it: “V_Bot, the new high-tech hero, transforms from a sleek street vehicle into a giant robot loaded with action moves. This revolutionary RC toy captures kids’ imaginations with a giant robot that they can control, transform and drive. V_Bot even has a plug-in for an MP3 player.” Yep, you read that clipping right! V_Bot is a robot that can really transform into an…

Reviews November 17, 2007

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 950 Review

Sometimes, I need to have white noise playing in the background in order to be able to concentrate. This can take the form of music (CD, MP3’s etc), radio (Internet or other), or the TV. Sometimes, the simple sound of the air circulating in the room that I’m in can be deafening, and just too loud. I need to fill the air with something other than, well… the air. Recently here in Chicago, we had a very bad rainstorm come through. My sump pump decided to die the day AFTER the storm when a lot of the water absorbed by…

Reviews November 11, 2007

The Silverlit Palm-Z Mini RC Indoor Airplane Review

The call of duty beckons yet again, to review another RC aircraft. But, this time it is not another helicopter, it is an airplane. Specifically, it is the Silverlit Palm–Z Mini RC Indoor Airplane, available from Hobbytron.com. To date I have test flown the Hornet 3 Mini RC Helicopter and the RC AH-64 Apache RTF 4 CH Electric Helicopter, both also available from HobbyTron.com. With my RC helicopter flying experience would I be able to take on flying an airplane? We’ll see.

Reviews October 22, 2007

Johnny Lightning’s Battle Wheels Review

When Gear Diary was approached to review the new Johnny Lightning Battle Wheels, I was going pass on reviewing them. I never really was interested in robotic combat. However, Judie convinced me to accept and do the review. And, I actually had fun, thanks Judie!

Reviews October 7, 2007

The FLY Fusion Pentop Computer Review

When I was a kid, computerized math tutoring came in the form of the Little Professor, an educational device made by Texas Instruments. While it was a fabulously geeky toy for my elementary school self, the Little Professor did have its shortcomings – all “he” could basically help with was addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Today, kids have it made. Companies like LeapFrog have made educational electronic toys available and accessible – even to toddlers. I am going to tell you about their new FLY Fusion Pentop Computer, which is marked as appropriate for ages 8 and up. Due to…

Reviews September 24, 2007

AntWorks – Space Age Ant Habitat

Observing ants in your home used to mean obtaining the typical ant farm which used sand as the medium for the ants to live in. A modern development and improvement on the old sand ant farms are the AntWorks ant habitats. This habitat uses a special gel instead of sand. The gel setup was originally developed for an NASA experiment, in which ants were sent into space on board the space shuttle to study insect life in near weightlessness. Traditional soil-based ant farm tunnels would collapse from the intense vibrations during a take off. To solve the problem, NASA scientists…

Reviews August 26, 2007

The Funslides Carpet Skates Review

Recently, Judie did a post about the FunSlides Carpet Skates. Because of a technical glitch with our email server, I never got the team email about reviewing them. It was after Judie did her write up on the skates that I thought to myself, these may be just the thing to solve the problem my Robosapien robots have with walking on carpet. I mentioned this to Judie, and she thought it would be a great idea to let the bots volunteer. The FunSlides Carpet Skates come in six color choices, blue, silver, red, purple and hot pink. I was sent…

Reviews July 16, 2007

The HobbyTron.com Hornet 3 Mini RC Helicopter Review

Radio-controlled helicopters are cool toys and the manufacturers are still making new models and evolving them to include new and better features. When HobbyTron.com approached Gear Diary to review the new HobbyTron.com branded Hornet 3 mini RC helicopter, Judie thought immediately of me and asked me if I wanted to review it. I said yes! So, I guess I am now the resident RC helicopter pilot around here. 😀 Review updated July 22, 2007: Added video of the Hornet 3. The features of the Hornet 3 helicopter are as follows: 15 Step Digital Proportional Controls Tail Rotor Trim Dial (persists…

Reviews March 25, 2007

The HobbyTron RC AH-64 Apache RTF 4 CH Electric Helicopter Review

RC (radio controlled) vehicles are a very cool thing. I have owned many ready to drive RC cars, big ones to the tiny micro ones. Those RC cars are lots of fun, but when you’ve got an RC vehicle that can fly… it is an extreme world of difference, being much more cool and more fun.

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself! February 16, 2007

A Palm Treo cradle – LEGO style

I was looking around for a charging cradle that would allow me to store my Palm Treo 650 or 680 in an upright position. Most of the ones that I’ve seen advertised range in price from $29 to $49 USD. While esthetically useful, the practicality of obtaining a cradle meant having yet another spare power cable and sync cable stored away in a shoebox of miscellaneous wires and USB cables. The ancient Greek phillospher Plato is quoted as saying Necessity is the mother of invention, which means that a need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or…

Reviews February 14, 2007

The Cheeky Chick by okiedog Review

Are you looking for an innovative toy for the kid in your life? Whether it is for your niece, friend’s son, or your own child, okiedog has created two foldable tricycles for you. Both designs are for specific age groups and offer varying benefits. The G-Force is the 21st Century’s answer to the much-loved Original Big Wheel. It provides fast-paced riding and spinning through a sleek design. It is specifically for kids 7 years and older. The Cheeky Chick is the toddler version without the propulsion power. According to the site, the Cheeky Chick is a foot-to-floor ride-on transformable tricycle….

Reviews December 4, 2006

The ThinkGeek USB Snowbot Review

Oh the winter holidays are here again. I was feeling festive this year and was planning on buying one of them light up USB Snowmen from ThinkGeek to bring some holiday cheer to my computer workstation. What? was my reaction when searching the ThinkGeek website, no USB Snowman to be found. Oh well, maybe they will have them again soon. Then a couple of days later… on the front page of their website was revealed the ThinkGeek exclusive USB Snowbot! What they call a hybrid of robot and snowman. WOW, they created a “Cylon” snowman, LOL! As a sci-fi junkie,…

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