A Toys Story
At some point, every kid discovers life is unfair. Perhaps the greatest unfairness is that America's largest and most dynamic exposition of toys, Toy Fair, is only open to adults (and only to those adults in the toy trade.) After last year's rough going in the toy business, buyers and sellers still seemed nervous and tentative about the shopping season ahead. But if kids were allowed into the two huge display areas in New York's Javits Convention Center, where Toy Fair just concluded, they would surely feel excited and confident that an exciting year of gift-receiving lies ahead.
Analysts loathe predicting which of the thousands of new toys on display will breakthrough this Christmas season. So we pretended we were 12 years old again (not much of a stretch) and looked for stuff we liked. Many of the toys described below were so new that there are no clear prices set yet, but all of these mentioned below should be on store shelves within the next few months (if not sooner.)
First, I made pilgrimages to all my usual favorite toy companies, and was not disappointed:
Lego continues to expand its imaginative line of creative building blocks into more and more unusual areas. They will soon release a terrific kit that could be assembled into a fabulous-looking Tyrannosaurus. They have another kit of play pieces targeted toward younger girls (a group Lego has not particularly focused on in the past.) By the way, their Mars Exploration Rover kits, released earlier this year, are understandably flying off the shelves.
Lionel Trains will soon offer a lovely and nostalgic new model train set, to be released Christmas-time, based on a movie with Tom Hanks, "The Polar Express," which in turn, is based on the charming (and award-winning) children's book by Chris Van Allsburg.
LeapFrog, which makes my childrens' favorite learning toys (a whole line of interactive educational systems that range from pre-school to Middle & High School, including the amazingly versatile LeapPad and Leapster products) will expand its line to include more learning toys for infants and toddlers. (It is astonishing that the LeapPad is the only educational game system my children choose in lieu of watching television.)
Another of my favorite companies is Wild Planet Toys. They have been doing a terrific job over the years making SpyGear and UndercoverGirl products that are well designed, sturdy, innovative, interesting and inexpensive. I love their spy kits with motion sensors, digital recorders, and "books" with secret hiding places. Two kids can communicate secretly with head-worn display toys that rock. Most of these ingenious devices are well under thirty dollars. Wild Planet was showing an "acoustic curtain" that kids could hang in their room that will make sounds when they pass through (applause, for example.) However, we're really "intrigued" by a small remote controlled robot "grabber" toy that soon will be released. (That is a nice way to say, I want to keep the prototype they lent us, but I won't.) They also are introducing Aquapets, inexpensive little plastic floating characters that are voice activated and dance around as they react with other little Aquapets.
I mentioned above that children are not permitted at the Toy Fair. This is especially ironic as two of the most inventive toys I saw were designed by kids. Wild Planet Toys will be making a nifty pair of "Explorers Gloves" that feature signal lights, a compass, magnifying lens, watch, tweezers, and more: invented by a ten-year old, Nathan, from California.
Another of my favorite toys is the glow in the dark "Tiny Tag" devices from Seano Toys. You've heard of laser tag… this is a less expensive neck-worn infrared transmitter and receiver that lets kids "tag" each other. When your infrared beam hits your opponents' "Tiny Tag", the device says funny insulting things like "loser" and "bummer." "Seano Toys" is named after the inventor, Sean, who came up with this great toy while in kindergarten! Your kids will, guaranteed, love playing with these… while the parents slowly go out of their minds hearing Tiny Tag's sounds and words like "dimwit" and "booger" coming out when kids are tagged.
For full disclosure, inventor Chuck Hoberman, of Hoberman Designs, is not only a brilliant designer, architect, and visionary, but he is also a friend. Nonetheless, it is fair to describe him as a national treasure. His intricate expandable Hoberman spheres are more popular than even the freeze-dried "Astronaut Ice Cream" at science museums and toy stores around the country. Chuck is now introducing wonderful new "changeable" toys, including a strange and wonderful ball (the "Magic Kick") that flips colors between orange and green as it sails through space. Probably most exciting is Chuck's homage to the Rubik's cube, called the "Brain Twist:" a pyramid shaped puzzle that transforms to make solving it complex and fun. (Fortunately, there is a cheat sheet provided for folks spatially challenged folks like myself.)
Cranium is releasing several fun games that make you think. One of these is "Hullabaloo", a very well received game "of tunes, twists, and topsy-turvy fun." The talking audio console challenges kids (ages four and above) to move, react, dance, and spin to get to the colorful cards that come with the game. They even have a new colorful card game for older kids (8+), Zigity, that is actually 4-games-in-one. Apparently, these games will be sold in neighborhood Starbucks beginning in April.
The hands down coolest device and puzzle demonstrated Toy Fair is the Levitron, invented by Bill Hones, an ingenious physicist. Spin the top skillfully above the magnetic base, and you have Levitron hover in mid air. When you see this, you just cannot believe the gravity-defying effect. It looks simple, but don't kid yourself: Spinning the this right takes practice, patience, and adjustment to get the Levitron perfectly balanced so it hovers inches over the magnets. This is addictive, puzzling, challenging, and a little frustrating to the spinning-impaired. However, when you finally succeed in getting the Levitron levitating, WOW! Cannot be beat. Did I mention it isn't easy?
Like a kid in a toy store, I really MUST have just a few more things. First, Sharper Image is selling a "toy" (at $1000) only a well-heeled adult is likely to buy, the Electric Cruiser, a cobalt blue gorgeously retro bicycle that is invisibly motorized. One battery charge will power the bicycle for 15 miles without pedaling. You do have to pedal uphill to help the motor, but it makes bicycle riding a snap. It is joyous to have a bicycle compensate for our age and put the zip back into our pedaling.
Which brings me to an over-the-top bicycle accessory that I am dying to install: Waterwheels. This is the ultimate in water gun technologies. Retrofit your bike with a water-tank and pumping system that pressurizes the tank using your pedal-power. Then, with two nozzles mounted on either the handle-bars or the rear of the bike, blast a water-canon stream of water far more than 30-feet. This is truly insane and I want one on my bike tomorrow!
What can be better than the skateboard? Try the Jumping Skateboard, which re-engineers the basic board design to add springs and a handle to make skateboard tricks even trickier.
Another clearly standout Toy Fair product is the folding Trikke, an ingenious extension of the scooter. As you sway your body back and forth, the Trikke scooter propels forward. Trikke's come now in three "flavors": Trikke 5: $99; Trikke 6: $ 179; and Trikke 8: $ 199.
T-Ink has a novel technology that uses electrically conductive ink so that printed ink on plastic can be used for touch activated controls. Basically, this electronic ink will bring down the cost of making electronic switches and other components on toys. One of the neatest toys T-Ink showed us is the Infl8 Phone ("Inflate", get it?) … a huge inflatable phone kids can use in their rooms.
Since I am discussing toys and toy companies I admire, last but not least, if you're a gadget nut like I am, you really must check out THINKGEEK. They have a variety of wonderful, insane, and wonderfully insane gadgets, devices, and even clothing for the inner geek. Two of my favorites are their "Scrolling LED badge" and the "James Bond" digital camera. It took a few moments to install the software for the Scrolling LED Badge, which comes with a remote control device, but after a few minutes, I was programming this playing-card-sized wearable display with four different messages. All you do is beam your message at the wearable badge and your message is there for the world to see.
The James Bond camera looks cool: a digital camera hidden in an old-fashioned cigarette lighter case. Click open the lighter, snap the digital picture, and your friends will be talking about what a nut you are. It is a marvelous conversation piece. THINKGEEK also sells nifty green laser pointers and other cool gadgets, so check 'em out.
As I sit here in my office, crammed full of all of the above, I thank my lucky stars that companies let me play like the 12-year old I still may actually be and yet they let me in to Toy Fair. However, I am somewhat delighted and relieved that tomorrow my colleagues will come by, look me sternly in the eye, and say, "Dan, time to put away your toys." After all, adults are just kids with money.
By Daniel Dubno