toy
Amazon today introduced Amazon Glow, a new, interactive device aimed at families that allows kids to interact with family members and other remote loved ones over video calls. While something…
I hate STEM toys. I have three kids and ultimately every “educational” toy they’ve used – from LittleBits to Nintendo Labo – has ended up in a corner somewhere, ignored…
I’m not a fan of educational toys. They’re usually either too educational or too toy-like and, in the end, kids get little education and little fun. The Code Kit from…
One indicator of how the market is apparently more comfortable with AR than it is with its immersive sibling, VR, is that one of its earliest adopters are toymakers.
This is the case with Snap’s new Spectacles. Buried deep in the excess of the plastic and PR lies a camera system that tells us a lot about the future…
Meet Ziro, a robotics kit that lets you build all sorts of vehicles using a few motors, a smartphone, a glove and your imagination. Ziro’s default kit comes with four…
Amazing design isn’t just for us humans. What about the cats who want a toy to play with like the new pretty iPhone? Nobody is really trying to make a…
I always say that you’re never too young to start with your first gadget. This is an example of that theory, taken maybe a little more serious then I would…
Do you like the feeling you get when you break a chocolate bar in half? Do you want to experience that feeling over and over for some reason? Then you’re…
Just yesterday we featured Bandai’s cool remote-controlled heli-robot Sky Armor, and now the same company (its subsidiary CCP, to be exact) announced the Mission Carrier SWAT [JP], a combination of…
This is a pretty cool RC toy from Japan. Bandai has announced the Sky Armor, a remote-controlled robot that can fly around using not one but two propellers. The robot…
Just in time for summer, Japan gets a new toy that won’t require you to go out to get the BBQ experience anymore. This actually doesn’t make much sense, but…
Wiz, the Japanese toy maker behind great stuff like the Flying Ultraman and the consolation money pocket calculator, today unveiled their newest stroke of genius, a mini USB construction site…
Tokyo-based toy maker Wiz today unveiled a remote-controlled mini Ultraman figure [JP, PDF] that is able to fly, just like the original in the legendary super hero series. The so-called…
The problem with some of the Japanese gadgets I am blogging about is that they either never become available outside Japan or can only be bought through specialized import shops.…
Sega Toys Japan introduced a mini planetarium for bathrooms in June (available for people living outside Nippon here) and now updates its super-successful home planetarium series with the Homestar Extra…
Japanese toy maker CCP has announced the U-Diver, its remote-controlled micro submarine, will be sold in Japan starting at the beginning of next month. CCP isn’t really an international company…
Two weeks ago, I blogged about Bandai Japan’s Tuttuki Bako augmented reality-ish toy box, which is due out in Nippon on November 15 (price: $30). Bandai has set up a…
http://blip.tv/play/ih_T1QuJ5FQ Japanese electronics company Elekit is selling a model tank that is operated via a wireless remote control and fires off infrared “cannons”. Up to four of the so-called “Battle…
Tokyo-based Toyo Trading [JP] is selling an alarm clock in the shape of a helicopter, which wakes up users with a tricky mechanism. Unfortunately, the device is Japan-only at this…
Japanese toymaker Tomy Co unveiled Robo-Q, which is what they say the world’s smallest walking robot. The two-legged toy is just 3.4 centimeters high and weighs 12 grams. Robo-Q can…
Who needs Augmented Reality Cybermaid Alice? Bandai Japan plans to release a palm-size cube in the middle of next month that lets you stick your finger into it to interact…
Japan’s NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) is also present at CEATEC 2008 and two of their robots caught my eye, apparently integral elements of their “CareBots Project”.…
http://blip.tv/play/ih_QtyyJ5FQ Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy announced it will start selling the AeroSpider [JP], a radio-controlled car that can climb walls and drive on ceilings, on October 30 (availability outside…
http://blip.tv/play/ih_M4DaJ5FQ Tokyo-based Taiyo Corp. [JP] is selling a new wireless toy helicopter for indoor use that can be used even in very small rooms. The beginner-friendly, so-called Micro Master HG3,…
http://blip.tv/play/ih_IiV6J5FQ Here comes another robot fish from Japan. Starting today, toymaker Nakajima [JP] ships “Dynamic Fishing”, a toy kit that consists of an angling rod, a lure and a robotic…
From August 8th, Sega Toys Japan will start selling a robot dog [JP, PDF] specifically designed for children between 4-8 years old. The “Uchi no Suupa Doggu Sakadachi Rakki” (My…
Fear is the mind-killer. And this thing will kill more than that once the technology is co-opted by the treacherous Harkonnens — or your roommate. This tiny RC copter is…
Takara Tomy announced they will roll out a mixture between a savings box and an RPG in Japan on August 7th. The so-called “Bankquest” [JP] will cost $37. Players will…
Japanese toymaker Mega House announced [JP] they are planning to offer a very special kind of electronic toy beginning August 2nd. The Biri Biri Kaze Hiki Wanko (which translates to…