Ready for Next Christmas?
Toy Fair, as it's known in the business, isn't kid stuff. Over 20,000 buyers from more than 100 countries make the journey every year to the largest U.S. toy trade show, where they browse through the wares of more than 2,000 exhibitors. They walk up and down the endless aisles looking for items to stock their shelves and trying to identify the next hot trend.
And so, in the name of, um, "research," we decided to comb the three-floor exhibit space to find out what your kids will be begging for this year. And based on what we saw, you should plan on making room for robots in your future.
It started last year with Tiger Electronic's yipping, singing, snoring Poo-Chi, which at $29.99 was the rational parent's alternative to Sony's $1,500 robot dog, Aibo. Never mind that these electronic pets are more annoying than a Chihuahua on espresso. Besides still more animatronic canines, we saw robot cats, robot fish and robot dinosaurs.
The other trend? Harry Potter-itis. If you were hoping that Potter was going to be banished to Hogwarts this year — you're out of luck. He's making a beeline straight for your wallet. In fall 2001, Warner Brothers Pictures is releasing the silver-screen version of the popular novel and several toy companies (including Mattel and University Games) are lining up to capitalize on what looks to be a smashing success. We found everything from Harry Potter clocks to backpacks and puzzles.
Here are some of the other toys that caught our eye:
Cybiko hand-held wireless personal digital assistant, plus peripherals
Price: Cybiko, $99; MP3 Player, $70; Modem, $200; and wireless Internet kit, $75. (Wireless service through your ISP is extra.)
Release date: Cybiko hand-held available now in toy stores; MP3 player available March 2001; Modem and Internet kit available summer 2001.
Ages: 9 to 16
Made by: Cybiko
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The Lowdown: Who says PDAs and Palm Pilots are just for adults? When the Cybiko hand-held computer was launched last year, kids enthusiastically zapped emails and messages to one another through their wireless PDAs. (These hand-helds work like a cordless phone and require that the email swappers be in close proximity.)
It's cool, but the Cybiko is about to get much cooler. This year, the company will offer new add-on features that make it truly wireless. Soon, kids will be able to attach an MP3 player or modem to these candy-colored hand-helds. The modem can be connected to any phone line, allowing teens and tweens to access email, chat and download games. The Cybiko also offers features common to most adult PDAs, such as the ability to store schedules and save addresses and phone numbers. The mobile Internet kit will even allow kids to connect their Cybiko to their cell phone.
Our take: Pretty neat. But once you add all the pricey extras you could just about afford to get Junior a real Palm V.
Intel Play Digital Movie Creator
Price: $100
Release date: Fall 2001
Ages: 8 and up
Made by: Intel
The Lowdown: Do you have an aspiring Steven Spielberg or Steven Soderbergh in your nest? If so, Intel's Digital Movie Creator could get him or her on the path to greatness. This small hand-held digital recorder can be used to snap pictures and record short films.
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The digital movie creator also comes with a cradle that allows you to easily download the recorded video onto your PC. The recorder can store about four minutes of video at a time when it isn't connected to the computer. If the camera is stored in its cradle, however, it can film and store as much footage as your computer can hold. With a movie-making software package that comes on a CD-ROM, kids can use their computers to edit their own feature films. Post-production features allow children to insert text, sound and colorful backgrounds. (Just imagine — your daughter in her own Britney Spears video.)
Once the final touches have been made, kids can insert their name along with the names of their co-stars and assistants into the final credits that roll at the end of each film. The end product can be compressed and emailed or posted to a Web site. Unfortunately for Mac users, the Movie Creator only works with PCs running Windows 98 or higher. But Apple fans can always use iMovie.
Our take: Bound to be more interesting than those home videos from last year's trip to Disney World.
Leap Frog Mind Station and Excelerator educational PDA
Price: $99
Release date: Summer 2001
Ages: 10 to 13
Made by: Leap Frog
The Lowdown: Helping your child study for a test can, of course, be challenging. But preparing might be easier if textbook information could be downloaded into a PDA-like device that has customized learning games.
The Mind Station with its new Excelerator attachment does just that. This Internet appliance allows you to connect to the Internet and download games, songs and educational content from LeapFrog.com. The company's textbook partnerships cover the curriculum of approximately 89% of public schools, so finding the information you're looking for should be a cinch.
The Excelerator, a PDA-like device, uses the textbook information or games downloaded with the Mind Station to quiz your child. And after just a few questions are answered, the Excelerator can adapt to children's individual skill levels and test them accordingly. Besides being a study aid, the hand-held device also has a scheduler, address book, dictionary and calculator.
The Mind Station can also be purchased separately for $45.99 and be used to download games and tutorials to all 11 products in Leap Frog's Quantum Leap line of toys, including the Turbo Twist Vocabulator and Turbo Twist Math (each $39.99).
Our Take: Sure costs a lot more than those flash cards we used to make. But then again, it's got to be more fun.
Bio-Security Capsule
Price: $29.99
Release date: Fall 2001
Ages: 7 and up
Made by: Snubelgrass Interactive
The Lowdown: Forget about those flimsy diary keys and those cheap combination boxes. Now your child can keep things truly secure with the Bio-Security Capsule. This "vault" (which looks a bit like a satellite) has sensors that, according to press materials, apparently work like an EKG to remember and recognize your child's heartbeat. Once a child chooses a password and his heart rate is recorded, the vault will open only to the rightful owner's heart thump or private code. The capsule also has secret compartments, funky crystal keys used to start up the device and resealable test tubes to store extra-sensitive secret notes.
Children can also use the company's Web site to send special coded email messages to their friends. The four colored decoding lenses that come with the vault can be used to read the encrypted secret messages.
Our Take: Anyone who has ever had their diary stolen by a sibling will immediately see the merits of this product. How parents will feel about kids owning something this clandestine is another matter.
iKTV Karaoke system
Price: $99
Release date: Christmas 2001
Ages: 8 and up
Made by: Tao
The Lowdown: The iKTV allows you to turn your home into a karaoke bar (should you actually want to do such a thing). The brightly colored device comes with a microphone and audio/video cables that connects it to your television. After you're all set up and a CD is in place, your kids — or you and your friends (after much sake, we would imagine) — can sing along with your favorite songs while the words are highlighted on the television.
Four music-video CDs are included with the iKTV; additional video CDs can be purchased for $12.99 each, and run the gamut from children's songs to pop favorites. Alternatively, you can use your own music CDs or MP3s, but you won't be able to follow the lyrics on your television.
It probably won't come as a huge shock that the iKTV was one of the best-selling toys in Japan. This year, the company is expecting American kids to respond to the iKTV in the same way.
Our Take: The iKTV isn't likely to be more popular than the PlayStation 2, but it will be a big hit at slumber parties
