{"id":2260,"date":"2011-03-06T00:10:33","date_gmt":"2011-03-05T17:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2011-03-06T00:10:37","modified_gmt":"2011-03-05T17:10:37","slug":"favorite-toys-from-the-toy-fair-2011-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/favorite-toys-from-the-toy-fair-2011-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Toys from the Toy Fair 2011 Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\u00a0by Lori Cunningham<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There was so much to see at the Toy Fair<\/a>, I could go on and on…and on and on.\u00a0 But at some point, I need to get back to “normal” again and move on with my life.\u00a0 Time to get back to wonderful gadgets that help make moms’ lives easier.\u00a0 But first, I must conclude\u00a0my thoughts on my favorite toys from the Toy Fair I attended two weeks ago.\u00a0 I was able to narrow down my list of favorite toys to the top 18.\u00a0 I wanted to aim for 10, but I just couldn’t.\u00a0 Although I feel a bit indulgent naming 18, the fact that I didn’t have 20 faves\u00a0qualifies me for not going overboard.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Besides, moms want to know what the coolest products for Christmas are going to be\u00a0for their little darlings, right?\u00a0 In my previous post, My Favorite Toys f<\/a>rom the Toy Fair Part I<\/a>, I categorized two groups of toys under “Non-Tech Toys” and “Fun Tech Friends.”\u00a0 In this Part II post, I cover the “Tech Game and Interaction” and “Tech Toys” categories.\u00a0 Although mostly boy toys, the “Tech Toys” category will appeal to girls as well.<\/p>\n

So, on with the show!<\/h2>\n

Tech Game and Interaction<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Roman Town<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– Before coming to the Toy Fair, I had seen advertisements online\u00a0for this PC game.\u00a0 So when I saw their booth, I aimed right for it.\u00a0 Roman Town allows kids to explore treasures and artifacts from the past.\u00a0 They learn about archaeology and how scientists put\u00a0 together artifacts, like pieces of a puzzle to see what jagged pieces or bones might have been a part of at one time.\u00a0 This game engages kids with scientific thinking, math skills, and historical knowledge all in one package.\u00a0 Once “in” Roman Town, kids can speak with ancient people to see what their life was really like.\u00a0 3D rendering allow kids to explore ancient towns of the Roman world in 79 AD.\u00a0 The game is chockfull of fun puzzles and mini games as kids analyze valuable artifacts that they uncover.\u00a0 It looks to be a very fascinating game.\u00a0\u00a0 Roman Town retails for $39.95 and is available on dig-itgames.com \u00a0website.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>V-Tech InnoPad<\/span> <\/strong>– As you might recall from my “Top 6 Product Trends from CES” article<\/a>, there were over 50 tablets introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show.\u00a0 The count is now up to 80 new tablets.\u00a0 Tablets aren’t going away.\u00a0 Most tablets are still a bit expensive and many parents aren’t ready to let their younger children play with their tablet\u00a0yet…especially unsupervised.\u00a0 Thanks to V-Tech, the new tablet count has increased to 81!\u00a0 V-Tech will soon be introducing their new InnoPad, designed for children aged 4-9.\u00a0 It offers learning games, videos, interactive\u00a0eBooks, video\/photo editor, songs, a microphone, and more.\u00a0 The InnoPad features a 5″ LCD color touch screen with a built-in tilt-sensor for fun game interaction.\u00a0 It will include slots for USB, SD cards, and a headphone jack.\u00a0 Additional features include a video player, calculator, calendar, voice-personalized alarm clock, Art Studio, mp3 player, address book and more.\u00a0 Lastly, kids will be able to interact with their favorite characters from Disney, Madagascar, Scooby\u00a0Doo, Dora the Explorer, and others via captivating cartridges which will add o the number of\u00a0interactive eBooks, learning games, and fun activities available.\u00a0 The InnoPad is very sturdy and housed in a kid-tough rubberized material to help it survive accidental drops.\u00a0 Although the InnoPad does not connect to the Internet directly, it will connect to your computer via USB or through a SD card slot to download further content f rom Learning Lodge Navigator (www.vtechkids.com\/download<\/a>).\u00a0 The V-Tech InnoPad will be available this Fall and retail for….only $79.99.\u00a0 This price surprised me…pleasantly.\u00a0 For all the features that you receive, it sounds like a good value.\u00a0 Additional cartridges will sell for $24.99 and the InnoPad and cartridges will be available\u00a0 at vtechkids.com, Target, Toys R\u2019Us and Wal-Mart.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wappy<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– Wappy is a combination of\u00a0a toy and a video game.\u00a0 Wappy is a cute little plastic robotic dog that responds to touch and care.\u00a0 He can sing and dance and he loves to play games with his owner on the Nintendo DS through the Wappy Dog game.\u00a0 In the Wappy Game, kids can care for and play with their Wappy dog.\u00a0 They can feed him, dress him, plays games with him (Wappy’s\u00a0paws are seen\u00a0as if the\u00a0physical Wappy dog is actually playing along).\u00a0 Wappy’s\u00a0mood actually changes both online and physically if he hasn’t been cared for or played with for a while.\u00a0 But it doesn’t take much to get him happy again.\u00a0 Selecting the “outing” mode on the Nintendo DS allows a child to leave the physical Wappy at home but continue to play with him and care with him while away.\u00a0 Once the Nintendo DS Wappy game and Wappy are reunited, the care and fun Wappy experience is transferred\u00a0over to the physical Wappy.\u00a0 Lots of of\u00a0play and fun make Wappy a Happy Wappy.\u00a0 Although not confirmed, it is my guess that Wappy will become available on further platforms once it is released.\u00a0 Wappy is a great pet simulating experience for kids ages 6-12.\u00a0 The price has not yet been published.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure<\/span><\/strong> – Now this is pretty cool!\u00a0 Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure \u00a0gives kids a chance to mix reality with fantasy play.\u00a0 Kids can collect up to 32 different Skylander\u00a0full-of-personality characters – physical collectibles that allow kids to handle, move, and role-play.\u00a0 But the fun continues with Skylander Spyro’s Adventure, which\u00a0will be available on most game consoles.\u00a0 The game comes with a mystical portal than transports the child’s character into the video game.\u00a0 Yes, the character stays on the portal but they automatically appear in the game which the child can control and play with.\u00a0 What’s more, if the child wants to change characters, s\/he can remove the current character from the portal and add another.\u00a0 Each character has different personalities and battle skills and\/or weapons.\u00a0 Even better, a friend can bring over his\/her characters and the two can play together.\u00a0 Players explore a mysterious and mythical world full of treasures, puzzles to solve, and monsters to battle.\u00a0 Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure will be available later this year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shidonni.com<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– Shidonni is a website that offers free and paid play for kids.\u00a0 This website\u00a0 creates the exact opposite of Wappy and Spyro’s Adventure.\u00a0 In this simple but colorful and fun online world, kids (ages 5-10) draw their own character (in fact, they can draw as many as they like), draw their own house for the character, draw food for it to eat, and play lots of fun challenges with their pet.\u00a0\u00a0Shidonni.com provides\u00a0lots of activities and worlds for kids to visit with their special pet that are already drawn for them as well.\u00a0 What makes Shidonni.com unique, is that kids can have their character created into a real stuffed animal, delivered to their doorstep!\u00a0 Your child will have a one-of-a kind stuffed animal…created by him or her!\u00a0 How clever.\u00a0 I saw some of the cute creations at the show.\u00a0 The material was very soft and sturdy.\u00a0 It was full of stuffing and very well made.\u00a0The Shidonni.com website is free for kids.\u00a0 However, if after a while your child craves more fun and possibility, you can subscribe to Shidonni Pro\u00a0for a monthly price of $5.95 (or 6 month committment monthly price of $24.95).\u00a0 To receive your child’s personal drawing “in the plush,” the cost of their One-of-a-Kind animal is $79.99 which includes free shipping and two free months of Shidonni Pro.<\/p>\n

Tech Toys<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Doodle Track Car<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– The Doodle-Track Car looks very simplistic when you open the box.\u00a0 You receive one plastic car (a bit bigger than a Hot Wheels car), one Doodle-Track Car black pen, and a race track with a black line drawn in the inside of the racetrack.\u00a0\u00a0After putting in two\u00a0AAA batteries in the car (not included), the car will drive by itself around the track, once you place it on the black line.\u00a0 In fact, you can take any piece of white paper and with any marks you make with the enclosed black pen or even a black crayon, the car will follow!\u00a0 There is a sensor in the car that looks for the black track.\u00a0 Kids can even visit the build a track area <\/a>of the free Doodletrackcar.com<\/a>\u00a0website to custom create their own tracks, complete with stores, stop signs, lakes, trees, etc.\u00a0\u00a0 Once they are done, they can print out the track from their computer.\u00a0 Slick!\u00a0 The Doodle-Track Car is available now and sells for $14.99 online at Daydream Toy, which is a good value for the hours of fun it will provide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Hot Wheels Video Racers<\/span><\/strong> –\u00a0 I first saw the Hot Wheel Video Racers during the Consumer Electronics Show<\/a>\u00a0in January.\u00a0 At the Toy Fair, they had more of the product\u00a0to show.\u00a0 Hot Wheels Video Racers have a video camera encased inside a small car…about the same size as normal Hot Wheels cars.\u00a0 Video Racers run on normal Hot Wheels track and can capture and produce 30 frames per second video footage of the “driver” experience.\u00a0 The camera captures the essence of\u00a0the race or track loop de loops constructed by the child.\u00a0 The video camera inside the car can capture 12 minutes of memory and the car has a built-in mini LCD screen for playback and delete\u00a0functions.\u00a0 But the Video Racers “thrill of the race” captured moments don’t have to stop at the race track.\u00a0 Mattel will also sell a protective case that can attach the Video Racer to bikes, helmets, skateboards, or radio control cars.\u00a0 All video footage can be\u00a0uploaded to a computer via USB and custom videos can be created using Video Racer’s editing software.\u00a0 Our kids will become video producers before they hit their\u00a0 teens!\u00a0 I love how easier things are getting.\u00a0 Toys like this are a great way to introduce kids into new careers that weren’t even thought of when we were kids.\u00a0 Now that’s sweet!\u00a0 Video Racers will be available in the Fall for $59.99.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>LASER PEGS<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– now here’s a toy I have been following\u00a0for about 1 1\/2 years now, since it was first introduced.\u00a0 When I first saw LASER PEGS online, I knew they’d be a hit.\u00a0 I had the opportunity\u00a0to see\u00a0LASER PEGS \u00a0in person at their first showing at the\u00a0 Toy Fair.\u00a0 Their whole booth was lit up with fun structures made with the LASER PEGS.\u00a0 These things are cool.\u00a0 Geared for kids aged 7 and up,\u00a0LASER PEGS\u00a0\u00a0are clear plastic tubes, tube corners, blocks, and balls you can piece together.\u00a0 Kids can build anything their imagination can come up with.\u00a0 There are also directions showing them how to build bugs,\u00a0a dune buggy, tractor, and other things. \u00a0When brought to life either through battery power or AC adaptor (sold separately), the whole\u00a0structure lights up in hues of green, blue, and red.\u00a0 Since the LASER PEGS are LED lights, they are touted\u00a0to last up to 100,000 hours.\u00a0 LASER PEGS will be a sure-fire hit this Christmas if you buy one for your child.\u00a0 LASER PEGS can be\u00a0purchased online from a number of retailers, including Amazon.com.\u00a0 Amazon.com <\/a>\u00a0sells the best selling LASER PEGS product, the 3-in-1 72 piece LASER PEG set for $38.40 with free shipping.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>GlowCrazy Distance Doodler<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0– Who doesn’t like things that glow in the dark?\u00a0 Glow in the dark is big this year.\u00a0 Crayola introduced its glow in the dark sidewalk chalk and in my \u201cThe New York Toy Fair in Pictures<\/a>\u201d post, I reported on the new glow in the dark Hexbugs and racetrack.\u00a0 Now, GlowCrazy has recently come out with their Distance Doodler.\u00a0 The Distance Doodler comes with two removable \u00a0jumbo wall clings that you can affix on your walls or ceiling.\u00a0 Using the Distance Doodler Magic Lightwand, you can write or draw\u00a0on the wall clings from a distance using light.\u00a0 The light images stay on the wall clings\u00a0for up to a minute or two before they totally fade away.\u00a0 Kids can play a fun game of tic-tac-“glow” on the wall, or use the included stencils to draw some fun shapes.\u00a0\u00a0 Forget the kids, I can’t wait to play with the Distance Doodler!\u00a0 GlowCrazy’s Distance Doodler retails f or $24.99.\u00a0 If you place your order online through www.glowcrazy.com<\/a>, you will receive a bonus wide-beam Glow Wand, two extra wall clings, and four additional stencils.\u00a0 Fun stuff!<\/p>\n

Well, there you go!\u00a0 These toys conclude the rest of my favorite top 18 products from the Toy Fair 2011.\u00a0 If you missed my first post, My Top Favorite Toys from the Toy Fair 2011<\/a>, be sure to check it out.\u00a0 The new\u00a0ZIKE\u00a0will forever change the way you think about scooters.\u00a0 And the mess and frustration of filling up water balloons are a thing of the past with the Pumponator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed our coverage from the Toy Fair.\u00a0 It was a lot of fun and I met so many wonderful bloggers there too.\u00a0 A special shout out to Keriann from the www.ToyQueen.com<\/a>, Rebecca from www.Beccarama.com<\/a> and www.KidzVuz.com<\/a> (a great new site where kids can post their video reviews of their toys), Jen from www.Nextkidthing.com<\/a>, Rachel from www.busymommymedia.com<\/a>, and Christy from http:\/\/morethanmommy.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But wait! There’s more! Not settling for just the top 10 best toys from the Toy Fair, the WellConnectedMom.com brings you the top 18 toys! This 2nd article covers Tech Game and Interaction as well as great Tech Toys!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14,498,22],"tags":[574,584,590,583,589,563,572,2783,587,588,582,178,575,576,581,580,578,577,579,535,287,586,585,573],"class_list":["post-2260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kids","category-moms","category-tablets","category-websites","tag-activision","tag-daydream-toy","tag-distance-doodler","tag-doodle-track-car","tag-glowcrazy","tag-hot-wheels","tag-innopad","tag-kids","tag-laser-pegs","tag-light-up-blocks","tag-make-your-own-stuffed-animal","tag-mom-tech","tag-nintendo","tag-roman-town","tag-shidonni","tag-shidonni-com","tag-skylander","tag-skylanders-spyros-adventure","tag-spyro","tag-toy-fair","tag-v-tech","tag-video-cars","tag-video-racers","tag-wappy","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}