Tech Toys for the Tots

Black Friday will be here before we know it and moms and dads everywhere will be wondering, “what am I going to buy my kids?”  We would like to help inspire you by letting  you know about some toys that are smarter, more techy and more annoying than anything we ever played with.  First we’ll start with what may be the most annoying toy ever.

As an aunt I’ve prided myself on buying my nephews things that will drive my brother crazy, and I’m sad that they’re too old for the new Furby .  That’s right, do you remember the Furbys of the 1990s?  Well they’re back and more annoying than ever!  Your kids (or better yet,  your nieces and nephews) are going to love them!  Furby owners can talk to their new friends, tickle them, pull their tails, play music for them and and even feed them… there’s app for that!  The app, which works with iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone with iOS 4.2 or later, allows the Furby to be fed all types of food by just sliding pictures of food towards it’s mouth.  Want to make your Furby sick?  Just keep feeding it, but make sure to remember that the Furby’s mood changes depending on how it’s treated.  It might seem ok today, but might wake up on the wrong side of the bed tomorrow with a different personality.  They speak Furbish and English and there is a translator app, so that they can be understood, and they can be taught more English.  They like attention, and even interacting with others of their kind.  They sing, burp, talk, dance, get mad and have no off button.  Sounds fun!!

Mattel has come up with a whole line of toys to play with games with on the iPad.  The line, called Apptivity, features WWE Rumblers, Batman, Sensei from Fruit Ninja, Hot Wheels and others.  The Hot Wheels application turns the iPad into a rolling track on which kids can drive specially-made cars.  The sensors on the bottom of the car communicate with the iPad, and the game moves the track accordingly.  The Rumblers and Batman work similarly, only one is fighting other wrestlers and the other fights bad guys.

For the little girls in your life, how about a Barbie with a camera in her?  Barbie Photo Fashion is wearing a plain black t-shirt but with the camera in her back, whatever image is snapped can be displayed on her shirt.   The description from mattel.com states: “Barbie Photo Fashion doll provides hours of creative playtime and allows plenty of digital storage, with the capacity to hold 200+ original photos. For more design options, your techie girl can plug the doll into a computer (with the included USB cable) and further customize her photos — add even more graphics (such as a glam tiara!), backgrounds, and more. When done, upload the pics back to the Photo Fashion Doll and treat Barbie to a new graphic tee!”  And who wouldn’t want Barbie to have a new graphic tee?

Well I hope this helps everyone get ready for holiday shopping.  Make sure to shop around, especially to find the best prices.  For example, one website had Barbie for $85, while another is selling her for a mere $49.99.  Also order early, perhaps one of these toys is the hot toy of the year and you don’t want to be camping out Dec. 23rd to get that one thing that will make your child the happiest kid on earth!