Posts Tagged toys
Hexbug Nano
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on March 6th, 2010
We’ve looked at the Hexbug in the past before, but here is an updated version – the Hexbug Nano. Judging by its name, you know that this newer model will come in a smaller form factor, where all you need to do is turn it on and it will start to move about randomly just like a standard bug, so make sure mom isn’t around otherwise she might just stomp on this £8.99 purchase, mistakenly thinking that it is some sort of critter banned from the home. Should your Hexbug Nano run into an obstacle, it will flip over and move on in another direction. Having said that, catching this bugger could prove to be harder than a regular bug, and spraying insecticide does not work!
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Hexbug Nano copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Go here to see the original:
Hexbug Nano
DIY hack of Mindflex has shocking implications
Posted by admin in DIY Gadgets on March 5th, 2010
I just got finished reporting about a pinball machine that you can control with your mind at CeBIT, and that, in my opinion, is a good use for brain-interface technology. Now, you are about to see a bad one.
This DIY gadget uses a MindFlex, a device that we have reported on before. It is a toy created by Mattel that allows the user/player to control the height of a ball via brainwave interface and “levitate” it through an obstacle course.
The video that you see after the jump is of someone who rigs the Mattel Mindflex to a battery. The object of his new device is to achieve a state of total relaxation. If the player/victim concentrates, even if it is on not concentrating, they will experience an electric shock.
Yes, that is sort of sick, and the video is also sort of sick. Then again, it is designed so we can laugh at another person’s pain, sort of like watching reality TV.
My source has speculated that someone could rewire this device so it would shock you if you didn’t concentrate enough. No matter how this device is wired, mass production of such a device in any form would really produce a very Orwellian society.
Well, the video has a website in case you want to make one of these yourself, but you might have some issues if you want to do this.
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ DIY hack of Mindflex has shocking implications copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Solar Racer Kit
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on March 1st, 2010
There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than building your own miniature racer and then getting to test it out. It’s even better since this little car runs on the power of the sun, which means you won’t have to worry about switching out batteries constantly. It’d be a great project to do with kids or just for yourself. Just make sure that the kids are age 8 or over.
The car comes in a total of 8 different pieces and comes with a handy instruction manual. It doesn’t mention if you’ll need any fancy tools to put it all together. Since it does come in so few parts though, hopefully it will be pretty basic to piece together. Usually they say so if you’re going to need anything out of the ordinary, besides things like screw drivers. You can purchase it for £7.45 or about $11 through the Ethical Superstore.
Source: Envirogadget
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Solar Racer Kit copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
See the rest here:
Solar Racer Kit
Solar Racer Kit
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on March 1st, 2010
There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than building your own miniature racer and then getting to test it out. It’s even better since this little car runs on the power of the sun, which means you won’t have to worry about switching out batteries constantly. It’d be a great project to do with kids or just for yourself. Just make sure that the kids are age 8 or over.
The car comes in a total of 8 different pieces and comes with a handy instruction manual. It doesn’t mention if you’ll need any fancy tools to put it all together. Since it does come in so few parts though, hopefully it will be pretty basic to piece together. Usually they say so if you’re going to need anything out of the ordinary, besides things like screw drivers. You can purchase it for £7.45 or about $11 through the Ethical Superstore.
Source: Envirogadget
Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Solar Racer Kit copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Here is the original:
Solar Racer Kit
Lego toys galore
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on February 24th, 2010
Lego has been a really innovative toy over the years, and this time round at the Toy Fair 2010, Lego has again displayed the flexibility of their building blocks by boasting a bento box, huge Lego minifig alarms from the Star Wars universe, as well as a Lego Torch and Head Lamp that you see above. The Lego Torch and Head Lamp comes in the form of a regular, yellow-skinned minifig (albeit at a much larger scale), where there is a solar panel on the back of the torch to help it remain juiced up even when there are no batteries in the vicinity. Cute looking stuff – but can it withstand the rigors of outdoor use as they were meant to?
Source: Hobby Media
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Lego toys galore copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Originally posted here:
Lego toys galore
CubeStormer solves Rubik’s Cubes in ten seconds
Posted by admin in DIY Gadgets on February 19th, 2010
I thought I’d give you readers at Coolest Gadgets a Friday treat with the CubeStormer.
The CubeStormer was designed by British engineer Mike Dobson, and it is made up of parts from several Lego Mindstorms sets connected to a computer. It is designed to solve a Rubik’s cube faster than any one of those cubists back in the early eighties.
You can watch the video after the jump, but you can see someone put a 3
Sharpshooter helicopter fires up the imagination
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on February 17th, 2010
Men seem to be losing their masculinity for many reasons, and more husbands are now hen-pecked than ever before. Could this have something to do with the lack of more macho toys for boys? If you want little Johnny to grow up being testosterone filled, then the Sharpshooter remote controlled helicopter might be just the thing. This missile-firing toy comes with a dozen missiles for you to wreck havoc on enemy lines, and you can always practice your firing skills with 6 targets bundled in the package. Each $19.95 purchase comes with a rapid charging controller so that you can always dive back into the action soonest possible.
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Sharpshooter helicopter fires up the imagination copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Read the original:
Sharpshooter helicopter fires up the imagination
Addictaball offers new puzzle for brainacs
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on February 17th, 2010
Folks who love nothing better than a good puzzle to wind down after a hard day’s work will find the Addictaball to be a decent alternative, as it comes in a small and large version to cater to different needs (at different prices, of course). This handheld game is not battery powered (now that’s a change!), which means you won’t get any fancy sound effects or flashing lights to go along with it. Despite the lack of all that pizzazz, it is still able to keep your gray matter more than happy. The concept of Addictaball involves twisting, turning and tilting this transparent orb in various directions so that you can guide a small metal ball through the 3D maze of platforms, holes and spirals which are suspended within. Guess anyone with shaky hands might want to give this a miss! Firebox is carry both the small and large versions for £6.99 and £11.99, respectively.
Introducing Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
[ Addictaball offers new puzzle for brainacs copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Excerpt from:
Addictaball offers new puzzle for brainacs
VTech comes up with new range of toys
Posted by admin in Kids Gadgets on February 15th, 2010
Kids love toys, and even when boys ge older, they too, have a wide range of toys that they would want to play with, albeit with a much more expensive price tag. VTech is back with a bang, offering a bunch of new toys at the International Toy Fair in New York City. Among the more notable toys talked about would be the MobiGo, a touch-screen handheld game console, while its FLiP (as pictured above) is the first children’s animated e-reader in the world (which won’t prove to be a threat to the iPad or Kindle, definitely), alongside a slew of other releases. We will take a closer look at the FLiP after the jump.
First off, the FLiP is supposed to be the first animated e-reader for kids in the world, targeting those who fall between the 3 to 7 age bracket. It will cost $59.99 each, and won’t require an Internet connection since there is no virtual book store for you to download stuff from. The FLiP is meant to let new readers have fun learning and practicing their skills, as kids are able to engage with stories by watching, reading and learning. Apart from that, they will be able to follow along with their favorite animated characters, enjoying an interactive reading game while cross-referencing with the story dictionary to help with the context of the stories without asking for a parent’s help. There will be 11 software titles available at launch, and they are The Little Engine That Could, Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Shrek, Dora the Explorer, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Disney Princesses, Olivia, Disney Fairies, Mr. Men and Little Miss, Scooby-Doo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Parents too will be able to participate in the learning process through the use of online progress reports and reading certificates. You can download more stories for the FLiP through a story download library that is located on the VTech Web site, where among them would be free. The library is tipped to grow constantly, where kids will be able to choose from a bunch of compelling stories to help them develop their vocabulary.
Conference Calendar – The global conference and expo finder.
[ VTech comes up with new range of toys copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
View original here:
VTech comes up with new range of toys
Trapdoor checkers
Posted by admin in Games Gadgets on February 11th, 2010
I remember watching a Saturday Night Live fake ad for Wilson brand trapdoors. This ad showed how superior Wilson brand trapdoors were to other leading brands (I’m going to assume that there aren’t any trapdoor distributors in real life). Their slogan was “with Wilson, it’s out of sight”. To punctuate this, the ad ended with the Wilson Logo underlined, and then the underline split down the middle like a trapdoor.
I wish I could find that sketch on YouTube, and I suppose the trapdoor is one of those things from movies or television that just isn’t in real life. Still, it is often romanticized by James Bond villains and the like. So why not put it in Checkers? I don’t see why not.
Except that it might change the traditional rules of the game. You can forget your dream of having a trapdoor on every one of the 64 squares, as Trapdoor Checkers has just 8 trapdoors. Each player starts his or her turn by spinning a spinner. and that decides whether he or she will move a piece, or activate one of the trapdoors.
So if your opponent is setting up a major jump, then he or she could be foiled with a trapdoor! Clearly, if we can make Trapdoor Checkers, then we can make a Trapdoor Chess. Of course, the board will have to be a little thicker. As it is, I’m surprised that the board for Trapdoor Checkers is as thin as it is. But you hear me, let’s get trapdoors in every major board game.
Anyway, if you want to try it out, it costs about $29.99 from Goliath Games.
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Trapdoor checkers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Excerpt from:
Trapdoor checkers