With kids getting rapidly inclined towards unconventional play stuffs, several manufacturers have seized the opportunity to steam up the trend. 2012 has revealed a whole new variety of innovative toys with more emphasis being laid down on tech based creative toys. Let’s have a look at few of these.
Classic toys with a twist
With wooden building blocks still ruling the roost, a few fresh ideas and concepts have also been fused to integrate and multiply the fun. Waba Fun’s Superstruct building sets give you the option of building new homes and blocks by joining the pieces. Pick this up for your kid and watch the engineer inside your kid taking shape.
Gaming in ‘retro’ mode
This all new gaming stuff from the house of ThinkGeek will refresh the memories of retro age. Bearing a close resemblance to the previous version of Nintendo NES Controller, this handheld device has wireless configuration. It functions smoothly via Bluetooth and is fully compatible with Android devices. The wireless connectivity enables you to connect seamlessly with online players and challenge them online to play the game along with you.
iPhone as a gaming device
If your kid is more inclined towards iPhone rather than conventional play stuffs, get ready to add more spice to his inclination. Toy manufacturers are coming up with a vista of extensions and applications for smart phones and tablets to make the gaming experience more interactive. This enables you to use the surface of your tablet as a board for balls and puzzles with a mere touch. Ravensburger’s Augmented Reality Puzzle will make games come to life on your iPhone or iPad. Each puzzle will unlock a different activity and you can also set off for a virtual tour in the City of Lights with the Paris set.
Play with super heroes
Add a new dimension to your kid’s fascination of his favorite superheroes by getting them some super hero tie in games. Though the concept is not that new, it’s not that much in vogue either. This year’s toy fair had some interesting trends to reveal. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings toys, Avengers Electronics, Nickelodeon and Disney themed stuffs attracted a major chunk of customers which indicates the rising popularity of these toys among kids.
Toy cum ‘engineering’ guide
Is your kid a budding engineer or does he talks too much about electricity and its various mechanisms? If your answer is yes, you should definitely pick this little bits sets for him. This toy is not all about playing and learning but also aims to trigger and activate their career interests. Kids can channelize their passion into its respective direction. This gaming kit will display various properties of electricity and circuits to the ever curious mind of your little one.
‘Geographical’ game for fun traveling
The title is suggestive enough, this toy trend makes traveling a fun learning experience. The ‘License Plate’ game with wooden flaps has the name of state capitals that further reviews your knowledge of geography. To make it easy to count your scores while playing the game, simply flip the wooden plates sideways and match them according to their colors painted in red and blue.This game is another addition to the several play stuffs designed along the concept of play and learn.
Wallet-Cozy game collectibles
If flashy and expensive games do not excite you that much, then you would simply love to pick these cute game collectibles that cost as cheap as couple of bucks. Apart from being budget friendly, these stuffs appear immensely appealing. These attractive Poptropica figurines and plush toys designed by Diary of a Winpy Kid author Jeff Kinnet, allows you to build sets and also trade with your friends.
The Robo artist
Cashing along the line of increasing demand for robotic play stuffs, TOSY, a leading Vietnamese toy manufacturer’s Sket Robo is capable of producing some of the most intricate and difficult sketches within a few minutes. Post drawing, this robot can store up to 200 designs and is also capable of delivering picture instantly. If the buzz is to be believed, this robot is going to sport a webcam in coming times that would enable it to draw anything appearing in front, including you too.
Techy back to school gear
Unleash the rock star in your kid with the all new Electronic Guitar Bag. It enables you to play songs even while carrying your laptop. The mini application makes it easier to play your fingers on the cord board, producing the most accurate chords and songs.
Science and Fun
Magic School Bus’s ‘The Science Club’ is yet another gaming kit that intends to trigger your child’s scientific mind and answers his curiosities. This online game features a whole new scientific concept every month and includes an online clubhouse packed with links meant for educating kids with a monthly news letter. It also features a Facebook community to which you can refer in case you need additional help and information.
Kid centric gizmo
Inspiration Works’ ‘Kurio’ is an Android tablet especially designed and developed for kids. It has everything you would expect to have in a conventional tablet. Powered by Android 4.o Ice Cream Sandwich, it has an internal memory of 4 GB which is expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card. The 0.3 mega pixel camera on front and 2 mega pixel rear camera enables you to capture pictures and of course, this tablet will provide you a seamless video playback experience at 1080 full HD.
Tech-powered Barbie doll
The vivacious Barbie Doll, every girl’s fantasy and favorite friend, has been given a major technological makeover which is hard to spot. This half Barbie, half digital camera doll, also dubbed as ‘Barbie Photo Fashion’ sports a 5 mega pixel camera on her chest (you can’t’ see it) and can store up to 100 images. You can also connect it with your computer via USB port for transferring data and multimedia contents.
