Toys

You’ve probably seen these little robotic rabbits before; they were introduced a few years ago with the name Nabaztag.  Violet is introducing a new version at CES that has all the cute and more smarts.  The new Karotz is the first hardware device made especially for Facebook, and it can update your status with audio

Would you like to teach your child about internal combustion engines – or learn about them yourself?  With the Internal Combustion Engine Kit from Hammacher Schlemmer, you can build a working 1/10 scale model from more than 100 ABS plastic parts.  The kit comes complete with tools and a Haynes Manual, the definitive auto repair

The PowerUp Electric Powered Paper Airplane Conversion Kit from TailorToys will turn a homemade folded paper airplane into an electric powered propeller driven plane. It comes with one propeller module and a charger module which runs on 3 AA batteries. You will need to supply your own paper to fold your plane. Once folded, clip

If you just can’t find the right belt buckle, you should try the Scrolling LED Belt Buckle from Gadgets and Gear.  You’ll be able to type in six of your own messages; the first can have 512 characters, but the other five are limited to 256 characters each.  The buckles are available with either red

For those of you show-offs who find a regular Rubik’s Cube too easy, there’s the Simplicity Cubic 3x3x7 Uneven IQ Brick from Brando’s toy selection.  Brando says this toy offers left and right brain training, and IQ & EQ training.  They also say that it will provide fun in your home and at your office. 

A couple of years ago, Julie told us about the Mindflex game from Mattel.  It’s a “a mental acuity game where you use your thoughts to move a ball through an obstacle course.”  Now Mattel is offering the Mindflex Duel so you can go head-to-head (pardon the expression) against your friends.  There are five game

Lots of companies will print your custom design on a shirt for you, but that’s so static!  No one but ThinkGeek lets you design on your shirt as you’re wearing it.  You’ll use the included UV laser to draw any design on your Lazer Shirt Interactive Tee.  When you go into the dark, your shirt

Forget the candles and greenery centerpieces for your holiday table.  This year, you can decorate with candlesticks that are scale replicas of Darth Vader’s lightsaber.  Of course, the Star Wars Lightsaber Candlestick is from ThinkGeek.  The  detailed candlesticks are molded in chrome-plated zinc alloy, and they stand 8.5″ tall.  They come with 3 10″-long dripless,

The Twine is created by Supermechanical , a pair of graduates from  MIT Media Lab, and is currently seeking ( well, they’ve actually already exceeded ) funding on Kickstarter. The Twine is a durable 2.5″ square that provides in-built wifi connectivity, internal on-board temperature and accelerometer, as well as an external expansion jack for other sensors (

I saw this on BookOfJoe and thought it could be fun to exercise some literary talent while waiting for my bagel to thaw out in the micro. This could be a fun thing for the office fridge too.  As we run to the magical mystical appliance this weekend looking for gobble left overs, why not

Hammacher Schlemmer has released the Bionic Bopper. The Bopper allows each driver to battle it out to deliver the round winning, chin-lifting uppercut. The driver sits inside the Bopper’s protective steel cage cockpit and use two independent joysticks to maneuver while the thumb triggers activate two pneumatic powered , tire-treaded-fisted arms. Powered by a Honda gas

A company named Royal Jumbo has created the iPawn board games that you play on your iPad.  There are four games available now – Snakes and Ladders, Game of Goose (shown), Air Hockey, and the Fishing Game.  You buy a set of playing pieces and download a free app for your iPad.  The pieces are

First seen at CES 2011, Sony Websites around the world are now showing the HMZT1 Personal 3D View Head Mounted Display for preorder.  Using dual OLED HD screens , virtual 5.1 Surround Sound and TruBlack displays, the headset’s designed to immerse you into movies and games in the intimacy of your own personal cinema. “Get the equivalent of

If you’re like me you love 360° panoramic pictures, but trying to get a good one is hampered by having to be very precise with overlapping, lighting and other factors. Using 36 fixed focus 2 megapixel Camera modules and an accelerometer used to measure launch acceleration, the Panoramic Ball captures a full spherical  panoramic view at

NERF has certainly changed from the spongy footballs from when I was a kid!  Sakar International, under license from Hasbro, has just announced NERF-branded gear for kids, including night vision goggles, helmet cams, and other audio, visual, and technology merchandise.  This gear has been specifically designed and molded to look like the NERF material of

The holidays are getting ready to hit again–somehow it seems like I just finished paying off the bills from this past holiday season.  Luckily Hasbro has a new toy out that is very cool and doesn’t put a strain on my thinning wallet–the Tonka XT Ricochet Trickster. Last season’s R/C “it” toy seemed to be

If you’re bored with LEGO, how about checking out Playable Metal building sets. Playable Metal sets are made of an aluminum alloy and come in different colors and allow you to build 3 dimensional structures. The parts are connected together with special screws. YoYo.com offers a variety of sets that range in price from $34.95