PATREONItems tagged with toys
DJI is well known for making flying drones, but flying, camera-equipped aircraft isn't all that the company has on its plate. Last month, it unveiled the OSMO Action camera aimed directly at GoPro. DJI is back with a new educational robot that is aimed directly at teaching people to build and code called the RoboMaster S1 that will ship in June for $499. DJI says that RoboMaster S1 is intended to introduce new users to the fun and possibilities of robotic technology with powerful brushless motors, a chassis capable of moving in all directions, a high-precision gimbal, and interactive programming modes. Users will also learn to assemble designated and custom hardware, learn to maneuver the...
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What do you do when you have a massively successful game franchise on your hands? You monetize it with offline products, of course! Epic Games needs no such lesson in these things. It's already teamed up with Hasbro to bring Fortnite to the Monopoly board, and coms next summer, the first of several Nerf blasters built after in-game counterparts will be available. Hasbro provided an early look at the upcoming Fortnite AR-L Blaster. It's a colorful contraption, just like the one in the game, except now Fortnite fans will be able to physically touch it. The upcoming blaster features rapid-fire motorized blasting and flip-up sights so players can "focus their aim as they eliminate opponents and attempt...
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If you have kids, it's inevitable that they will eventually ask you for a puppy. Sure, it sounds easy to say 'No,' and we all know they won't make good on their promise to take the dog out every day to use the bathroom. But darn it, it's also all to easy to give in. Or you could come up with a compromise and buy a toy puppy, like Sony's redesigned Aibo, which definitely won't pee on the carpet. The new version is the sixth generation puppy from Sony. It was first introduced way back in 1999. Unlike previous models, the retooled companion pairs "cutting-edge robotics" with a cloud-powered artificial intelligence (AI) engine. It also boasts advanced image sensors, giving Aibo the ability to learn...
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It's all fun and games until someone takes a NERF dart to the eye. Any survivor of a NERF war will tell you that NERF foam dart and ball spewing weapons can be a blast. Hasbro and Blizzard Entertainment have teamed up to taunt gamers with a new NERF shooter that fans of the Overwatch game franchise will likely lust after. The weapon is called the NERF Rival Overwatch Reaper Wight Edition Blaster. NERF calls this thing a blaster, indicating it’s a pistol form factor but it's based on the looks of Reaper's shotgun from the game. The design of the weapon is true to the game and isn't made to shoot those NERF darts, but to shoot newer NERF Rival ball-style rounds. The blaster can hurl those...
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Lego has rolled out the only way the 99% will ever get to own the Bugatti Chiron hypercar in the form of a sweet new Lego Technic kit #42083. This is a beast of a Lego kit with 3,599 pieces that will set you back $349.99. That is most certainly not cheap, but considering the real car costs about $2.5 million, this miniature Bugatti is a true bargain. The Lego Chiron is a large kit at 1:8 scale and was developed in partnership with Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. That means it has all those little touches that make the real Chiron so special. Builders get a Technic 8-speed gearbox to match to the detailed W16 engine that has actual moving pistons inside. Even the "flappy paddles" behind the steering...
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Playing with Hot Wheels cars and tracks use to involve linking simple pieces of orange plastic together and hoping the cars could make it through the various loops and curves you created without flying off into the air. Hot Wheels tracks have come a long way since those old school models hit the scene, however. One of the highest tech toys to ever wear the Hot Wheels badge is the new Hot Wheels Augmoto track. Augmoto takes those classic tracks we all remember from back in the day and amps things up with some fun augmented reality tech. The Augmoto track allows the racers to control the track rather than the vehicles themselves. The track is controlled by an app that allows players to recharge...
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Had you been a child in the 1960s, you might remember something called the ThingMaker, a do-it-yourself toy creation kit from Mattel that came out decades before 3D printing would itself become a thing. In that respect, it was an idea well ahead of its time, so Mattel is bringing it back as a reimagined product for the modern era This time around, the relaunched ThingMaker is a pre-assembled 3D printer that's purportedly quick and easy to setup and use—just plug it in, wirelessly link it to the ThingMaker Design app developed by AutoDesk (it's available free of charge for both iOS and Android devices), and push a button to export your files. "We're excited to work with a storied company like...
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It's time for a confession -- I've never solved a Rubik's Cube, at least not without cheating (peeling off the stickers and rearranging them is surely against the rules). I never will, and I'm okay with that. But I can appreciate that others have solved the maddening cube of half a dozen solid colors, though none faster than Colin Burns, a teenager who thrilled a crowd of onlookers over the weekend at Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It took Colins a mere 5.253 seconds to solve Rubik's 3x3x3 contraption, besting the previous record held by Mats Valk from the Netherlands, who accomplished the same feat in 5.55 seconds. Colins is one of only eight people to have correctly...
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In the 1970s, there was the Pet Rock, a devilishly simple idea conceived in a bar that turned out to be a hit. Its founder, Gary Dahl, made millions of dollars from it. Since then, there are have been several other surprising hits, like Tickle Me Elmo and, more recently, Nintendo's Amiibo figures, which use near field communication (NFC) to interact with supported Wii U and 3DS games. According to Nintendo, the company sold nearly twice as many Amiibo figures as it did Super Smash Bros. for Wii U games in 2014, the latter of which came to more than 1.3 million physical and digital units. We crunched the numbers using both traditional addition methods and the new common...
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It appears Nintendo has a surprise hit on its hands, which would explain why the company's Amiibo toy figures are so darn hard to find. Turns out they're selling like hotcakes. Or to be more specific, sales of Amiibo toys are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Nintendo revealed in a press release. While Nintendo refrained from coughing up concrete numbers for its Amiibo line, the company said Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has sold nearly 710,000 units combined since launching on November 21, 2014. Since Amiibo sales are "approximately equal" to that, we can surmise that the toy figures have also notched over 700,000 unit sales, and that's in the U.S. alone. "This is a...
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Breaking Bad's Walter White had a knack for evading authorities and, on several occasions, certain death through the show's five seasons. But of all the adversaries he faced off against, his toughest opponent yet might turn out to be a mom from Florida. Otherwise known as Susan Schrivjer, this pissed off mother is making headlines for launching a Change.org petition demanding that Toys R Us remove its Breaking Bad doll collection. The sight of Walter White transformed into Heisenberg in doll form selling for $17.99 (marked down to $13.99) on Toys R Us's website was too much for Schrivjer to bear. To her credit, Heisenberg is a meth-cooking kingpin and a killer, a character who crossed so far...
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Ah, do you smell that? It's coming from Nintendo's direction and it's either the scent of brilliance or desperation, we're not quite sure yet. Faced with disappointing Wii U console sales and having to compete with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One consoles, Nintendo has to try something different to remain relevant -- that something different is called "amiibo." What is amiibo, you ask? It's Nintendo's foray into the "toy-to-life" category with collectible figures, or amiibos, that interact with the Wii U and its games. Nintendo showed off 10 amiibos at E3, including Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, and others. You touch these characters to the Wii U gamepad to import character data...
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Rovio, creator of the wildly popular Angry Birds franchise, has every reason to smile. The developer announced its financial results for the company's full calendar year for 2012, noting that total consolidated full year revenue ballooned to €152.2 million (around $195 million), up more than 100 percent compared to 2011. "Year 2012 was another record-breaking year for Rovio. We doubled our revenue with an EBIT margin of 50 percent, more than doubled our headcount, established new offices and a New Business Ventures unit," said Rovio CFO Herkko Soininen. "Also, to protect our own, as well as our partners’ and our fans’ interests, we continue to invest heavily in brand protection...
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In need of a feel-good story heading into the heart of the holiday season? Well friends, you have one, and it comes courtesy of LEGO, or "The best company in the world" as seen through the eyes of one extremely grateful 11-year-old boy who received a discontinued train set from LEGO after he tried acquiring it on his own. His name is James Groccia, and like many kids, he has a love for LEGOs. His just happens to run deeper, and by the time he was 10 years old, he had already accumulated a handful of LEGO sets, including Hero Factory, Creationary, Lunar, Limo, and others. For Groccia, LEGO sets are more than just toys. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and he participates in a LEGO...
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Listen, if you're not rocking a turret at your desktop, then you're simply not taking computer security seriously enough. You're letting the terrorists win, along with Henry from accounting who's always poking his nose into your cubicle when you're off on a coffee break. A password protected screen saver keeps nosy Nellies at bay, but if you want to send a clear message that your work space is off limits, you need to bring out the big guns. The Portal 2 Sentry Turret USB Desk Defender is one such option. Yes, it's forty bucks at ThinkGeek, and that's kind of expensive for a novelty toy, but it's an awesome gadget (and looks to be small enough to wedge in a stocking -- hint, hint). It's also far...
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And your kid thought it was hard enough beating that gym boss on Pokemon Diamond. Soon the machine will read their mind too and really start messing with 'em. "A convincing twin of Darth Vader stalks the beige cubicles of a Silicon Valley office, complete with ominous black mask, cape and light saber. But this is no chintzy Halloween costume. It's a prototype, years in the making, of a toy that incorporates brain wave-reading technology. Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user's forehead and reads the brain's electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling...
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Hey folks, it's that time again. Sadly, we heard some disturbing news about Abit yesterday. The reports are there is a fair amount of financial wrong doing going on and the Taiwan authorities have stepped into the picture. Here's the latest details so far, but we'll need to stay tuned and see how this unfolds. The 12 Stars of Samsung for 2005 @ HardwareZoom: "Here is a sneak preview of 12 Samsung hottest products which will be released in year 2005. From 56" wide screen DLP TV to the ultra compact MP3 player about the size of your thumb. Other highlight includes six compact & stylish clamshell/sliding phones, laser printer, video camera, LCD TV & DVD Recorder."...
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Hey gang, JeffB ringing in the weekend with the Friday morning news. It's funny, since I've relocated to North Carolina and decided to work from home, weekends and holidays don't mean so much anymore. I used to look forward to the weekend, and long weekends like Memorial Day, and now it really doesn't matter anymore. Takes a little getting used to, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, enough of my babble, let's get this show on the road: Review of the Belkin TuneDok Car Holder for the iPod @ WhiningDog.net: "With the TuneDok in place, the iPod looks right at home inside your car. Granted the wires coming out of your iPod do appear to be a bit unsightly but...
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