Dec 29

i-SOBOT goes haywire with stash of weapons, instills fear in mere mortals

Posted in: robot, RobotApocalypse, Today's Chili, toy

We’ve seen these miniature robots dance and wrestle aplenty, so it’s only a matter of time before they pick up weapons and murder us all for crafting their bulky looks and squeaky servos. Fortunately for now, this Takara Tomy i-SOBOT seems to be content enough with demolishing just balloons and polystyrene foam blocks, courtesy of its owner who blessed the bot with a range of “handmade” firearms and edged weapons. Don’t be so quick to laugh, though — that mini mini Gatling gun may be pointed squarely at your face one day. Until then, keep smiling and enjoy the video after the break.

Continue reading i-SOBOT goes haywire with stash of weapons, instills fear in mere mortals

i-SOBOT goes haywire with stash of weapons, instills fear in mere mortals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 10

Sparkle Labs’ Papertronics are the gift you’ll never admit to wanting

Posted in: diy, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

Sparkle Labs — an online DIY electronics kit maker filled with pep, cheer and other such disgustingly sweet things — has just announced its new Papertronics kits. As the name suggests, these are paper toys with electronics inside them, with the kicker being that you have to construct your Spaceboy (above) or Aliengirl yourself, before activating them via contact with their “landers.” Hey, it’s not like you can be a gadget geek and not have an appreciation for the fine art of papercrafting. If your inner child still lives, you can check these out at the source link, and we’ll just tell everyone you’re buying them for your nephew or niece.

Sparkle Labs’ Papertronics are the gift you’ll never admit to wanting originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 02

Target’s remote control gift card puts normal ones to shame

Posted in: remote control, RemoteControl, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

We’ve been cranking on our holiday gift guide series, but if you’ve already decided that there’s someone in your life who you simply can’t buy for, here’s a suggestion: snag ’em one of these. Following up on last year’s blockbuster camera gift card, Target is offering up what’s believed to be the planet’s first remote control gift card for the 2009 holiday season. Put simply, this stupendously cute Santa Mouse card actually doubles as a small toy, with the card itself acting as a remote that controls a tiny mouse. Online gift givers will have to drop at least $25 in order to claim one, though there’s a chance you could cheap out in the store just to have one of these around. Check out an all-too-brief demonstration video down in the Source link.

Target’s remote control gift card puts normal ones to shame originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 27

Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: Toys

Posted in: Features, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season.

So, you’re here, and you probably like toys, or you’re just really stuck with what to get for your lesser-geeks family and friends. Our guess is that you want something that even you want to play with (and maybe eventually repossess them when the love is over), but at the same time you want to avoid toys that’ll drive you nuts when you’re living with the lucky recipient. We know it’s no easy task here, so we’ve picked out some of the hottest toys this year to keep things fresh for a while. Read on for some joyous gift inspiration.

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Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: Toys originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 26

Planet’s smallest model train set revealed to macro lenses, microscopes (video)

Posted in: nanotechnology, Today's Chili, toy, Toys, video

New Jersey’s own David Smith is enjoying his 15 minutes right about now, as the world is finally talking about his model train set. You see, this model train set isn’t just any model train set. No — it’s probably the world’s smallest, most ridiculous and most awesome all at once (all at once). The so-called James River Branch community has been in the works for months on end, and the $11 working locomotive is 35,200 times smaller than a real one. Of course, the moving trains are really just attached to the top of a rotating tube, but you can certainly pretend you never heard that spoiler if you’d like. Check the video after the break — the kid in you will thank us.

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Planet’s smallest model train set revealed to macro lenses, microscopes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

Posted in: Features, light, remote control, RemoteControl, review, robot, robotics, Today's Chili, toy

See that glowing face? Yep, it’s the super-enthusiastic Roborover from WowWee. We won’t lie: we were a bit stoked by the arrival of this yellow explorer at Engadget’s doorstep. Too bad it didn’t exactly walk all the way from its warehouse, forcing us to go through the painful procedure of cutting up the tapes and untangling the ties of its shipping box. Five minutes later we’ve got a 4-pound robot on our hands, and we’d say overall the build quality is an eight out of ten (the cuts on the plastic parts could do with a finer finish) which is pretty good for a toy. You’ll be pleased to know that those treads are for real and supported by a third mini roller at the back, but the friendly manual does say, “For indoor use only.” Think we’ll skip that page, thank you. Now kids, you might need your daddy’s screwdrivers and some extra cash to feed the Roborover three “C” size batteries, and another three “AAAs” for the chunky IR remote. All ready to go? Skip along to learn how the Roborover explores the “ancient tombs of your parents’ closet.”

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Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 01

WowWee rolls out Roborover, Joebot robot buddies

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili, toy

WowWee may have some new competition, but it should come as no surprise that it’s not about to rest on its laurels this holiday season, and it’s now rolled out a pair of new “robot buddies” that it hopes will wind up at the top of plenty of kids’ (and some adults’) wish lists. First announced way back at CES in January, both the WowWee Roborover and WowWee Joebot are now available to order for $79.99 or $99.99, respectively, or in one of WowWee’s usual “mini” versions for a mere $15 apiece. While those latter options are basically action figures, the two full-fledged versions should keep you occupied for a little longer than your average toy robot, with each able to be controlled remotely or operate autonomously, play various games and, in the case of the Roborover, traverse “rough terrain” and “inclines.”

Read – WowWee Roborover
Read – WowWee Joebot

[Via SlashGear]

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WowWee rolls out Roborover, Joebot robot buddies originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili, toy

Upstart toymaker Robonica has been making promises about its Robini-i programmable robot for a little while now, but it looks like it’s now not only managed to get the bot out the door, but land it on the cover of the new Hammacher Schlemmer holiday catalog as well. Headed up by a former Hasbro exec, the company is clearly taking aim at the likes of WowWee, but hopes to one-up them by also letting its robot with a “serious attitude” become an avatar in an MMO of sorts when it’s not tormenting your pets. What’s more, the Robini-i can also apparently interact with other bots both online and in person, and the more adventuresome folks out there can also take advantage of some basic programming capabilities provided by the included software (Windows only, for the time being). Slightly less entry-level, however, is the $299.95 that Hammacher Schlemmer is charging for the kit, although it appears that could drop to $250 as it rolls out to other retailers.

Read – Hammacher Schlemmer
Read – Xconomy, “Robonica President, an Ex-Hasbro Exec, Hopes to Put Boston Back on Toy Industry Map with Rolling Robots”

[Via IEEE Spectrum, thanks Ken R.]

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Robonica Roboni-i rolling robot takes aim at WowWee, holiday shoppers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 18

Mattel’s Mindflex: now stressing brain muscles for $80

Posted in: game, on sale, OnSale, pre-order, Release Date, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

It’s taken nine whole months for this mental-stresser to go from CES show-stopper to household mainstay, but at long last, the only Mattel product we could ever recommend (with a straight face) to those with an age larger than 12 is finally shipping. In short, the Mindflex forces your brain — as in, that hunk of meat between your ears — to keep a ball suspended in the air, and if you’re thinking Matrix, you’re thinking correctly. Sort of. Hit the read link to get your own for $79.99, and make sure you do so before these things sell out and break the $1,000 mark on eBay. It’s almost the holidays, don’tcha know?

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Mattel’s Mindflex: now stressing brain muscles for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 11

Nabaztag can’t make RFID cool, has to file for bankruptcy

Posted in: business, recession, Today's Chili, toy, Toys

We always knew that any company courageous enough to take a technology designed to help mega-corps monitor their inventory levels and make it mainstream would face an uphill battle, but we never envisioned Nabaztag caving entirely to the pressure. If a snippet in a recent issue of Les Echos (a French financial paper) is to be believed, the creator of the rabbit-inspired Violet RFID Mirror has filed for bankruptcy, giving any company interested in keeping the brand alive until September 4th to toss out a cash infusion. Not like we’re looking at you, Mr. VC, but we’re definitely hoping to not be sobbing about this in just under a month. Tick, tock.

[Voa Loic Le Meur]

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Nabaztag can’t make RFID cool, has to file for bankruptcy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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