Jul 23

Rubik’s TouchCube to make debut this weekend… on QVC

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

It’s not every day that QVC gets first dibs on hot new gadgets (though it’s occurring far more frequently than we’re proud to admit), but we’re hearing that the teleshopping channel will be the place to go if you want to be among the first to own a Rubik’s TouchCube. Believe it or not, the swipe-controlled retro toy will be available to buy for the first time on the Christmas in July segment this weekend. Look – if you’ve been wondering what QVC looks like in full, unadulterated HD, but have up until now failed to secure a good excuse to check it out, this is your chance, and yes, you’re welcome. The full statement from the company is after the break.

Continue reading Rubik’s TouchCube to make debut this weekend… on QVC

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Rubik’s TouchCube to make debut this weekend… on QVC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

Robot Doraemon travels back in time to shame Japanese children to success

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

If you’re one of those nerds, you’re probably quite stoked at the prospect of a real, honest-to-goodness Doraemon in your living room. And even if not, surely we can all agree that this guy is pretty damn cute, right? This ear-less, time travelin’ cat features motion, light, heat, and sound sensors that let it react to its environment with a whole slew of facial features and vocal mannerisms that mean nothing to us, seeing as how it’s communicating in Japanese. This guy is available from Bandai, starting September 3rd — in the meantime, check out a few pics snapped at the Tokyo Toy Show below.

Gallery: Robot Doraemon travels back in time to shame Japanese children to success

[Via Tokyo Mango]

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Robot Doraemon travels back in time to shame Japanese children to success originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 20

LED Illuminated Message Board makes ordinary messages psychedelic

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

Kids these days, they’ve got it made — wouldn’t you agree? While our tot-hood was filled with low-end luxuries like Etch A Sketch and Lite-Brite, our offspring are expanding their minds with things like the LED Illuminated Message Board. Much like a traditional dry erase board, those with the appropriate pens can simply draw up whatever they please on the white display, but flip a switch and the whole thing goes psychoactive. Talk about getting the message across. Slap one on your own refrigerator right now for around 20 bones.

[Via ChipChick]

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LED Illuminated Message Board makes ordinary messages psychedelic originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 17

HANNSpree debuts line of plush TVs for tasteless tots

Posted in: Television, Today's Chili, toy, TV

We all know how much children hate television, so sometimes it’s necessary to be a little sneaky, especially when looking to give them their minimum daily requirement of the “Fair & Balanced” — that’s why we’re lucky that HANNSpree is on the case. The company, known for it’s particularly uglified and just plain bizarre display devices is debuting a line of plush animals (including an elephant, giraffe, panda, and polar bear) with televisions embedded in their sides — just the thing for concerned parents who need to trick their kids into watching. With any luck, Junior will soon be rattling off the nine principles with the ease that you once let the names of the four Monkees roll off the tongue. Pretty sweet, right? It’s time for you to get back to The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care — but not before eyeballing that gallery below.

Gallery: HANNSpree debuts line of plush toy TVs for tasteless tots

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HANNSpree debuts line of plush TVs for tasteless tots originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 26

Ultimate Buzz Lightyear robot to the rescue, on video

Posted in: robot, Today's Chili, toy

Step aside, Wall-E: Buzz Lightyear, courtesy of Thinkway Toys, has arrived to claim his rightful place at the top of the robot-based-on-Disney-character heap. Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but Buzz’s facial animation, sexy moves and trademark catch-phrases have all been wrapped up into a nice little bow here to rake in the cash when Toy Story and Toy Story 2 hit theaters this October as a 3D glasses double feature. Buzz responds to a few voice commands, can play a laser tag with the included remote, has a “Puppeteering Programming” mode to pose him for your own animations, and can even suffer an identity crisis when you tell him that he’s just a toy. He’ll be available this fall for $130-ish, check out a video after the break.

Gallery: Ultimate Buzz Lightyear robot to the rescue

Continue reading Ultimate Buzz Lightyear robot to the rescue, on video

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Ultimate Buzz Lightyear robot to the rescue, on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 23

Mattel’s Mindflex coming October 1st for $99.99

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

It’s not often that a Mattel toy targets the 18 – 128 demographic, but we’ll be frank — the Mindflex has us all sorts of intrigued. Originally introduced at this year’s CES, said game is a brain-powered fun-fest that relies on intense mental activity to control the height of a ball suspended in a column of air. Early on, we heard that it would land sometime during this year for $80, but it seems as if only one of those factoids will prove true. Indeed, Amazon has it listed to ship on October 1st, which gives proactive parents plenty of time to stock up for the holidays. Unfortunately, the price seems to have inched up by a Jackson, as it’s currently up for pre-order at $99.99. Rest assured, however, that said price is far less than what you’ll pay on eBay if you’re empty-handed come December 20th.

[Via I4U News]

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Mattel’s Mindflex coming October 1st for $99.99 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 May 2009 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 22

Video: RB2000 featured in new, improved Robo Catcher

Posted in: Japan, Today's Chili, toy, video

Ah, a childhood favorite revisited. Years back, our hearts were taken by the one and only Robo Catcher, and now it seems the famed toy snatching game has seen a revamping that features JR Robotics’ RB2000 as the main grabber. The entire unit has also been freshened up in the design department, and the addition of a joystick control system brings it up to speed with all of its “just a claw game” rivals. Hop on past the break for a look at what you’re missing out on here in the states.

Continue reading Video: RB2000 featured in new, improved Robo Catcher

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Video: RB2000 featured in new, improved Robo Catcher originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 May 2009 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

Snoozy the Sloth is a breathing, napping toy after our own hearts

Posted in: arduino, Today's Chili, toy

You know what would have been awesome to have as a toy when we were growing up? Not a baby to swaddle and feed, or a Barbie doll to dress up and imagine careers for, or a fake pet to worry about neglecting. No, we’d have preferred Snoozy the Sloth, who merely breathes and take naps with you when you cuddle him. The sloth’s epic simplicity — a plush toy with Arduino guts and a 2 DC motor diaphragm to pump the air in his “lungs” — makes him a perfect companion for our downtime. Created by Justin Blinder for a toy-making class at Parsons The New School for Design, Snoozy is merely a prototype, but we really hope the toy industry is watching: they could learn a lot, in our sleepy, sleepy opinion. There’s a video of him napping after the break (and hit the read link for a shorter one of his innards). Yawn.

[Via Gizmodo, thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading Snoozy the Sloth is a breathing, napping toy after our own hearts

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Snoozy the Sloth is a breathing, napping toy after our own hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 11

Hideous 80s Throwback Phone Case is Curiously Seductive

Posted in: case, Phones, Retro, Today's Chili, toy

cellcrap

It would be nice if this clunky, 1980s-style cellphone holder acted as a real add-on keyboard and display for a modern mobile, allowing you to go in for some retro charm and then, when bored of carrying this brick-sized box, slide out your iPhone and carry on as if nothing untoward had happened.

Sadly, it lacks any useful circuitry, and certainly won’t act as a functional dock for your phone. In fact, all it does is bark out one of five different phrases every time you get a call and if for some reason (like, you know, good taste) you decide to switch off this barrage of crap, it will instead flash to alert you.

At just £10 ($15) it’s probably worth it for the packaging alone, which looks to have been vomited out after a meal of hair-gel and fluorescent paint.

Product page [Go Frostfire via Red Ferret]


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Apr 03

Tactical flashlight records late night jungle excursions

Posted in: Today's Chili, toy

Much like the toaster, the microwave and the sandal, the flashlight hasn’t changed an awful lot since being first engineered in the late 1300s. Thankfully, we’re finally seeing a little innovation in the space with Hammacher Schlemmer’s Infrared Flashlight Video Recorder. Upon first looking it over, it’s hard to tell that this thing is different from any other heavy duty tactical flashlight; underneath that matte black finish, however, are 17 infrared LEDs and a video camera capable of capturing footage (with audio!) up to 13 feet away from the device itself. Both video and snapshots are captured in VGA (640 x 480) quality, and while only 15 seconds can be logged on the 128MB of built-in memory, the miniSD expansion slot opens that up immensely. The rub? Nah, it’s not the absurd $399.95 price tag, it’s the “three C-sized batteries” requirement. Drat.

[Via OhGizmo]

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Tactical flashlight records late night jungle excursions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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