Geek Out

All The Best Playthings Of Toy Fair 2012

Toy Fair, a staggeringly large collection of playtime gadgets for kiddos and immature adults, has come to an end. Phew! We wandered through aisle after aisle of bouncy balls and model dinosaurs to find the cream of the crop:


February 16, 2012
Cameras

Hands On Cyborg Fashion Photo Barbie

Barbie, at once a gender pioneer and enabler of countless anorexics, has found her newest role: human-machine hybrid.


February 15, 2012
Geek Out

Some Company Is Selling Pure Magic At Toy Fair

You might think you can explain where Columbia-based Aracataca got these giant pens, pencils, crayons and markers that are somehow miraculously passing through solid objects. But you can’t. Because it’s magic. Pure, unadulterated, magic.


Geek Out

The Great Nerf Guns Of 2012

Will we ever feel too old to love Nerf guns? No, I doubt it. What about Super Soakers? Oh, hush, of course not. Shooting things with toy guns is an intrinsic human joy. Here’s what you’ll be firing this year.


Geek Out

The Coolest Action Figures You Can’t Buy Yet

Toy Fair is full of lame jigsaw puzzles, toy horses and other antique things nobody cares about anymore. But! There’s also plenty of unreleased Star Wars, Spider Man and other stuff that makes us feel like excited kids again. Lightsabres!


Geek Out

You Can Buy Boo, The Internet’s Cutest Dog

Boo, an animal so impossibly cute as to make physicists question our understanding of the cosmos, is now available for mass production. It’s soft. It’s lifelike. We went hands-on with the most disgustingly cute toy ever seen.


July 2, 2011
Geek Out

Max Force Shadow Hawk 100: At Least This Giant Spitball Gun Looks Cool

The Max Force Shadow Hawk (deep breath) 100 is a sort of hybrid between Nerf and Super Soaker, flinging spitball-ish wads of paper at your friends – from up to 30m away. Dope. But does it do that? Hands on!


July 1, 2011
Software

Disney Spotlight: Karaoke On Your iPad 2

It’s lacking the staples of Tiny Dancer, Don’t Stop Believin’ and Hollaback Girl (am I right?), but if you’re into Disney’s catalogue of croon-alongs, Spotlight could be a lot of fun for the tween in your life (or you).


June 21, 2011
Geek Out

Fake iPad Replaces Stuffed Animal As Perfect 21st Century Toy

I’ve noticed an increasing number of can’t-be-bothered parents handing over an iPhone or iPad to their screaming tykes – but what if they throw up on it or try to eat it? The whiteboard anaPad’s perfect for (faux) touchscreen child-rearing.


June 20, 2011
Gadgets

Bizarre Japanese Toys Turns Bodies Into Orchestras

If you’re already in the habit of slapping and poking your friends (IRL, not Facebook), you might as well get some music out of it. The Ningen Gakki Human Instrument Machine converts contact to compositions, and, of course, looks absurd.