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I love artistic innovation: the world would be a much more boring place had people like John Lennon, Frida Kahlo or Andy Warhol never been born.

Having said that, I don’t always understand where artists/innovators are coming from, and that’s the case with this design…

Francesca Lanzavecchia has designed something called the LightMate. According to her website, “LightMates are soft anthropomorphic pillows and warming lamps. Their different sizes answer to everyone’s need of heat; a mate to hug or a huge companion you can lay on.”

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Call me childish, but anything that’s good enough to interest a kiddo would probably have a like effect on me. I sometimes get as excited over my little son’s toys as he gets over my gizmos. Since the latter happens more often than I can tolerate, giving him his own gizmos (that are good imitations of mine) is something that I am constantly trying.

A toy camera perhaps? Or a toy cell phone? What about a toy laptop? Been there, done all of that. Which is why the Crayola EZ Type keyboard goes right into the list. This colorful USB keyboard will ensure that your little one can only perform some limited operations with your PC (it doesn’t have all the keys of a “professional” keyboard) and have fun as well. Definitely worth the $29.99.

Via Slippery Brick.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Remember the Robosapien? That impressive (male) robot which could do all manner of cool things, from marching about in a dominant manner to throwing things and um… burping.

Well, it was about time manufacturers WowWee brought out a female version with similarly gender stereotypical specifications. The Femisapien can dance with you, blow kisses and pose in an impressive manner. So basically, she’s a beauty queen in robotic form.

Pointless and regressive technology, much?

Via Shiny Shiny.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Portable Audio

We’ve never been big fans of giving your tween some Nickelodeon-ized gizmo when you can simply hand down your current gear and use it for an excuse to upgrade, but apparently not everyone sees it that way. Nickelodeon, Viacom and Imation have jointly announced the latest line of kid-friendly Npower gizmos, which includes a digital voice recorder, a digicam and a webcam based on the “breakout hit” iCarly. Additionally, the outfit is churning out SpongeBob SquarePants-themed speakers, boomboxes, MP3 players and digiframes, and there’s even a few Dora the Explorer toys thrown in for good measure. All the (inflated) prices and shipping details are down there in the read link — we won’t bore the uninterested any longer by fleshing it out here.

[Via Electronista]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots

Although it hits retail on Thursday, you might want to get your pre-order in now given the way these things tend to go scarce near the Xmas rush. We’re talking about Elmo Live of course, the singing, dancing, and story telling robot with wobbly red limbs and interactive sensors scattered around the monster’s face and ticklish belly. Available now for about $65 pre-tax at all the usual on-line shops for out tiniest consumers. We’ve dropped in the video after the break as a reminder of things to come.

[Via I4U]

Read — Amazon
Read — Wal-mart
Read — ToysRUs

Continue reading Elmo Live ready for pre-order by dutiful parents

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Crave reports that a Brazilian designer named Bruno Oro de Abreu has been working on a Bluetooth-enabled teddy bear aimed at reducing isolation and improving socialisation for kids with cancer, or who have to spend long periods bedridden for other reasons.

The bear has a holographic display that can be used to surf the Internet, play games, attend remote classes, and make friends with other kids who have a Dilus. It also comes in a range of designs. At the moment, this is a graduation project, but Bruno Oro de Abreu hopes to have it on the market by 2010.

I’d hate to rain on his parade, as this seems like an ingenious design with very noble goals. It’s just that… well, I still find talking teddy bears in loud designs as creepy as I did when I was 10. (But today’s kids might be braver than me!) Also, there needs to be some way to monitor exactly who your kids are talking to…

I can’t help wondering if a cute little Asus Eeepc is a better option. What do you think?

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

There was a time when the world was more innocent and Lincoln Logs in elementary classrooms were a given, but now that teachers are looking to squash every ounce of fun between 8AM and 3PM (okay, so maybe we just had a rough experience or two), LEGO’s taking the back door in. The WeDo robotics kit is marketed toward elementary schools and the younger kids within them, with each package containing 158 blocks, gears, levers, etc., a USB hub for connecting to your Mac / PC, OLPC XO or Intel Classmate, a motor, one motion sensor, one tilt sensor and a CD with a smattering of sure-to-be-riveting activities. Mum’s the word on pricing for now, but considering your tax dollars will be paying for ‘em, it’s not like you’ll really benefit from knowing.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots

So it’s a full $59 more than we were expecting, but with Wall-E’s tremendous success at the box office, we have a feeling Disney can get away with it. The Ultimate Wall-E remote control robot is now up for pre-order, promising kids and adults-longing-to-be-kids alike hours upon hours of fun. For those who missed this creature frolicking on video, here are the highlights: he can chat with his owner, dance, play music, dazzle you with those eyes and even sense / avoid obstacles. Unfortunately, all $249 will buy you is a place in line, as this fellow isn’t expect to ship until October 16th.

[Thanks, Toadlet]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Why is it that the Japanese have such cute toys, though I suppose they would call them collectibles?

Meet Peegee, the third installment of the series, created by the artist Tourma and sold at the Japanese site Tokyocube,
who ship worldwide.

Standing just 4.6 inches (12 cm) tall, he is the perfect companion for my computer desk, which is already jammed with slightly demented Japanese characters from tokidoki , a Doraemon, a giddy robot cat who has no ears because they were chewed off by rats, to the original yellow cutie, Pokeman, who started my collecting frenzy in the first place.

I just hope that Bastardino makes Peegee welcome.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Now here’s a novel concept. Takara Tomy’s BankQuest is half piggy bank, half old school RPG. Essentially, gamers / penny pinchers can purchase items to help them fend off pixelated ogres and the like by saving more money. The more coinage that gets deposited, the better the journey becomes. So, do you get some kind of prize when you cash it all out to buy your mum something nice, or what?

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Original post by Darren Murph

As evidenced by the ever-popular Hello Kitty vibrator, and Gloomy Bear, cute Japanese toys are not always as sexless or as gormless as they may appear at first glance. Tomy’s “Healing Partner” doll may not be that cute, and isn’t covered in bloody wounds, but it follows the Japanese tradition of something which looks benign being a little menacing. The Healing Partner doll shadow sleeps with you- so using six sensors it goes to sleep when you do, and stays awake ungodly hours when you do. And then it lets you know what it thinks about your joint sleeping pattern by singing sweetly when it’s well-rested, or hurling abuse when you’ve been out all night, leaving it alone and shaking with fury, filled with robo-psychotic thoughts.

Since Healing Partner already looks like it’s suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a few tours of duty at war, you probably need to kick it out of bed before going on a sleepless weekend bender.

Healing Partner is available in Japan only, but can be purchased from Audiocubes for $180.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Gaming

Brace yourself — the moment you’ve been waiting all year for has finally arrived. Yes, rock star wannabes, the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker is finally in major retailers. The Jada Toys’ device, which was showcased at CES, consists of a miniature guitar amplifier, a sensor-laden belt buckle, an assortment of pics and an Air Cartridge, which packs “ten signature guitar riffs” ranging in skill from one to five. Once you rock the wind out of the $29.99 base unit, you can look forward to “encore packs” — which will include themed belt buckles and new Air Cartridges — arriving later this summer for $14.99 each. Oddly enough, we think a “gnarly” is order here.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots

Alright, so maybe the recently announced Ultimate WALL-E robot doesn’t actually get down and dirty on video, but he does maintain a pretty positive attitude after being poked, prodded and generally invaded for a full five minutes. The latest collaborative effort from Disney and Thinkway Toys was spotted recently at Maker Faire, and if you’re interested to see what exactly $190 will net you later this summer, head on past the break and click play.

Continue reading Disney / Thinkway Toys’ Ultimate WALL-E robot cleans up on camera

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Original post by Darren Murph

If you were blown away by the color-screen version of the handheld Tetris game, then you’ll love this Meiji chocolate bar puzzle from Strapya World. You’re clearly quite easy to please, so I can tell you won’t mind that the inedible puzzle isn’t electronic and that rather than clearing lines, the object of this “game” is to fit all of the chocolate-looking pieces into the included clear container.

It’s the anti-Tetris really because you’ve got similar-looking pieces that must be positioned manually (instead of flipping them frantically into place as they fall from the sky at accelerating speeds) and the more open space you have, the less “done” the game is (as opposed to trying not to let the rows of blocks build up too high). Additionally, if you’ve managed to figure out all 2,339 ways to solve the puzzle, you get to”level up” by buying another chocolate bar: white chocolate = easy, milk chocolate = beginner, black (dark?) chocolate = advanced.

Grab yours from Strapaya World for about $7.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

I don’t have any little kids in my house, so when one comes to visit, I’m often at a loss for how to entertain my guest, as I have no toys lying about. My repertoire of Origami cranes and inflatable cubes exhausts itself in about twenty minutes.

I’ve bookmarked this page of Fractalspin for the next time I find myself in this dilemma. The Mandlebot Paper Toy is a foldable robot that you print out on your own printer, then spend the next hour folding in accordance with the instructions. Fractalspin describes Mandlebot as a “stylish robot who just needs some help becoming 3D like the rest of us,” and who likes electronic music.

Hopefully, by the time I finish the project and my little friend figures out that it doesn’t actually do anything, it’ll be time to gather him up to send him home.

SHOP FOR TOYS AT THE POPGADGET SHOP AND THE BABYGADGET SHOP.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women