Childrens Gadgets
Gadgets are great for us big kids adults but so as not to let the little kids miss out this section of Coolest Gadgets is dedicated to sharing gadgets especially for children (though I’m sure some will be suitable for us big kids too :)).
Working Pedal Powered Forklift
Kids these days, they tend to have far cooler toys that we oldies ever had in our younger days. Take the $319.95 Working Pedal Powered Forklift for example – when we were little, we needed to make use of this thing called our imagination if we wanted to drive a forklift around. Not so with these young ‘uns, as their parents can just fork out a certain amount of dough and ta-daa! There they are, with the Working Pedal Powered Forklift sitting in the living room.
This pedal-powered, ride-on version is a toy replica of a Linde 394 forklift, where it will raise and lower itself at its driver’s command. Made in Germany, you turn a hand crank to move its lifting fork, holding it into place with a locking lever. You will manipulate the pedals to power the forklift forward and backwards, where a precisely engineered chain drive will keep it going where you want to. A quartet of plastic tires provide the right kind of rubber traction strips, and with its squat, robust chassis that is made from sturdy ABS plastic, you can be sure that it is going to outlast your kids’ childhood years.
It’s a Bike, It’s a Scooter – NO! It’s EzyRoller
Okay, so I admit that I’m a huge fan of electronics, obviously. My favorite things in this world are animated and have bells and whistles, but I have to say, that every now and then, I remember being a kid and I remember having fun that you used to have to work for. The kind of fun that made you tired at the end of the day, the kind of fun that made you excited about weekends.
Well I’d like to introduce you to some new fangled, old-school fun, welcome EzyRoller, a low to the ground ride on toy that combines the control of a bike and the fun of a scooter. Not a luge, not a bike and not a scooter, the EzyRoller moves like a snake all without chains or pedals simply by using easy right-left leg movements. Just like in the old days there are no batteries and the EzyRoller moves and turns silently, unless of course you count the screams and giggles. Continue reading » It’s a Bike, It’s a Scooter – NO! It’s EzyRoller
The Breadcrumb Tracker – Your Teen’s Worst Nightmare
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but it seems like more kids are getting into trouble, or worse, ending up missing. It seems like everyday I hear a news report about a child abduction, or a missing mom… there are Silver alerts on the highway warning us to be on the lookout for a “lost” senior. I don’t know whats going on, but it does keep me up nights. I remember when I was a kid, wandering the neighborhood for the entire day, coming home in time for dinner, its not like that anymore.
Breadcrumb is offering a unique location technology software that is able to provide parents or caregivers the ability to view the precise location of their family members right from their Smartphone, or any Internet connected computer. The software also allows children to send a request for help to their parents with a simple push of a button on their Smartphone. A parents dream, a teenagers worst nightmare. Continue reading » The Breadcrumb Tracker – Your Teen’s Worst Nightmare
The Nabi – Not your Daddy’s Tablet
I guess everybody expects that I’m a gadget geek. It would come as no surprise that I have a multitude of electronic devices in every corner of my home. I have smart-phones and laptops, desktops, movie players, movie streamers, recorders, set top boxes, iPods, iPads, Android stuff galore… and an 8 year old child that we affectionately call “the crusher”
So it is certainly my pleasure to introduce you to “the Nabi” . Finally, a 200 dollar kid-friendly android tablet that has a responsive touchscreen, large size app buttons, access to a huge variety of kid appropriate content like music, books, games and movies. The Nabi also has some pretty nifty parental controls built right in. So, if you have nightmares every time your little darling puts his mitts on your 600 dollar iPad, the Nabi might be able to calm your fears and delight your child, all at the same time. (How often does that happen?)
Continue reading » The Nabi – Not your Daddy’s Tablet
Training Wheels Eliminator
One of the joys of parenting would be to be there when your little one grows up, handling different stages accordingly – it is basically a learning process. Kids these days might lean more towards video games as their entertainment mode of choice, and I would strongly suggest exposing your progeny to more physical based activities like hiking, flying a kite, and even riding a bicycle. Of course, there is that initial fear period to overcome as balancing on two wheels seems impossible for a kid, and this is where training wheels come in. For parents who want to make do away with training wheels, you can always install the Training Wheels Eliminator.
This gyroscopic bicycle wheel will teach children to ride a bike without training wheels, where you replace a bike’s front wheel with it, sporting an internal, powered gyroscope that spins independently in order to generate a force (gyroscopic precession) that stabilizes the bicycle. Whenever the rider starts to topple over due to a loss in balance, the gyroscope precesses, or turns, while guiding the handlebars in the right direction of the fall in order to maintain stability. This encourages kids to lean improperly away from a fall, while preventing them from developing incorrect riding habits.
You can choose from 12″ and 16″ models which retail for $99.95 and $139.95, respectively.
Popar Books – Reach Out and Grab you… really!
So here we go, even our books are becoming high tech, I can see it now, gone are the days of the quiet library. No longer will we feel the evil eye and hear the stern Shhhhhh… of the librarian. Someday, and that day may be here sooner rather than later, the library will sound like an arcade, with all the bells and whistles, lights flashing and spinning, books just begging to be read… literally. But I have to say, I’m alright with it, in fact I’m okay with anything that gets my kid to read. A high tech library… can you imagine it?
Well Popar Toys sure can, Popar Toys is using Augmented Reality (AR) technology to create an immersive learning experience that will allow its users to see the books printed pages blossom with incredible virtual 3D objects and animations that will seem to just jump off the pages. The “magic” works by way of a webcam and Popar’s specially coded books and cards, that when held up for the camera, seem to “come alive” around its user, right on your computer screen! Check out the video after the jump… Continue reading » Popar Books – Reach Out and Grab you… really!
World’s Largest Scrabble Game
Is there some sort of obsession with the world’s largest, longest, smallest, fastest, object? Are such superlative adjectives really important in determining the value of a particular thing? With the Guinness Book of World Records, that seems to be the case – and the $12,000 World’s Largest Scrabble Game certainly has a strong case going for it. It spans more than 49 feet square, and is nearly 5 times the size of the original. Being the largest wall-mounted Scrabble game in the world, there are only nine in existence, and is handmade by John Kahn, one who is famous as a mixed media artist and creator of colossal pop art.
Carefully made from Russian birch plywood, the 3/4″-deep back board is overlaid with the classic purple-hued background of the original game, laminated with a .023-gauge galvanized steel sheet, and covered by a heavy vinyl print of the playing board that obtains additional protection thanks to a satin laminate. It will be bordered by a 0.75″ x 2.5″ birch frame which will wrap from the front to the back, while the board attaches to a wall with included hardware. I wonder how those who are prone to temper tantrums overthrow the board with this in the living room…
Learn To Walk Trainer
Sometimes, words fail me, and this is quite close – I do wonder how did kids, since time immemorial, learned how to walk if they did not have the assistance of the $59.95 Learn To Walk Trainer? Winner of a National Parenting Center Seal Of Approval, this particular walk trainer comes in a four-wheeled, wide-legged ride-on configuration that provides added stability for those kids who are starting to pick up the art of walking. Made from a sturdy aluminum frame with an ABS saddle, steering wheel, and rolling wheels, its has a couple of front legs which are able to extend forward and laterally from the center.
Each leg will also end with a rolling caster, enabling movement in virtually any direction on smooth surfaces. Shaped to look like a friendly, smiling face, the steering wheel’s two cut-out “eyes” offer sturdy handholds for a child. It can be used to help children as young as 9 to 12 months old develop the balance necessary for independent walking with adult supervision.
