Remote control Mario Kart racers launched

A new series of dinky remote control cars sporting the likenesses of Nintendo’s favourite plumber Mario and his lankier brother Luigi have been launched and they are sure to please kids and gaming adults alike.

The remote control unit and the racers themselves are small enough for tabletop races, but if you have a smooth wooden floor this might be an even better venue for a match up, since there is a reduced chance of you ending up with a smashed gadget.

As well as the plug-fixing pair, you can choose other staples of the Mario Kart series, including Yoshi and the evil Bowser. The standard controls allow them to move in all directions and true to the game franchise there is even a boost button that lets you accelerate quickly for a brief period, although you will have to use your imagination to pretend you have driven over a power-up.

Obstacles come in the shape of little plastic Koopa shells and the famous banana skin, so you can set up race courses that are as simple or complex as you like.

You will be able to control the cars remotely over more than one and a half metres and each kart will sell for around the £20 when they are launched.

Although these little racers are clearly intended for kids, the novelty of owning them is probably going to have nearly universal appeal. The batteries are also included and should be easy to replace, which is a bonus.

Pleo Dinosaur Review

Have you ever longed to be transported back to a simpler time when dinosaurs ruled the earth? Unfortunately this isn’t a review for a time machine to achieve that aim, sorry for raising your hopes! But you can be consoled by the offer of the next best thing; Pleo the dinosaur! This animatronic toy is designed to mimic the appearance and behaviour of a Camarasaurus at the age of one week old. Obviously the lack of the aforementioned time machine makes it somewhat difficult to actually establish what that behaviour may have been like, but Ugobe, makers of the Furby, have made an educated guess. Ugobe tell us that Pleo will develop its own personality based on the experiences that it is subjected to. Its vast array of sensors and motors allow the baby dinosaur to notice its environment and react accordingly. It sounds great but the question remains as to whether this artificial intelligence is really able to create a unique personality.

Your Pleo dinosaur is equipped with a sophisticated sensory system that facilitates sight, touch and movement. There are nearly 40 individual devices buried under its green skin, alongside its 100 custom gears and 14 specially designed motors. Some of the devices included in each Pleo are a camera-based vision system to allow navigation and light detection, two microphones to provide more realism in the dinosaur’s hearing and four foot switches for surface detection. An orientation tilt sensor will inevitably have your Pleo complaining if you tip it upside down, and eight separate touch sensors will have it responding to any contact. There’s even an infra-red sensor in the mouth to let your new friend know that you’re attempting to feed it.

The Pleo’s strength is in the linking of this technology to creating what is essentially a unique personality. As an example, when the battery begins to get low so does the energy level of the dinosaur; you’ll notice the tail begin to droop and a slowing in any actions. Special sensors on the skin, chin, neck, legs, tail and torso will notice any violent jerks that you apply to Pleo which allow him to “feel” the mistreatment. You can rest assured that he will react to your action, perhaps with the exhibition of a limp. A mistreated Pleo may recover with enough love and nurture, depending on the life they’ve already experienced. Reactions to events such as these are what contribute to the unique personality of each individual Pleo.

Just as with any living creature your Pleo will develop through several different phases. Initially he’ll be quite content to be petted by you and sleepiness will be the overriding factor that keeps him from being as entertaining as when he gets a little older. The things that he encounters as he grows and develops will alter his personality in the long term and his mood in the short term. From an initial journey of discovery and acclimatisation to the outside world to a more intelligent being with enough Artificial Intelligence to enable him to act in accordance with whatever environment he may be faced with, you can be sure there will be plenty of entertainment along the way.

Pleo will let you know if he is hungry with a demanding hoot and forlorn appearance. He will respond to being petted and will make noise when jostled. What’s more if you insert something into his mouth and attempt to remove it he’ll even play tug-of-war with you!

Infra-red communication allows one Pleo to interact with another (or several others). With USB and SD ports it is also easy to update the dinosaur with the online downloads available for it.

Everything that you need for the care of your brand new dinosaur is included with the purchase. You’ll receive a companion’s guide telling you how to look after it, a training leaf, an identity card, a rechargeable battery and an AC power cable.

If you’re looking for a top of the range Artificial Intelligence toy then Pleo could well be for you. Its ability to learn and develop in the environment it is provided with will entertain both children and the inner child in every adult. The principle drawback seems to be the very poor life of the NiMH rechargeable battery. Three to four hours of charging will power the dinosaur for just one hour, which could quickly become frustrating. However if you can look past the delay to the inevitable fun to be had with your own cute little dinosaur then Pleo still seems more than a reasonable investment.

Grow your own girlfriend and you can be the boss!

In this world of politically correct products, eco friendly services and kill joys, how refreshing to see something which will annoy all of those who try to stop us having fun. The Grow a Girlfriend is perhaps the most politically incorrect gadget to be released for some time but it will certainly put a smile on many a recipients face!

So what is it and what does it actually do?

Before everyone gets carried away this is not an adult toy rather something of a novelty gift for a friend who may be unlucky in love or fed up with the constant nagging and moaning of his partner. To make the most of your Grow a Girlfriend gift you just need to soak ‘her’ in water and within 2 hours she will start to grow. After 3 days she will be at full size and bursting out of her skimpy pink bikini – well almost!

No nagging, no moaning, no pinching the last of the change out of your pockets, just a ‘girlfriend’ YOU can talk to without being interrupted. In these times of economic turmoil what better gift than a girlfriend who cost nothing to take out?

The Super I Sobot

The Japanese are streets ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to creating miniature robots for the sake of pleasure (you can try to claim they’re educational but we all know the truth) and the iSobot is one of the latest and probably greatest miniature powered humanoid form robots to grace these shores. At a little under £200 from IWOOT, it also represents one of the more affordable options especially considering the range of functions and commands it offers.

Equipped with 19 IICs (Integrated Circuit Chips), 17 servo motors, and 2 LEDs it is one highly developed little piece of kit, and it really is quite little standing marginally more than 16cm tall.

All that electronic goodness enables the I Sobot to perform a huge range of activities. Not only will it learn and respond to voice commands but it will perform basic human movements, mimic martial art fighting moves, and even exercise on your behalf.

It also offers a Radio Control unit with LCD monitor that enables the user full and surprisingly simple control over the unit. He has 200 movements pre programmed as well as over 300 words and phrases to really impress you with.

Buy your I-Sobot today

 
 
 

Rubik’s Revolution – Infuriating And Fun

The Rubik’s Cube was an absolute phenomenon in the 80s and has remained one of the biggest sellers in the decades since. With the release of the latest and most updated version of the Rubik’s mind bending series of games, the Rubik’s Revo, it’s bound to cause more frustration and, what’s more, taking the stickers off and putting them back in order isn’t going to win you the prize this time.

It really is a revolution with digital games. Shaped like the original cube, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s just the same as the original and that the company are simply trying to cash in on the nostalgia vote.

Game modes include Light Speed, Rapid Recharge, Pattern Panic, Cube Catcher, Multiplayer Madness and Code Cracker. The cube lights up, plays sounds, and times you depending on which of the modes you choose to play. As with the original game, it will infuriate you and please you in equal measures.

Play it by yourself or team up to try and beat one another’s score, and at less than £15, the Rubik’s Revo looks like another blinding release that will keep us entertained for twenty years or more (perhaps not in one sitting, although…)

Briefcase Scalextric Type Toy

For $600 (about £300) you can get this rather funky looking Japanese self contained karting game in its fetching aluminium case. Two cars, Five hour battery life (provided by a 9v battery), a two metre track, and two hand controllers make up the set although it would be fair to say that the carry case may be going just a little over the top and is probably largely responsible for the slightly inflated price tag.

While it is quite cool, it’s just not the same as spending hours and hours putting your own Scalextric track to find that there’s a single piece somewhere in the 17 miles of course that isn’t working. Or, worse still, the track is fine but those metal elements that you used to find on the bottom of the cars have completely worn down.

To be honest, it’s been a while since I bought a Scalextric so I’m not sure if the same really rings true but that was always part of the fun. The building of the track, that is, and not the inability to get your cars to whizz round them afterwards. Another part of the fun was waiting for the cat to saunter past that bend the car always comes off at, and hurtling your little miniature porsche as fast as it would go towards your feline friend.

The Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro RC

Micro radio controlled cars are hardly limited in the spaces where they can drive. Desktops, under tables, on laminate floor, and pretty much anywhere there’s a couple of feet or clear space. But Spin Master, the RC experts, are launching a micro RC version of their innovative wall climbing, zero gravity cars.

By creating a vacuum of air, the micro RC, named the Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro RC will stick to the wall and even the ceiling enabling you to literally race around the room. The little racer can also be popped on the floor for some soon-to-be old school racing, although you have to switch the car between the two so you can’t just pop a wheelie off the floor and start driving up the wall.

Spin Master has previously created zero gravity RC cars, in the shape of a Hummer. It wasn’t really designed for racing, but happily it did work. The new micro RC cars will be considerably smaller and will carry an aptly although surprisingly light price tag of around £25 when they’re released towards the end of the month. Available in red or black, perhaps the biggest surprise is that they actually work.

Buy now from iwoot

Pleo Dinsosuar Virtual Pet With Real Feelings

Pleo is a virtual pet with a difference, the pleo not only develops its own personality but is also influenced by the way its owner looks after it – it really is like raising a child as everything you do has a consequence.

Every pleo is created unique and comes freshly hatched Camarasaurus and immediately after the pleo has a new owner it begins to develop its personality. Read more

Lego Mindstorm NXT – Serious Robot Kits

Robotics are perhaps the ultimate in sci-fi type gadgets and toys money can buy. Robot kits also represent one of the most accessible and hands on ways to be geeky that you can possibly find. If soldering and circuitry aren’t your thing then, believe it or not, Lego could be the answer.

Lego Mindstorm is a series of robot kits that can be built and programmed pretty much exactly how you want, although it does come at a premium cost. But then, you can’t expect this kind of big boy’s toy to come cheap can you?

The latest Lego Mindstorm NXT set includes an almost baffling array of sensors and control devices including 3 servo motors to control motors, a computer brain, numerous sensors, and of course some Technic Lego components to create your robot. It’s claimed that you can build your first robot in under 30 minutes but having battled with Technic lego as a kid I suspect this is a slightly deflated figure for the majority of us.

Once your robot is complete you can program it using the included software (compatible with the PC or Mac) or you can even control it using your mobile phone. Extra sensors can be purchased, and a fervent NXT community includes monthly challenges and numerous projects that you can dive into using the, ahem, basic NXT kit – costing £179. It might be a little expensive but it is a serious piece of robotic kit and incredible fun to boot.

[Lego Mindstorm NXT]

Guaranteed Water Fight Victory

Can you possibly think of anything worse than running out of ammo during a water fight with the kids? I thought not. The ignominy of getting drenched by the little ones is more than any grown man or woman can, or indeed should have to handle but fortunately help is at hand in the shape of the reloadable water pistol with gun belt and magazine clips.

I know what you’re thinking – how many millilitres of water have I fired?

For a little extra assistance, you can call on some serious artillery backup too with the water mortar. Pop in a water bomb, aim and fire. Unfortunately, the Water Mortar does only have a range of about 8 metres so you can’t fire them over your house but the fence is fair game.

Now, just give the kids the £2 water guns you bought 8 years ago that leak and hold barely enough water to feed a cactus and you’re guaranteed a glorious victory, the likes of which you’ll be able to bask in for weeks.

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