toys - page 2

Thankfully for tech bloggers the Anglo Saxon world over, this year April Fools Day aka All Fools Day fell on a Sunday. That didn’t stop PR folk waking from a fitful, hungover sleep, dragging their laptops into bed and sending out a “funny” press release, which is why you should probably still watch out today.

But above the dross stands — as it does every year — ThinkGeek. In the past, we have seen such April Fool wonders as the Taun Taun sleeping bag for kids, the iCade iPad arcade cabinet and the 8-bit tie. This year, ThinkGeek went to town with a whole range of fake gear. Here we take a look at the best.

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These iPhone-powered doggies are ridiculously cute. The little fellas use iPhones for their faces and brains, and can shuffle around the table (or neighborhood, we guess), barking, blinking and even sneezing. It’s a little like a virtual pet, only real.

Biologic is a – hmm, what is it exactly? It’s hard to describe. It’s not a Twitter client, although you can see Twitter with it. It’s not a Facebook client either, but your Facebook friends are all here if you want them to be. So what is it? The people who made it say it’s a “playful environment for exploring your friends’ activity streams from your favorite social networks.” Yeah, that covers it.

The mock turtleneck; the round glasses; the smirk — there’s a good reason this new “iCEO” doll from Throwboy looks familiar to you. If not, the fantastic pictures they’re using to market this little guy will surely give it away. Or, I guess my title already did that.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some kind of iPhone accessory that let you toss your $650+ device around, abusing it by bouncing it off walls and floors? If you answered a sensible “no” to that question, then congratulations. You are a responsible adult with a sense of perspective. If you answered “yes,” then you might be interested in The O, a foam ball with — you guessed it — custom apps.

Makego is a cool new app that makes your kids’ real world creations come to life.

The two-dollar app comes with three virtual vehicles – a racing car, an ice cream truck, and a river boat. All you have to do is make one (out of Lego, paper, or anything else you can think of), plop your device inside, and run the app.

Despite vowing that nothing would stop it from producing its 12-inch Steve Jobs action figure, the Chinese toy manufacturer In Icons has finally cancelled production after “immense pressure” from lawyers representing both Apple and Steve’s family.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2012 – Sphero is a fun little gadget indeed. Paired with your iPhone, you can make the Sphero roll this way and that. You can also change its color on the fly. And if you own a cat, well, just watch the video and let your imagination do the work.

The Sphero was at CES last year, but only as a rough prototype. They just started shipping in December, so if you’d like to pick one up, you can do so on Amazon or on Sphero’s website for $129.

Go get one, your kitty will think its purrr-fect.

Remember that Steve Jobs action figure from the other day that Apple is trying to force legally off the market, insinuating they own Steve Jobs’s likeness?

Turns out that it looks like in most states, Apple can’t really do squat to prevent the sale of DiD Corp’s Steve Jobs doll? As it turns out, even if Apple did own Steve Jobs’s likeness, that would only be valid in most states while Jobs was alive. Now that he’s dead, though, almost anyone can profit off of his likeness.

I’d have put my house and children on Apple suing the Chinese toy manufacturer which produces the incredibly realistic Steve Jobs action figure we reported on earlier this week. And just as expected, it’s threatening to do just that.

In Icon has reportedly received a letter from Apple’s legal team which states it must stop producing and selling the 12-inch $99 figure — which sports Steve’s iconic black turtleneck, blue jeans and white sneakers — immediately, or face legal action. Unfortunately for In Icon, it has no intention of quitting.

Apple has not been known to look kindly upon toys made in the likeness of the company’s iconic, recently deceased founder, Steve Jobs.

Any guesses, then, as to how long it’ll take for them to pile on DiD Corp for this eerily accurate action figure of Steve? The 30 centimeter statue is available now for preorder at just $99.99 and will supposedly ship out in February, but if Apple hasn’t sent a strongly worded letter (and, failing that, some pipe-wielding muscle) to DiD Corp by then, preventing the sale of the device, well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.

More images below.

We’ve seen some crazy accessories for Apple devices over the past year. Some of them have been so inventive that we’ve marveled at their originality and design, whereas others are so simple and functional that we’re knocking our heads wishing we had thought of something so elegant. Over the past year we’ve tried to cover the most important new accessories for Apple devices, and we’ve narrowed down the favorites to a list of 10 accessories that we think are the best of the best.

Now it’s your turn to tell us if you think we’re right, and let us know which is your favorite Apple accessory of 2011. Take a quick glance at the 10 items below and then vote in our poll to let us know which you think is the true winner.

Children and Apple stuff mix pretty well — iDevices cap the top three slots on kids’ wishlists, right? So it’s a good bet that there’ll be a bunch of Apple stuff underneath the trees or the Menorah this year. We’ve put together a short list of icing-on-the-cake type gifts — or great follow-ups if you got ’em iDevices last year.

Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, celebrated the game’s second birthday on December 11 with an update that’s guaranteed to please fans of the bird slinger. In addition to 15 brand new levels, version 2.0 of the original Angry Birds game unlocks every episode available.

Fruit Ninja is one of those titles almost every iOS gamer has experienced at some point — just like Angry Birds. And like the aforementioned bird game, the makers of Fruit Ninja are hoping to cash in on their popularity this holiday season with these incredibly adorable Fruit Ninja plush toys.

Sphero was unveiled months ago at CES, and remote-controlled spherical object fans everywhere have been eagerly awaiting its official release ever since. Today, the company announced that final production models have just arrived.

Somewhere, as Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries is playing n the background, squadrons of Parrot AR Drones face off against Griffin’s new Helo TC somewhere over the Atlantic (since Parrot is based in France and Griffin in Tennessee, I figured that’s where they’d probably meet up).

This bobble-headed Steve Jobs statuette is both horrifyingly creepy and yet undeniably compelling, but unfortunately, its makers has already been asked by Apple’s legal team to lay off… not because it makes portrays Steve like some sort of murderous, hydrocephalic homunculus, but because they didn’t get permission to use the Apple logo or the likeness of iPhone in Steve’s hands.

Probably for the best: I’d almost definitely get one, put it on a shelf somewhere, then inevitably start fantasizing about it creeping into the bedroom with sewing needles in its hands during some midnight’s delirium tremens.

The trouble with iBone, a plush squeaky toy for dogs modeled on the iPhone, just slightly larger than the real thing, is that it’s unlikely to discourage Fido from playing around with your iPhone, should it get within paw reach.

Via Nerd Approved