CE Products Get Toy Fair Focus

By Lisa Johnston On Feb 21 2011 - 6:01am

NEW YORK — The Toy Industry Association (TIA) held its annual Toy Fair trade show at the Javits Center, here, last week. According to info posted by TIA, this year’s show registered more than 1,000 exhibitors from 27 countries, with 252 first-time exhibitors.

In a sentiment that was reminiscent of this year’s International CES, tablets made a known presence at Toy Fair, albeit in more kid-friendly hardware. Both VTech and Leap Frog introduced tablets meant for children as young as 4 years old.

VTech’s InnoPad, priced at $79.99 and meant for children aged 4 to 9, features a 5-inch color LCD touchscreen, a tilt sensor and a microphone, as well as inputs for microphone, USB and SD cards.

Children can read e-books, play games and create art with drawing apps on the InnoPad. It also has an integrated MP3 player, video player, calculator, calendar, notepad, address book and alarm clock.

The InnoPad connects to a computer via USB; ebooks, music and games can be downloaded from VTech’s Learning Lodge Navigator website. “VTech may consider [Wi-Fi Internet] access down the road when it has the right approach that creates a controlled, safe environment for kids,” a company spokesman told TWICE.

LeapFrog’s LeapPad Explorer tablet is similar to VTech’s in that it relies on downloads from the company’s website instead of direct Internet access. The Explorer also has similar specs as the InnoPad, except that it adds a video recorder and lacks an SD card slot. It has 64MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage. Suggested retail is $99.99 with apps priced at $7.50 and games at $24.99.

Sakar International stormed Toy Fair with a host of licensing announcements, including new lines from partnerships with Nickelodeon Consumer Products (NCP) and Marvel Studios.

The Sakar/NCP line will be inspired by the TV network’s “Victorious” teen and tween comedy show. Licensed products will include more than 20 SKUs, including MP3 players, boomboxes, digital cameras and DVD players.

The Marvel products, meanwhile, will cater to its superhero fans with products based on the upcoming “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Thor” movies. Products will include Nintendo DSi gaming kits, MP3 players, gaming cases, and digital and video cameras. More product details were not available at press time.

Building on the superhero theme at Toy Fair was Mimoco, which took the wraps off its latest addition to the Mimobot line of USB flash drives. The company teamed with Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment to launch the Batman-themed drives, which include Batman, Robin, Catwoman and the Joker designs.

Drives come in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, with such preloaded MimoDesk content as wallpapers, avatars and screensavers. They’re currently available for $19.95 to $59.95.

Several CE manufacturers also planned to exhibit products that had already been introduced at CES in January. This included ThinkGeek, which showed its Joystick-It Arcade Stick that attaches to tablets for gaming, and Tech Tools, which displayed its iHat wearable wireless transmitter and headphones.