New York - Toy manufacturers of all stripes are convening at the
Javits Center here this week for the Toy Industry Association's (TIA) annual
Toy Fair, and CE toys are making their mark.
Although tablets were not quite the superstars of the show like
they were at International CES last month, they were certainly present and
popular. The LeapPad Explorer, a tablet designed for 4- to 6-year-olds, was
named TIA's Toy of the Year. Oregon Scientific also unveiled a kid-focused
tablet known as the Meep, and TechnoSource, a division of LF Products, displayed
the Kurio during the show.
Featuring a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, the Kurio 7 runs
Android Gingerbread and has 4GB of internal storage, with a MicroSD card slot
to expand up to 32GB. Suggested retail is $199; availability is scheduled for
the spring.
Details include a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB DDR3 RAM, HDMI
out, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB port, integrated mic and VGA webcam, and five
hours of battery life. A rubberized bumper is included.
Both
Oregon
Scientific and TechnoSource highlighted their tablet's ability to be used
without cartridges, but also touted the parental control features of their
respective devices.
The Kurio allows up to eight profiles to be set up, and parents
can set up to different controls for each profile. Specific websites can be
placed on blacklists, or parents can select from a list of subjects that they
want to be blocked, and the device will scan and categorize websites. According
to the company, more than 450 million websites are already categorized.
Oregon Scientific said it will have its own app store that will
let users download free and paid apps. The company was still in talks with app
developers but expected to have around 200 apps available. The Meep will also
come preloaded with books, and, like the Kurio, it will allow parents to
blacklist and "white-list" websites based on content.
The Meep line will also feature a line of accessories, including
decibel-limited headphones, gaming cases, a roll-up silicone keyboard, a
karaoke mic and an electronic drum set. Apps will be available to interact with
the accessories.
The Meep and its accessories are scheduled to be available in the
fall, which a spokeswoman said will time well with the back-to-school selling
season.
Abstract Web:
New York - Toy manufacturers of all stripes are convening at the Javits Center here this week for the Toy Industry Association's (TIA) annual Toy Fair, and CE toys are making their mark.