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Tech for tots: Hot gadgets and games for kids

vtech tablet kids baby toddler
vtech tablet kids baby toddler

Forget dolls, footballs and jigsaw puzzles – kids today want tech in their toys.

If you’ve ever seen your kids with a tablet on their lap, you know how engrossed they are with the technology – and inherently comfortable with it, too -- and so perhaps it’s not much of a surprise this is often what they’d rather play with over traditional toys.

Whether it’s video games, tablets or high-tech action figures and robots, many of 2014’s “most wanted” fuse entertainment with electronics. Heck, even LEGO has evolved into buildable robots with on-brick programming, while many classic board games let you place your iPad in the middle of the action.

The following is a look at a few of bigger tech-infused toys to treat your younger loved ones with.

Tablets for toddlers

Worried your kids will drop your iPad or Android tablet?

Young children can now have their very own touchscreen tablet – with educational apps to play on it – with products like Leapfrog’s LeapPad Ultra ($149.99) and LeapPad2 Power Learning Tablet ($89.99) or VTech’s InnoTab 3 (from $49.99) and InnoTab 3S Wi-Fi Learning App Tablet ($74.99).

All of these durable tablets offer an expansive app catalog, plus parents can track their child's progress through an online feature.

Built for kids ages 3 to 9, the LeapPad Ultra features a 7-inch high-resolution screen, Wi-Fi with kid-safe Web access, and the ability to download more than 800 fun and educator-approved apps, games, eBooks, videos, music and more. Simple parental settings let mom and dad easily control exactly what experiences a child can access.

Also for kids age 3 to 9 and available in green and white or pink and white, the 5-inch LeapPad2 Power includes nine apps out of the box but 4 gigabytes of memory to store many others you might download for the little ones. Plus, kids can take pictures and videos with front-and-back cameras. The LeapPad2 Power works with LeapFrog’s extensive library of 800-odd apps, games, eBooks, and more.

vetch baby leappad tablet kid baby toddler
vetch baby leappad tablet kid baby toddler

For kids age 1 to 9 years, InnoTab 3 Baby ($89.99) includes content specifically for infants, including learning games, photo slideshows (with zoo, forest and sea creatures), a Noah's Ark e-book, sing-along nursery rhyme songs, drawing and coloring activities and an app called Baby Sign Language, featuring 100 popular signs. The tablet ships with a soft, removable gel bumper that helps protect the tablet from drops and tumbles.

For kids age 3 through 9, the InnoTab 3S Wi-Fi Learning App Tablet supports both downloadable apps and cartridges, including games, e-books, music and videos, and other interactive activities. Content is based on popular franchises, such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Thomas & Friends, Angelina Ballerina, Mike the Knight, Team Umizoomi and Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

Board games, LEGO go high-tech

Hasbro has rereleased its classic board games -- like The Game of Life, Monopoly and Battleship -- but has added a high-tech twist involving the hottest tablet on the market: the iPad.

Hasbro game life zapped ipad
Hasbro game life zapped ipad

The Game of Life zAPPed Edition ($16.99), for example, looks like the regular board game at first glance, but there’s a spot in the middle to place the iPad, after you've download the free The Game of Life zAPPed app from the App Store. Now, up to four players can take turns spinning a virtual wheel on the iPad, travel around the game board in their little car and progress through the “game of life,” enhanced by cute animated sequences, sound effects and more than 100 humorous video clips from "America’s Funniest Videos" seen on the tablet’s 9.7-inch screen.

These videos are all tied to the major milestones in life, such as graduating from school, starting a career, getting married and having kids. For example, you might see a clip of a mother lying with her quadruplets and all laughing uncontrollably (out of sleep-deprivation for the mom, no doubt).

Taking about an hour to play, this zAPPed game plays very much like the classic Life, except careers have been modernized (example: video game designer) as have prices and salaries. Whoever finishes “life” with the most money, wins, of course.

One of the hottest high-tech kids gifts this past holiday season was the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 ($349.99), an advanced robotics kit that lets kids build five different robots out of the box – such as a humanoid, vehicle and reptile – and you can download a dozen more designs from the Internet or make your very own creations.

With free smartphone or tablet apps (Android and iOS), you can program and control these creatures to do what you want, plus they’ll interact with the environment on their own as these robots have infrared sensors for autonomous play, such as the snake-like robot that lunges and hisses if it senses something in front of it.

lego mindstorms ev3 robot
lego mindstorms ev3 robot

Drones, robots and go-karts

Due out this spring, Parrot’s MiniDrone is an app-controlled flying ship that can be used to race, play interactive games or terrorize siblings. Unlike its predecessor, the $269 AR.Drone 2.0, this less expensive model – likely to be between $100 and $150 – is smaller and has wheels for a safer landing, but doesn’t have a camera for rear-time video streaming.

Also available by the time the snow thaws, the Wowwee MiP (“Mobile Inverted Pendulum”) is a 10-inch tall robot you can command with a free app or let it discover its surroundings in the autonomous mode. MiP (rhymes with “pip”) can bring you a drink on its tray (included), dance, sing and play games. MiP will cost about $99.

If you’d like a robotic companion sooner than later, Spin Master’s Zoomer ($137.99) is billed as the most technologically advanced puppy on the market. Designed for ages 5 and older, the voice-activated puppy can learn tricks, such as sitting, rolling over and playing dead -- all by your voice commands. Thanks to its fast wheel feet you can take it for a walk and pet your panting pup when you return, before it naps by your feet.

Chest sensors track objects and help Zoomer avoid obstacles, while five motors and detailed joints enable realistic movement. Colored LED eyes blink and look at you.

Parents will be happy to know Zoomer doesn’t require batteries – simply charge via USB cable.

razor electric go kart go-kart
razor electric go kart go-kart

And what about go-karts, you ask? Yes, they, too, are becoming more technologically advanced. The Razor Crazy Cart ($499.99), for example, is the first electric go-cart capable of drifting around corners – yep, just like movies like Fast and the Furious. Choose between regular go-kart mode or “Crazy Kart,” the latter of which can drive forward, reverse, sideways and diagonally – thanks to its variable speed foot pedal acceleration, 360-degree steering, pneumatic front tire and anti-tip caster wheels.

With speeds up to 12 miles per hour, it’s no surprise this rechargeable go-kart went “fast” this past holiday season, making it difficult for parents to find one to place under the tree.

Recommended age is 9, with a maximum rider weight of 140 pounds.

skylanders
skylanders

Action figures, digitized

How do you top Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants, which have sold more than 100 million toys between the two games? If you’re Activision, you launch a third installment in the billion dollar franchise.

Available for all major video game platforms, Skylanders SWAP Force ($74.99 for the “Starter Pack”) marries a video game with action figures, placed on a Portal of Power that‘s connected to the console. The moment you drop down the characters, they’re unlocked inside the game world. Along with supporting all existing Skylanders toys, 16 all-new fighters let fans swap tops with bottoms, to create more than 250 unique character combinations with mixed and matched powers.

Just like the first two Skylanders adventures, the collectible characters also have embedded memory that retains info from the game, such as acquired skills and leveling up information. Therefore, if a child brings his favorite characters to a friend’s house for a playdate, all their abilities will be imported into someone else’s game.

Similarly, Disney has enjoyed tremendous success with its mobile game series, such as Where’s My Water? and Tap Tap Revenge, and they’ve taken it a step further with a new platform called Disney Infinity ($74.99 for “Starter Pack”).

Starring beloved characters from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, these games for consoles and mobile devices let players build their own worlds with familiar faces, vehicles and settings. Similar to Skylanders, Disney Infinity integrates collectible character figures that come to life inside the game, when placed on a base, plus they can share their experiences in the “Toy Box” mode with friends both online and off.

Disney infinity video game
Disney infinity video game

To start, the Disney Infinity platform includes 40 collectible interactive pieces, based on Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Incredibles and Monsters University -- with more movies and characters soon debuting.

New consoles, too

Speaking of video games, there are not one but two new consoles available for kids and kids at heart.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 ($399.99) boasts powerful graphics and speed – evident in action games like Killzone: Shadow Fall and Infamous: Second Son – and if you want to show off your gaming prowess to friends, press the Share button on the PS4 controller to upload gameplay images and videos to your favorite social network, such as Facebook (the console is always recording 15 minutes of gaming footage).

If you decide to buy a game digitally, you can start playing while it downloads instead of waiting for it to finish. Those who own a PlayStation Vita portable game system can also wirelessly access and play PS4 games on it.

Already, more than 6 million PlayStation 4s have been sold.

Not to be outdone, Xbox One ($499.99) is Microsoft’s next-generation console, which includes an improved Kinect accessory to put your face, voice or body in the game; you can also speak or use air gestures to control other entertainment, such as movies and music. Xbox One has a number of gaming exclusives, including Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3 and the biggest game so far this year, Titanfall.

Similar to the PS4’s Share button, Xbox One gamers can record, edit and share their experiences with friends around the world and broadcast live games right from their console via the Twitch service.

Out by this summer, Valve’s long-anticipated Steam Machine is coming to the living room. In fact, there are a few to get excited about. These are console-like computers that run the open-source SteamOS and provide access to the successful Steam on-demand gaming store.

Partners include heavy hitters like Alienware, Origin PC and Falcon Northwest, as well as lesser-known hardware companies, all of which will launch living room machines – varying in size, power and price (ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand). Valve showed off its own box and controller design, too.

Millions of people play games on their Apple iOS device – such as an iPhone, iPad and iPod touch – but depending on the game, a controller would be more conducive over touch screen controls (Grand Theft Auto, anyone?). While there are some controllers you can plug into the iOS Lighting connector, the SteelSeries Stratus ($79.99) is the first Bluetooth controller for the platform, with support for more than 500 games at the App Store, and counting.

Available in black or white, the Stratus has pressure-sensitive face buttons, analog stocks, a d-pad and shoulder buttons. Its battery last up to 10 hours between charges. Up to four people can play on the same iOS device at the same time. A protective cover for the Stratus can be attached to the back of the controller for use as an added grip.

There's also the MOGA-branded game controllers for Android and iOS devices, beginning at about $40.

Game-savvy kids are probably aware of the Oculus Rift – even though it’s not available until the end of the year. This virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display from Oculus VR puts you “inside” the game thanks to immersive wraparound graphics and smart head-tracking technology.

Dubbed the “Crystal Cove” prototype, Oculus VR’s demo at the recent Consumer Electronics Show featured its newest (and smallest) headset that boasts better 1080p 3D visuals -- now utilizing OLEDs, or organic light-emitting diodes – along with reduced motion-blur and more advanced sensors (simulating a 360-degree view, including support for leaning, too).

There were a couple of cool demos, but the most impressive was a dogfighting space simulation, EVE Valkyrie (see video below).

Too bad this product might not debut until late 2014 or early 2015.