Toyology

Pocket Sized Rocking and a’ Rolling

We’d like the meet the proud creator of this Über cool MP3 Player and shake his or her hand. What a fantastic little contraption to hold all your musical favourites for your personal entertainment. Now you can listen to your music in true Rock and Roll style (well that’s what you can tell yourself) and look very cool in the process. Prepare for jealous stares when you pull this out in public. This iconic 1GB MP3 Player comes complete with its very own mini guitar amp speaker and will hold around 250 of your tunes.

Virtual Stylophone

Stylophone fans can now knock out a few electronic riffs without their plastic box to hand as Firebox have just launched their virtual version. Its perfect for a quick fix mid-afternoon as you sit at your desk yearning to be home with your Rolf Harris electric squeal machine. Once you have sampled the delights of the said machine you'll be needing to find plenty of tunage to play on yours and we've found a mighty fine Facebook group devoted to the the collation of playlists for you to go forth and impress.

Go Exploring with Pocoyo

This mischievous and curious little boy is about to embark on an adventure and wants to take your little explorers with him. So join his friends Elly the Elephant, Pato the Duck and Loula the Dog as they go exploring the world, learning and most importantly having fun. The latest range of Pocoyo goodies are bright and bold interactive toys which are great for capturing inquisitive imaginations. Join Pocoyo in his Electronic Pedal Car and watch him bounce along or cuddle up to the Elly Musical Plush while she plays music or why not have some bath time fun with the 3 in 1 bath figures with water-squirting action. Out in October with prices ranging from £5.99 - £14.99.

Rock Along With Hannah Montana

Get ready to rock with the Hannah Montana Rocking Guitar and play your favourite songs from the hit TV show. Young songstresses can step into Hannah Montana’s shoes and be the ultimate super star with the included headset microphone. The Hannah Montana brand keeps getting stronger and stronger and as more and more kids are clamouring to get their hands on anything related to the secret rock star, more and more products are being released to feed this addiction. This latest addition is not out in the UK yet but it’s being sold in the States for $19.99 so rest assured it will be at a bargain price when it hits the UK later this year.

It's an iCoaster Ride

Another great product to come out of Toy Fair 2008 is the iCoaster. This is no ordinary toy oh no, the iCoaster is an impressive state of the art, multi-sensory excursion around a very technical track which takes patience, skill and precision to build. The iCoaster combines sight, sound and speed with extreme magnetic force, high-tech design and some really cool physics to create a revolutionary experience in creative construction. So this is how it works. Ready for a bit of education? Each piece of track has magnets hidden inside and by the laws of attraction the metal ball is held onto the tracks as it moves along. However, there are other stunts such as the 'U-turn' where the ball changes track because the power of magnetic attraction is weakened by a piece of plastic and the ball is pulled round by gravitational forces - very clever! It is up to you how you use your scientific skills to cronfigure the perfect stunt and joyride. Use your MP3 player to programme your own mix of tunes and effects in sync with infra-red sensors.
Available from Autumn 2008, iCoaster is suitable for ages 8 to 88 and costs £79.99.

To see the iCoaster in all its greatness check out this link and prepare to be impressed: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YWubxjkbp9s

i-No That Song

Here's another i-pod gadget to add to the ever growing list of i-Pod gadgetry. The i-No is a fun, fast and frenzied game of music trivia that turns listening to music into a social interactive activity. Players must buzz their wireless remote control when guessing the name of the artist, the song or album. You make the game as interesting as you want as it will be your music you're playing against. This means the game can be enjoyed by quite literally everyone -from a bit of Elvis and Led Zeppelin to Beyonce and Gwen Stefani. Demonstrate your love of music with the i-No which also doubles up as speaker docs. This is the only iPod gaming system officially licensed by Apple®.  Available in July/August for around £50.

Happening Hip Hop Hippies

Remember the Crazy Frog? Well these funky interactive mini drummers have the same qualities – they play a catchy song that you won’t be able to get out of your head only not as annoying so they won’t make you want to poke your ears out with a sharp object to avoid the irritation. These groovy little dudes play three great tunes and also beat their drums along in time to the music. The Hip Hop Hippies are great stocking fillers for those who are easily entertained...or distracted and with four different types – Hippie Chick, Hippie Dude, Cool Dude and Surfer Dude – there is something for everyone. Get them together and watch as they drum away in synchronization; they can even be stacked for a more spectacular performance. Please remember - Not as annoying as that incessant Crazy Frog so there is no chance of you wanting to smash them against the wall. Get the set from Boysstuff.co.uk for around £25.

Get Creative - The Mess Free Way

Fed up of cleaning the mess your little artists have created once they’ve finished drawing, painting, colouring in or doing whatever craft they can get their hands on. If the above applies to you Tomy’s AquaDraw will feel like a godsend. With this innovative drawing mat, your little artists can draw mercifully mess free on this unique fade-to-clear canvas. Simply fill the AquaDraw pen with water and let them create their own masterpieces. With no scope for messy accidents or mistakes this ultimately clean, creative and portable toy is great for all budding young artists in the first stages of young creativity, or if you’re just looking for something to keep them occupied. Sit back and watch the creative juices flow.

The REVO-lutionary Challenge

Who else finds the Rubiks Cube a bit too complex of a challenge? We don’t...we were just asking - we’re way too intelligent to find it difficult. Saying that we must track down our Rubik’s cube which was slung behind some office furniture after a frustrating attempt to complete it! Those geniuses at Rubiks have come up with another challenge for us to addictively spend endless hours on. The Revo is an electronic game that won’t have you twiddling squares into the desired pattern; instead it tests your reactions against six solo or multi-player games - Light Speed, Rapid Recharge, Pattern Panic, Cube Catcher, Multiplayer Madness and Code Cracker -  and will challenge even the most dedicate player. You’ll need fast fingers, rapid reactions and patience as it will infuriate as well as entertain – still bearing resemblance to the original puzzle we see. Loaded with electronic wizardry, this REVO-lutionary (get it) gadget is available from iwantoneofthose for £14.95.

Get the Best of Both Worlds

Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart lives the kind of life most young girls dream about having - famous pop star by night, regular kid by day - and whilst Miley wants to be treated like any other teenager and experience the typical life most young girls want the opposite. Well now they can...well sort of (imaginations at the ready), with the launch of an exclusive range of Hannah Montana goodies at Toys R Us. Unfortunately the worldwide tours are not included but your little songstress will have endless fun transforming into the ultimate pop star, living the best of both worlds, impressing her friends with her singing and dancing talents. Be warned – living the life of a secret pop star is hard work.

Dance Mat with DVD - £19.99

Complete with wig and wireless head set microphone you’ll feel just like a rock star swinging your long blonde hair as you perform your favourite Hannah Montana songs. The dance mat features 3 dance routines so you can dance like her too.