Rikka Altland is the Editor-in-Chief of 9to5Toys. Having joined the team at the beginning of 2017, over the past six years she has gone on to specialize in being a mainstay in the LEGO news and rumors scene while also reviewing the latest iPhone accessories, earbuds, and home networking gear. Contact it directly at rikka@9to5mac.com for tips and pitches.
It’s been impossible to ignore the success of the Nintendo Switch and NES Classic over the past few months. Unfortunately, the chances of adding either device to your collection are slim to none. While the Switch is facing unprecedented demand, Nintendo announced on Friday that it would be discontinuing the beloved NES Classic. If you’re aching to relive your childhood and play some retro games, but don’t want to shell out two or tree times the price to pick one of the consoles up, a Raspberry Pi might be exactly what you’re looking for.
eBikes continue to grow in popularity as commuter’s vehicle of choice. Despite this, practically every eBike on the market shares a similar form-factor which is great simply for getting between two places. These all share a critical flaw as well, what happens if you need to transport something or stop for groceries on the way home from work? Riece and Mūller’s latest model, Load, adds trunk-like area to serve as a general purpose bicycle.
As the number of devices a person has begins to increase, so too does the need to ensure that everything stays charged when on the go. There are tons of power-packs geared towards ensuring we never have battery related troubles. But when faced with the daunting task of powering all of our devices, most fall flat. The first product from a new startup Ecoflow hopes to solve these qualms with a single 116,000 mAh mobile power station.
If your daily commute relies on a bicycle, you’ve probably spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect ride. As eBikes continue to become more popular, those who already have their ideal vehicles may be missing out on the benefits and added functionality. While we’ve covered devices before that add smart features and even electric motors to any traditional bike, the recently launched Copenhagen Wheel is the first that’s currently available for purchase.
Smart watches and other fitness trackers continue to provide more high-end features that come either at the cost of price or battery life. Misfit, a longtime contender in the wearable game looks towards a more affordable alternative that sacrifices neither of the two. With the launch of the company’s Flare fitness tracker today, it aim to focus on a minimal design that offers a 40 day battery life, reprogrammable button and water resistance.
Our homes continue to become more intelligent and connected with the integration of lighting systems, speakers, security cameras and even door locks. A lot of the time though, these devices feature designs that aren’t meant to complement the styles of one’s home, but in fact clash with the existing decor. The team of Slovenian developers behind Teodoor hopes to change this with its stylishly designed smart lock which features hands-free entry. Expand Expanding Close
Whether it be on your daily commute, for work, vacation, or traveling, you’ll most likely be packing a computer, multiple chargers and other items with you. A lot of the time, what we use to actually transport our gear is nowhere near as important as the devices themselves. With Knomo’s LiveFree backpack, this couldn’t be any less true. So for those looking to add a greater sense of security to their everyday carry as well as a bit of extra functionality, look no further.
These day, it seems like practically anything in our homes can be connected to our smartphones. From lightbulbs, coffeemakers, beds and pillows. Pretty much if you can name an appliance, odds are that someone has a solution to add internet connectivity and smart capabilities to it. Enter Lift-bit, an app-controlled smart modular seating system.
Lego bricks are one of, if not the most beloved and well known children’s toy of all time. The minifigure has achieved great fame since being introduced and continues to become more iconic thanks to The Lego Movie and Lego Batman Movie. Lego has recently announced the 17th addition to its Collectible Minifigures series, which continues to introduce a variety of characters.
Desk toys and building kits are always on our radar here at Toys. In terms of the latter, a recently launched Kickstarter campaign has caught our eye alkhich offers a new take on the classic construction set. Enter PIXIO, the building system based on multi-colored interlocking magnet plastic cubes that let you make pixelated creations and designs.
eBikes continue to grow in popularity, which means that new models are popping up all the time. While some are from new companies wishing to throw their hat into the ring, others are from traditional bike companies like Mission Bicycle. The company’s recently launched Lyra hopes to offer an eBike that sacrifices neither form nor function.
More devices continue to adopt USB-C charging ports, from the latest MacBook Pro, various Android phones and tablets, and even the new Nintendo Switch. The ability to charge, transfer data and power a display all through one cable is certainly not something to sneeze at. Some pain comes with these features though, a new port means additional chargers and adapters. Satechi’s latest accessory, the Travel Charger, is a low-cost solution that hopes to have you covered regardless of which device you may need to power.
The Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set is now available for preorder from Amazon. Ordering now discounts the collection down to $119.99 shipped, which is 33% off the list price. The box set includes six hardcover volumes which cover the entire comic series by Katsuhiro Otomo. It features the traditional ‘right to left’ reading style as well as the unaltered original art. While it won’t be released until later this year on October 24th, now is a great time to lock in a discounted price on one of the most iconic manga series of all time.
Device fragmentation is as big of an issue as it’s ever been. Smartphones are great for staying connected on the go, but sometimes the screen sizes just doesn’t cut it for watching movies or consuming other content. Enter Transcendent Designs’ Superscreen, an accessory to supercharge your phone with a 10.1-inch HD display.
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of personal electric vehicles here at Toys. From crazy three-wheeled scooters, smart bicycle wheels and stylishly designed eBikes, we’ve pretty much covered them all. So when we came across the German-made Scrooser, we couldn’t help marvel at its stylish design.
Beautyrest has been in the mattress game for nearly a century. Up until recently, the company has followed the mantra that a comfier bed leads to a better night’s rest. With the release of Beautyrest’s new Sleeptracker, it has begun to shift away from solely making comfortable mattress and bedding accessories. Now by incorporating technology, Beautyrest hopes to utilize sleep patterns and other data in order to help you get the best sleep possible. Expand Expanding Close
The debate on whether or not to keep the headphone jack around has been an extremely prominent discussion in the past few months. For those who don’t yet wish to give up their favorite pair of wired headphones, Podo Lab’s Jack may be the solution. The adapter adds wireless functionality to any pair of headphones, or speaker.
Since beginning yesterday, Baselworld, one of the worlds largest watch and jewelry exhibitions, has already showcased various new smartwatches from prominent companies like Fossil. Samsung too took to the stage and unveiled several smartwatch concepts, but standing out prominently from the rest, is a smart pocket watch hybrid.
In collaboration with renowned Swiss watch designer Yvan Arpa, Samsung pairs the internals of its Gear S3 smartwatches with a traditional pocket watch casing. While still a concept project, Samsung hasn’t released any details on the device’s release, so don’t expect to pick one up anytime soon if at all. Regardless, it’s great to see some variety from smartwatches, especially those that combine classic design with modern functionality in the way that Samsung has here.
Following a successful Indiegogo campaign, Cinemood, the portable story-time projector is available for pre-order. Geared towards children and families, Cinemood aims to make watching television a ‘shared experience’. Cinemood packs wireless connectivity, a 1080p projector, speaker and more into a three-inch cube that fits in the palm of your hand.
The portable projector comes equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and 32GB of internal memory. Out of the box, Cinemood includes hundreds of cartoons, audio stories and other content to start enjoying. Extra content can be added from Smart Cases which provides a little protection, or from USB flash drives. Audio can be played from either Cinemood’s internal speaker, or from headphones/speakers thanks to the devices 3.5mm jack. It can currently be pre-ordered for $450 and should be shipping soon.
Lego just announced that it will be giving the Ultimate Collector Series treatment to the fan-favorite Star Wars T-47 Snowspeeder (75144). Featuring over 1,700 pieces, the Snowspeeder measures over four-inches high, 15-inches long and 11-inches wide. The set includes two minifigures, a Rebel pilot and a Rebel gunner, and a stand that adds a display plaque to showcase information about the iconic Star Wars spaceship.
The UCS Snowspeeder launches later this year on May 4th and will retail for $199. If you’re like us and can’t wait to build it, there’s plenty of other UCS Star Wars sets you can add to your collection.
Mercane’s latest product offers something we’re not used to seeing here at Toys, an electric vehicle with more than two wheels. Standing out from others on the market, Transboard’s three-wheeled design aims to provide a more balanced and comfortable ride.
The recently launched Hexagon aims to make your existing bike just a little smarter by adding a camera, turn-signals and plenty of sensors. Hexagon attaches to the back of your bicycle and serves as not only a rearview mirror, but also a ‘fitness tracker for your bike’.
By pairing the device with an iPhone and Android app, riders can peak at their devices to get a glance at what’s behind them. Live streaming is also supported, so you can broadcast your commute to all your pals. Rider’s activity is tracked by Hexagon, which syncs current speed, burned calories and distance to the app. A wireless handlebar remote is included to quickly snap a photo, record or activate your turn signal. The camera is available in two models, one that comes equipped with all the bells and whistles, and a lite version that forgoes the turn signals.
Hexagon can currently be backed on Indiegogo for the early bird price of $99, or $75 for the lite version. Regardless of which model you choose, Hexagon hopes to ship later this year in September assuming it reaches its funding goal.
Aukey Direct (100% positive in the last 12 months across 34,714 ratings) via Amazon offers two of its Aukey LED desk lamp models starting at $20 Prime shipped. Entering the specified coupon codes at checkout brings prices down to all-time lows for each lamp. Both feature touch controls to alter not only the brightness, but color temperature as well. While the number of ratings are a little slim for these models, Aukey is one of the most trusted names in tech.
Choose from:
AUKEY 10W LED Desk Lamp w/ USB Charging Port, Smart Touch Sensor: $35 (Reg. $45)
Here at Toys, we’re used to covering different gear to outfit your living space, from massive 4K TVs, sound systems and more. Furniture has been quite scarce though, which is where the recently launched Sobro coffee table mixes it up.
Sobro offers a variety of features that set it apart from your standard coffee table. Most notably, the design centers around a variable-temperature refrigerator drawer. Multicolor LED accent lighting paired with a stereo Bluetooth speaker help set the mood whether you’re enjoying the latest blockbuster or throwing a party. Featuring a tempered glass top with integrated touch controls, you can fine-tune drawer temperature, lighting preferences and audio playback volume. It also offers two USB ports and two outlets for keeping your devices charged.
Sobro can currently be backed on Indiegogo for the early bird price of $499. While it has already met its funding goal, there are still two months to go before the campaign ends. If all goes well, Sobro is estimated to ship later this year in September.
It seems that recently, practically every company is throwing its hat into the smartwatch ring, from traditional watch companies like Casio and Tag Heuer, to Verizon and ZTE. Montblanc’s recently unveiled Summit features a more luxurious design than your typical smartwatch.
Summit features a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 400 x 400 resolution. It runs Android Wear 2.0, features several exclusive Montblanc watchfaces and has Google Assistant integration. Summit charges via a magnetic puck and is equipped with an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor as well as a barometer and electronic compass. The smartwatch is also rated at IP68 for water resistance. Pricing starts at $890 for the stainless steel models, but increases to $1,020 for the titanium casing. Several bands are also available, so you can choose between multiple colors of leather, rubber, calfskin and if it suits you, even alligator. It will initially go on sale online later this year in May in both the US and UK.
Vanskytek (99% positive in the last 12 months from 3,535 ratings) via Amazon once again offers its mood lighting strips at near all-time low pricing. Whether you opt for the multicolored or white version, you’ll save $5 when the below coupon codes are applied at checkout. Shipping is free in orders over $35, or if you have Prime. Both variants exceed 4/5 star ratings from over 400 reviewers. The light strips attach via 3M adhesive and are powered by your TV’s or computer’s USB ports.
Choose from:
Vansky Bias USB LED Multi-Colored Light Strip: $13 (Reg. $18)
Coverage of eBikes isn’t anything new here at Toys, ranging from stylish, rugged and practical designs. The recently launched UrbanX offers a drastically different take by offering a smart wheel which adds eBike capabilities to any existing bicycle. While other eBikes are much more costly and offer limited styles, UrbanX provides a relatively low-cost and lightweight design which compliments practically any style of bicycle.
UrbanX can be added to your bike in roughly 60 seconds, and provides speeds of up to 20 miles per hour within a 30 mile range. You can choose between six different wheel styles, which fit practically any make or model of bicycle. Like other eBikes, UrbanX also allows you to switch between full electric, pedal assist and traditional bike modes. A companion iPhone and Android app allows you to tweak the configuration of how these modes function. UrbanX can now be backed on Kickstarter at the starting price of $299 and has already reached over 100% of its funding goal. If all goes well, the wheel will ship later this year in July.
The recently launched Siempo smartphone hopes to help combat a huge problem facing many of us, lacking focus and wasting time. Siempo makes it easy to either be fully connected or present by offering a ‘less distracting’ operating system and plenty of features so you can be mindful about your smartphone use.
The phone features a four-inch screen with 8GB of internal storage. Siempo handles everything your typical smartphone does like texting, playing music and weather, and also comes equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and front and rear camera. To start, it will only support GSM phone networks like AT&T and T-Mobile.
Unlike most phones, Siempo lacks a traditional homescreen and instead uses a multi-purpose search box deemed the Intention Field. This is effectively the main portal to interacting with the device and allows you to find contacts, create reminders and even send messages. When you wake up, Siempo’s Mindful Morning feature can also replace your notifications with a series of meditation tasks, so you start the day out on a better note. Hardware-wise, Siempo has a dedicated button that allows you to temporarily disable notifications for a time length of your choice. Starting at $279, Siempo can currently be preordered over on Kickstarter. If all goes well with the campaign, the phone will be shipping later this year in December.
We’ve covered the intersection of technology and art before. From the Apple TV’s city flyover screensaver, to Soundwall’s Nova which pairs artwork with a wireless speaker. Alongside its new home entertainment lineup, Samsung announced The Frame, which pulls inspiration from both. The Frame isn’t just a typical TV though, it features an ‘Art Mode’ that complements your home decor, rather than being an eye-sore.
The TV itself features a thin bezel and lightweight design which allows it to hang virtually anywhere, giving it the function and appearance of a framed photo. Unlike conventional TVs which fade to black once your movie is over, The Frame displays one of hundreds of art pieces that range from depicting landscape, architecture, wildlife, and more. While there is still no pricing available for The Frame, it should be released sometime this spring.
Ensuring that all of your online accounts are secure has become increasingly urgent as time goes on. But remembering the various, complex passwords that you may be using can be a pain. Other password managers exist, but are still reliant on a master password. Hideez Key hopes to simplify this by providing a small accessory which handles cybersecurity for you.
The Key is based on a thin, water-resistant keychain fob with both Bluetooth and RFID. While it has many of the features of other security managers such as securely storing passwords, and generating strong passwords. It can also autofill your signature onto documents and transactions. Other security features include protecting against someone walking off with your device, as well as allowing you to lock and unlock your gadgets based on your proximity. There’s also a multi-functional button which supports a number of features from authenticating yourself to sending your current location to a friend. The Key accomplishes this by connecting to a companion computer and smartphone app, which also allows you to tweak the Key’s settings. It is currently available for purchase over on Hideez’s site for $49 and is shipping now.
No home theater setup is complete without a great sound system. But for those times where you can’t crank up the volume on your TV, Sennheiser has your back, so you won’t have to sacrifice optimal sound quality. The recently announced RS 2000 and RS 5000 TV headphones offer wireless high fidelity audio for your favorite content.
Both headphones feature a lightweight design that pair with a minimal docking base station, which connect over 3.5mm and optical cable outputs. They also offer three different profiles to enhance the audio quality based on the content you’re enjoying. The RS 2000 offers a 50 meter range with nine hours of playback, while the RS 5000 provides a 70 meter range and 12 hours of playback. Price wise, the headphones start at $179.95 with the RS 2000 and range up to $249.95 with the RS 5000. Both models are currently available for purchase over on Sennheiser’s site, but the RS 2000 model is currently out of stock.
We’ve covered a variety of wireless speakers, from ones that enhance your Amazon Echo, to others with Chromecast integration. Tivoli Audio’s latest product, the Model One Digital, features many of the things you’ve come to expect in a wireless speaker. But unlike the others, Model One Digital stands out by sporting a stylish design meant to accompany your home decor.
The Model One Digital features an outer shell comprised of either Walnut, White or Black wood, and accented by a brushed aluminum dial. Music can be streamed from popular services like Spotify, Tidal and more. It supports audio playback over FM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, as well as via a 3.5mm auxiliary input. Model One Digital can also sync to other Tivoli Audio speakers in order to provide the perfect customizable home audio setup. The navigation screen makes changing stations or streaming playlists incredibly simple. Model One Digital is currently available for preorder for $299.99 from Tivoli Audio’s site. While it won’t be long, you’ll still have to wait until March 20th for the speaker to ship.
The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot were two of the hottest gifts from this past holiday season. If you happened to receive one as a gift or picked up one for yourself, you’ll know how convenient it is to have Alexa at your beck and call. But for those who wish that the Echo Dot more portable, Ninety7’s new device might be perfect for you. Vaux attaches to the bottom of your Echo Dot and turns it into a portable, battery-powered Wi-Fi speaker.
Vaux’s design is a tad smaller than the full Amazon Echo and comes in your choice of either Ash or Carbon color schemes. Connecting via both the Micro USB port and 3.5mm aux input, Vaux offers a more powerful speaker than originally found in the Echo Dot and packs around 6 hours of battery life. Like most wireless speakers, it charges over Micro USB. Unfortunately, the speaker still does need Wi-Fi in order to take full advantage of Alexa and everything else the Dot has to offer. Vaux can currently be preordered for $49 from Ninety7’s website, but won’t ship until later this year in April.
Littlebits, the STEM and education company, is back with another one of its widely popular kits, which this time focuses on programming. Unveiled earlier today, the new Code Kit centers around building interactive games, and hopefully learning how to code in the process.
The Code Kit comes with 16 bits, 30+ accessories and plenty of resources to get you started building. It interacts with a companion computer application which allows you to design and create games with a visual, drag and drop interface. The kit also includes four prebuilt game-based inventions: Tug-of-War, Ultimate Shootout, Hot Potato and Rockstar Guitar. Littlebits’ latest kit retails for $300 and while it is available for purchase now, won’t be shipping until later this year in June. It you’re just too excited and can’t wait to start tinkering, Amazon has a deal on one of Littlebits’ other kits.
This afternoon, Amazon announced that its membership program, Amazon Prime, is now available in Mexico. Signing up lets you try out the service free for 30 days, but afterwords the annual membership will start at 449 pesos ($23) for the first year, and then rise to 899 pesos ($46) for subsequent years.
Pure Cycle’s latest creation, Volta, hopes to be the “smartest eBike ever.” Recently launching on Kickstarter, Volta delivers a top-notch eBike in a sleek and budget-friendly design. It only weights 35 lbs, but provides 40 miles per change along with a variety of features.
Volta comes in black and white finishes and is available with either belt or chain driven options. It sports four different riding modes, so if you need to be somewhere in a hurry, or want to stretch the battery life, Volta has you covered. It also supports built-in fitness tracking for monitoring how many calories you’ve burned, or how many miles you’ve traveled. And with anti-theft GPS tracking, you’ll never have to worry about losing your ride. Volta is available to back now on Kickstarter at the starting price of $1,499. While it has met its funding goal, there’s still 38 days until the campaign ends. If all goes well, the bike will be shipping sometime of May later this year.
Grace Digital’s latest product hopes to provide the ultimate package in terms of wireless speakers. The Mondo+ recently launched on Kickstarter and combines internet radio with Chromecast integration and other smart features.
Not only does it have Chromecast integration, but also Google Assistant control, so you play audio by just using your voice. Multiple speakers can be synced together to provide a multi-room audio experience. The speaker’s full color display makes it easy to navigate through menus, tweak settings and showcase your music’s album artwork. It has all the typical inputs you would expect like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3.5mm jack, but also a USB port for playing audio from flash drives. Mondo+ can currently be backed on Kickstarter starting at the early bird special price of $150. The speaker has reached a little less than half of its funding goal, but still has 28 days to go in the campaign. If all goes well, Mondo+ will be shipping to backers sometime this April.
Amazon currently offers a free Kindle eBook download of Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations. For comparison, the eBook normally sells for $10.63, while the hardcover sells for around $22. Amazon also includes a free Audible narration with the novel as well, all you have to do is click the ‘Add Audible narration’ button below buy now. Rated at 4.4/5 stars across 916 readers.
Fidget desk toys have been all the rage recently, from the Fidget Cube, to spinners, it seems everyone wants to get their hands on one. Moondrop offers a new take on fidget toy design and is machined from Aerospace grade aluminium and pure copper. Just like other fidget toys, you can flip, spin and slide Moondrop in order to occupy your hands and keep your mind at ease. The toy comes in two versions, one that simulates the Moon’s gravity, and one for Mars’ gravity. While it has already passed its original funding goal, you can still back either Moondrop variant for £19 shipped, or $24. If all goes as planned, Moondrop hopes to ship in June.
Continuing our coverage of Mobile World Congress, Sony unveiled its latest gadget, a portable touchscreen projector. Unlike most of the Android devices we’ve seen at MWC, Sony’s Xperia Touch strays from the traditional phone or tablet design. Rather than relying on a built-in display, the device projects a touchscreen onto any surface.
The Xperia Touch can project images up to 80 inches and allows for 10 points of multi-touch input. It runs Android N, which means it runs any app or game found on the Google Play store. It features two-way stereo speakers, a USB-C port and HDMI port. Unfortunately, the device can only run for an hour on battery power. But considering the small size and weight, it’s pretty impressive they’ve packed a full touchscreen projector into such a small package. While the Xperia Touch isn’t currently available for purchase, it will launch later this spring in Europe at the starting price of €1,499, or $1,588. You can stay up to date and learn more about the device over on Sony’s site.
In the days before the iPhone and other smartphones, Nokia was one of the biggest names in tech. Most notably, the flagship Nokia 3310 dominated much of the early 2000’s. Now, Nokia hopes to make a comeback with its new nostalgic handset, which was unveiled over the weekend at Mobile World Congress.
The new incarnation of the Nokia 3310 features an impressive 31 days of standby power, a 2 MP camera and even a standard headphone jack. It supports texting and calling over 2G, plays the classic game Snake, and comes with 16 MB of internal storage. For those who do need a little extra storage though, it does have a MicroSD slot for cards up to 32GB. The phone now also comes in multiple colors, so you can chose from a yellow, red, grey or dark blue device. At launch, the Nokia 3310 will be priced at €49, or $51.87. While the device isn’t currently for sale, you can sign up for announcements over on Nokia’s site.
You can catch up on more coverage of Mobile World Congress over at 9to5Google.
It seems like every company is throwing their hat into the ring for Virtual Reality and 360-degree content. Most recently though, Huawei and Insta360 unveiled the Honor VR Camera, a new clip-on 360-degree smartphone camera. While we’ve mentioned other smartphone VR-ready cameras before, Huawei’s shakes things up a bit by plugging directly into one’s device.
As far are features go, Huawei’s camera offers 3K photography and even ‘seamless’ livestreaming. The camera is controlled via a smartphone companion app developed by Insta360 which allows you to download, share and broadcast your 360-degree content. Because the Honor VR Camera plugs directly into your device, there’s no need to rely on Bluetooth or MicroSD cards to transfer media, and it saves directly to the connected smartphone. At launch, the device will only work with Huawei’s Honor 8 smartphone, so unfortunately no iPhone support yet. While there isn’t pricing and availability information yet, Huawei plans to start an international rollout of the device soon.
Let’s face it, mobile device batteries aren’t nearly as great as we’d like them to be. Nothing is worse than constantly worrying about charging your laptop or being out on the go and having it die on you. Razor hopes to solve this with its new power bank geared specifically towards laptops. Razor’s power bank is perfect for charging your smartphone or even a USB-C laptop, like Apple’s late 2016 MacBook Pro.
The power bank sports a 12,800mAh Lithium-ion battery which is said to be able to supply up to six hours of battery life to your machine. Equipped with dual standard USB-A ports as well as one USB-C, it can simultaneously charge up to three devices. It also supports Qualcomm’s Quickcharge technology, so the power bank can deliver lightning-fast charging to compatible smartphones and devices. While Razor hasn’t currently announced pricing or availability, you can sign up to be notified of any updates.
Soundwall recently unveiled their new Nova speaker, which adds interactive ambient mood lighting and music playback control. If you’re unfamiliar with Soundwall, it’s a WipBluetooth speaker disguised as a beautiful piece of artwork. So rather than having a bulky plastic speaker on your desk or in your study, you can hang a work of art on your wall that conveniently doubles as great Bluetooth sound system.
Soundwall’s new Nova speaker includes several new features, like mood lighting which allows you set custom backlighting. The speaker also allows you to play, pause and skip songs just by tapping the artwork. You can currently chose between 150 various styles of art works, which range from natural scenery to vibrant contemporary pieces and more. The speakers are currently available starting at $900, or you can customize one with your own design starting at $1,050.
Toy Fair New York has brought us a glimpse at some upcoming tech based toys like the iPhone controlled Batmobile or RC BB-8. Hot Wheels has been a household name in toys for the past few decades, but not something one thinks of as being aligned with tech. This year though, they look to stray from its normal path of die-cast cars and plastic tracks and enter into the smartphone domain with its new Track Builder Augmented Reality app.
Track Builder differs from traditional AR games though. Rather than using a smartphone to overlay graphics on the real world, it creates a virtual room for you to explore by physically moving one’s device. The app lets you add as much track and ramps as your heart desires. Track Builder also features many of your favorite class Hot Wheels cars to test out on your creation. The app is only available for one phone currently, but will hopefully roll out to more devices as time goes on.
Continuing our coverage of New York’s Toy Fair 2017, we take a peak at what a galaxy far far away has to offer. Over the weekend, Spin Master showcased the final version of its upcoming remote controlled BB-8. While this isn’t the first RC BB-8 on the market, it certainly looks to be the best recreation of the adorable droid companion from The Force Awakens.
BB-8’s movements are controlled via a familiar dual joystick remote. The droid also has a little autonomy, and will do his best to follow the movements of whoever is holding the remote. Compared to Sphero’s previously released BB-8, Spin Master’s is not only much larger, but it is also packed with many more worthwhile features. BB-8 not only expresses various emotions based on its surroundings, but also responds to one’s voice. The lovable droid will hopefully be available by the end of the year for $230. And while the price tag may be steep, it seems worth it for the BB-8’s large size and abundance of play features.
Bond is a new smart home gadget which seeks to bring iPhone and voice control to older devices you may have in your home. The gadget connects to your smartphone over Wi-Fi and controls other applications through inferred or radio frequency. Unlike other devices we’ve featured, Bond hopes to add smart functionality to devices we already have in our homes, rather than replace them. From controlling your ceiling fans, motorized window shades and even your fireplace, Bond hopes to turn any home into a smart home. At launch, Bond claims to support popular devices such as the Amazon Echo, Nest, SmartThings, Honeywell and more.
While Bond doesn’t currently have a ship date, it is available for preorder now at the starting price of $99.
