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You won't find any blood and gore in this life-sized Deadpool head, but it does pack more than 600 jokes, sound effects, and insults inspired by the devilishly handsome superhero. Hasbro Pulse just listed Deadpool's head for sale, in partnership with Marvel Legends. It'll cost you a pretty penny at $100 but will surely make for an eye-catching collector's item.This is not just a body-less statue — the built-in sensors and motors make it an interactive toy. For example, when placed in a dark room, the toy will blurt out a joke the moment it detects the lights turned on. Likewise, it'll respond when it detects motion moving towards and away from it. It'll even mock your unimpressive physique when you pick it up.
As the final installment of the latest Star Wars saga prepares to blast off into theaters this December, toy manufacturers are ramping up production of must-have items for the holiday season. Today's announcement from Hasbro includes a replica of the D-O Droid from the upcoming Rise of Skywalker film and an interactive lightsaber, both controlled by dedicated smartphone apps.
Sphero is known for creating clever, oddball electronic toys, and this Spider-Man one is no different. Unfortunately for Sphero, these toys tend to be discounted quite severely after a few months on the market; for instance, the $300 Ultimate Lightning McQueen can now be had for 9 on Amazon. In a similar manner, this Spider-Man toy has dropped from 9.99 to just .99 at Best Buy.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YicJOhRzg_Q[/EMBED_YT]Sphero's Spider-Man features speech recognition, animated LCD eyes, "Spider-Sense" motion detection via an IR sensor, the ability to create a story, and more. Its charging base, which is shaped like a web, allows it to get over two hours of play on a full charge, and its Wi-Fi connection allows it to receive firmware updates. It's a lot of tech for such a small toy.Chances are that it didn't sell too well at its $149.99 MSRP because it just doesn't look that fancy, but .99 is sure to entice a lot more people. Hit the source link below to grab one from Best Buy. Slickdeals says the discount is over, but it's still available via both shipping and in-store pickup for me.[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sphero.spiderman[/EMBED_APP]Source: Best BuyVia: Slickdeals
About half a year ago, we reviewed Sphero's Ultimate Lightning McQueen RC car. We walked away unimpressed due to its subpar controls and monstrous $300 price tag, despite its realism and cool factor. Now it's been discounted to a much more reasonable $148.99, just a bit over 50% off its MSRP, on Amazon.Ultimate Lightning McQueen is supposed to be a realistic scale version of the Cars movies' Lightning McQueen. There are a ton of motors, touch sensors, lights, and a speaker on board, all so that McQueen can talk and move just like the real thing. The actions are realistic, as are the catchphrases McQueen (or, more accurately, Owen Wilson) speaks. We experienced connectivity issues and were not fans of the unintuitive touch controls, but there are quite a few positive reviews on Amazon from very satisfied owners.The car's MSRP of $299.99 was obviously far too high, and the current price of $148.99 makes a lot more sense. Prime shipping is free. Hit the source link below to grab a talking and moving Lightning McQueen of your own.Source: Amazon
A few months ago, I reviewed the Collectors Edition of Anki's popular 'Cozmo' robot. Cozmo was first and foremost a toy, but the app included a 'Code Lab' where owners could create simple block-based programs (Anki has even extended that in subsequent updates).After that review, Wonder Workshop asked me if I wanted to try out two of its toy robots - the 'Dot' and 'Cue.' Unlike the Cozmo, where coding functionality was more of an afterthought, programming is at the heart of the Dot and Cue. Almost all the activities you can do with these robots involve some level of coding, but they are accessible enough for most kids to get some enjoyment out of them.More and more parents are trying to introduce programming concepts to their children at a young age, and as such, robot kits like these are becoming increasingly common. So do Dot and Cue deserve the $79 and $199 asking prices, respectively? I think Dot is a great toy for younger kids, but Cue... not so much.
Back in September, I got to try out the Cozmo Collector's Edition, a re-release of the 'Cozmo' app-controlled toy from last year. I definitely enjoyed using it, but the high price point of $179 made it a tough sell for many. Now you can get the original version for $127, a savings of $53.
More and more children these days are getting their own smartphones. But if you just want your kid to feel like they have one, you can now look to the Android-powered VTech KidiBuzz, a Galaxy S III-esque device that isn't actually a phone. But with all the functions it supports over WiFi, your son or daughter will think it is.
Anki is one of the biggest names in electronic toys right now, and for good reason; it's one of the few companies that has brought robotics to kids. This all started with its 2014 introduction of "Anki Drive," a more modern take on slot car racing that added weapons and artificial intelligence. "OVERDRIVE" was released in 2015 as a successor to Drive, and proved to be a market success. After all, it's the first Anki product I'd ever heard of.
When I was young, I absolutely loved toy robots. I remember having a particular fascination for toys from WowWee, like the 'Robosapien' and the 'Roboraptor.' I managed to convince my parents one year to get the Roboraptor for my birthday, which I still own to this day. It was pretty basic by today's standards (the most advanced part of it was the IR sensor), but it was awesome at the time.A few years later, I got my hands on the second-generation LEGO Mindstorms NXT. It was a robotics kit with pieces like IR sensors and motors, but it used LEGO's standard 'Technic' pieces. I have fond memories of going through LEGO's online gallery of user creations and trying to replicate the designs, and downloading other people's programs (like a version of Pong that was playable on the tiny LCD).Today's toy robots are obviously much more advanced, with a great example being Sphero's recent Bluetooth-controlled BB-8. Another example is Anki's Cozmo, a robot with an immense amount of personality. The company announced a 'Liquid Metal' Collector's Edition earlier this year, and sent me a review unit to try out. I never got a chance to try out the original, but the Cozmo Collector's Edition is pretty great.
Sphero's BB-8 remote control toy was a massive hit when it was released in 2015, partially because it was a great product, but also because the hype machine for The Force Awakens was at full speed. Now that another main series Star Wars film is on the way, it only makes sense that Disney would again partner with Sphero. Except this time, there are two of them.
Cozmo, which is unfortunately unrelated to Cozmo Kramer, is a fairly popular interactive toy robot. It can stack tiny blocks, play games, and be controlled like a typical RC car. If you've been waiting to try it out, you can now buy Cozmo off Amazon for $152.99, a $27 reduction from the usual price.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyyXfgrcoZ4[/EMBED_YT]Out of the box, Cozmo comes with three game cubes (seen in the video above), the robot itself, and a charger. The main selling point is that Cozmo has a personality, which reminds me of M-O from Pixar's WALL-E. There's also a companion app for Android, which is used to help train Cozmo and perform other tasks.If you get bored of the robot's built-in functionality, and you're halfway decent with Python, you can use the beta Cozmo SDK to program new abilities. You can buy Cozmo off Amazon at the source link below.Source: Amazon
Sphero's tiny, motorized BB-8 droid (based on the company's well-known ball robot design) was the Star Wars toy to have when Episode VII hit theaters last year. It's become less of a hot commodity since then, but Sphero keeps adding new things to do with the toy, and now you can actually find it on store shelves. The miniature astromech was just a little past the impulse buy range at $150 retail, though it looks like most retailers have taken it down to $130 or so. Today Amazon has the toy for even less.The BB-8 toy and its wireless charging base are now down to 0 even, thirty bucks off of the original retail price. (Remember that you'll need a phone or tablet running Android or iOS to use as a controller, just like the original Sphero.) It's available with free two-day shipping for Prime members, but it's still expensive enough that it should qualify for free shipping anyway. The main Amazon listing is charging sales tax in California, but it looks like another merchant (also with Prime) is selling it for the same price with no tax. Nice.The Sphero can be remote controlled in its default mode, and it includes some rudimentary autonomous functions like voice control and various movie-style boops and beeps. A software update to the controller app made it possible for BB-8 to "watch" Episode VII with its owners, reacting to the on-screen scenes from the movie. There's no indication of when the price will go back up, but bargain hunters might want to wait until the Rogue One toys start hitting shelves... and collectors deplete their disposable income.Source: Amazon
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- IT'S ALIVE! The listings for Android Isaac Newton, Nicola Tesla, and Marie Curie are active on the Dead Zebra store, along with the triple pack. It looks like all of them are in stock as of 7:20 PM Eastern on April 20th.
Dead Zebra's long-running line of themed Android figures is expanding by three next week. The latest figures use the now-iconic shape of the Android mascot, but bear cartoon likenesses of three of the biggest names in scientific history: Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, and Nikola Tesla. They'll go on sale in the Dead Zebra shop starting on Monday, April 20th at 11AM Eastern time (8AM Pacific). Each one will cost $10.
When OnePlus staff member David S. said that the tiny phone manufacturer would release a drone called the DR-1, our BS-o-meter shot past the "nope" point in under two seconds. As many of you guessed, the OnePlus drone is indeed an April Fool's Day joke. But apparently the company is taking a page out of Think Geek's playbook: in addition to being a mildly amusing misdirection, the DR-1 drone will also be available for purchase.
Anki Overdrive Expands On The Original Toys With Modular Build-It-Yourself Tracks And AI Boss Fights
The currently-available Anki Drive series of toys are undeniably cool, allowing players to drive tiny remote controlled cars along real tracks with their smartphones while the app keeps track of video game-inspired additions like weapons and power-ups. The next iteration of the toy, Anki Overdrive, is set to take things to the next level when it debuts this fall. The most visible addition is the new piece-by-piece track system, including risers for overpasses and jumps, walls for faster banks, and a modular design that allows for near-infinite expansion. It's a mixture of classic Hot Wheels tracks and modern electronics.
Android aviation enthusiasts, you've got a rare opportunity to get a sweet discount on a refurbished model of Parrot's full-sized AR Drone today. The 2.0 edition of the quadcopter that uses your phone or tablet as a controller is just 9.99 on Woot's Sellout mini-site, a full $130 off of the retail price. The deal is open for the rest of the day, until midnight Central US time, or until they run out of magical flying robots.
Don't try too hard to pitch a product. When I first came across Toymail, I thought it seemed amusing enough. Here's the concept - people (preferably parents, siblings, or friends) speak a message into an app, and that message then comes out of a kid's toy in a weird voice. There's potential for fun here. Sure, I see it. I've been a kid before.
Remember those awesome mini-drones that Parrot showed off at CES way back in January? It looks like the Rolling Spider and Jumping Sumo are on sale now, at Brookstone and the Apple Store at least, for $100 and $160 respectively. And if you bought the drone, you'll want something to control it with. Enter the FreeFlight 3 app, made specifically for controlling Parrot's new toys. It's a free download, though you'll need an Android 4.0 device to install it.
There's a large market for a device like the Vibease wearable smart vibrator, which has been on Indiegogo for all of a day and has already exceeded its ,000 fundraising goal by a full ,000. There are the proud independent women who swear they don't need a man. There are the husbands who just want to keep the misses happy, even though they don't really know how. There's the leagues of Fifty Shades of Grey fans who just found out kink is a thing and are now raring to dip their fingers in this brave new world. Then there are us young millennial couples who grew up learning about these things from the internet anyway, so why not give something like this a try? This is one hands-free device that has everyone excited.
If you've been waiting for a good deal on the ridiculously fun (but admittedly expensive) Parrot AR Drone, now's the time to get one. Amazon has the 2.0 version of the smartphone-controlled, camera-equipped quadcopter, plus a spare first-party battery, for just 1.99. That's 20% off, a savings of $68 on the combined retail prices. As with all Amazon Gold Box discounts, it's good for one day only, July 26th.