Tech in toys

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Hi-tech was on display at the American International Toy Fair last week, showing up as digital cameras for chubby hands, mock MP3 players and life-size ponies responding to touch and voice for equestrian-obsessed girl. As children become more and more comfortable using their parents8217; technology at a younger age, the toy industry faces increased competition for children8217;s attention, particularly between 8 and 12, when kids begin to move on to their parents8217; electronics, such as computers and MP3 players.

8216;8216;You see technology being incorporated in every nontechnology category, like dolls, plush toys,8217;8217; said Anita Frazier, industry analyst for market research firm, The NPD Group. 8216;8216;They8217;re trying to add more bells and whistles because they have competition from all these gadgets.8217;8217; Mattel8217;s new Let8217;s Dance! Barbie will mimic the dance moves of its owner as well as instruct children to dance, using wrist bands and toe clips with infrared and remote technology. Hasbro8217;s Fur Real Friends includes a miniature Shetland pony called Butterscotch that holds up to 200 pounds, moves its head up and down, twitches its ears, opens and closes its eyes and responds when scratched under its neck.

8216;8216;Kids 8 and under are still playing with toys,8217;8217; said Anita Frazier, industry analyst for the NPD Group. 8216;8216;Then we see a drop off at 9. Boys have gone to video games. Girls have gone to instant messaging, e-mailing and cell phones. The whole socialisation aspect is big.8217;8217;

But while companies introduced toys with these splashy features, they seemed to show some restraint from simply including technology because they can. Other toys such as Hasbro8217;s Ion require physical activity to play its educational games. Fisher-Price8217;s Digital Song and Story Player is loaded with music and stories and its I Can Play Piano system, which has a keyboard that plugs into the TV, offers to teach children to play and read music. And Lego, for example, offers its advanced Mindstorms robotic set with a 32-bit processor and ultrasonic, sound, light and touch sensors as well as its Roaring Roadster, which uses Lego8217;s basic building blocks.

8216;8216;We find that parents are starting to migrate to more of a balance in the toy box,8217;8217; said Reyne Rice, a toy trend specialist. A number of toys for toddlers and younger are more hands on, emphasising touch and other areas of coordination and others also focus on developing emotional and social development, such as teaching children to share or overcome fears, Rice said.

While retail toy sales showed a decline in 2005 of 3.6 percent, according to the NPD Group, action figures and accessories and action and electronic handheld games showed increases. Companies such as Los Angeles-based Performance Designed Products PDP is hoping to capitalise on the handheld game market, offering low-priced handheld units with as many as 75 games already loaded. 8216;8216;We are looking at women as our demographic as well as children,8217;8217; said Ron Resnick, national sales manager. 8216;8216;We say it8217;s for your kid and it8217;s for you.8217;8217;

LAT-WP