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Earlier this week MacRumors reported that Apple had released the "Pole Position Remix" game for the iPhone. This is a remake of the classic Namco video game Pole Position that I played more than anyone else as a kid.
The last time I talked about Pole Position on Operation Gadget was three years ago when I picked up a copy of an inexpensive TV game called Namco II: Ms. PacMan and 5 TV Games. I loved that game. I hope that Apple releases "Pole Position Remix" for the iPhone after the iPhone Software Development Kit comes out next month.
Andrea Jung Joins Apple Board of Directors on MacRumors.com: "Apple has announced that Andrea Jung has been elected to Apple's board. Andrea also serves as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, board member of General Electric, and member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital board of trustees and the Catalyst board of directors."
Why the CEO of Avon and why now? Speculation is that her board seat at GE will make her helpful in brokering an agreement with NBC Universal to bring them back into the iTunes fold.
Every year I try to report on the Toy Wishes Hot Dozen list of top toys. This year I think that the editors of Toy Wishes have found a group of toys that will entertain a wide range of kids and adults. The toys on this year's list are:
Technorati Tags: Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts,toys, toy ideas, American Idol, Barbie Girls, EyeClops, Guitar Hero 3, Nerf NStrike, Rubiks Revolution, Smart Cycle, Spotz, SwypeOut, Transformers.
Martin O'Donnell pointed out an article from The Wall Street Journal that warns of more extreme toy and game shortages during this holiday season than in recent years. The shortages will be more extreme this year due to cautious retail strategies (brought on by poor sales of supposed-hot toys last year), production problems (resulting from labor shortages and infrastructure problems in China), and surprisingly high demand for the toys here in the USA.
All of this points to possible frustration and disappointment while shopping later this week. You may want to consider shopping for popular toys and games before Thanksgiving, if you have time.
An example of hot toy shortages cited in the article is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset. This electronic clubhouse has a suggested retail price of $39, according to The Wall Street Journal article. Third parties are trying to capitalize on the shortage by selling the clubhouse for $90 or more. If you want this toy for your children, a far better option is to look on DisneyShopping.com, where the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset can be found for $49.95 as of this writing.
It's a good thing that my son doesn't have his heart set on anything in particular for Christmas, otherwise I'd be competing for the hot toy for my son's age group against his peers' parents. Next year we may have our first direct experience with toy shortages. [ Subscription required to read most articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]
Technorati Tags: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Kid Tough Digital Camera: One of my favorites on the
Toy Wishes Hot Dozen Holiday List.
Product photos courtesy of Amazon.com.
I got my copy of The Holiday 2006 issue of Toy Wishes Magazine about two weeks ago, and I've been reading it to see which toys the publishers think will be hot this year. The thing that surprised me was how much the toys cost.
Three of the toys on the Hot Dozen cost more than $200. Compare this to last year, where three of the four most expensive toys on the list cost between $75 and $100, with the most expensive came in at only $150. Only one item on this year's list has a suggested retail price of $25 or less.
Let's take a look at the 2006 Hot Dozen:
The gifts I see crossing over to teen and adult age groups most easily are the Lego Mindstorms NXT and the Nintendo Wii. I'll probably do follow up articles on these products, because they look like things that I would find interesting.
I wish the editors of Toy Wishes would include a toy or two suitable for small children. With the exception of T.M.X. Elmo, the toys on this list really don't make sense for children before age 4 or so. Since T.M.X. Elmo will be extremely difficult to get, they should have considered adding a second toy for that age group.
Technorati Tags: Hot Dozen, Toy Wishes Magazine, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts
We have a number of people who like math in our family, so Kathleen and I were pleased to discover Sudoku last week when we were shopping for Christmas gifts. Wikipedia says that Sudoku is a Japanese logic-based numeric placement puzzle which reportedly became popular in 1985 but only broke out to the rest of the world recently. According to the article:
The aim of the canonical puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9×9 grid made up of 3×3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"). Each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral.
The game we bought Sudoku - The Utterly Addictive Number Puzzle Game is apparently so popular that Amazon.com is having trouble keeping it in stock. Here are a few other options for people who are trying to find Sudoku to give as a gift for the holidays:
Even more Sudoku options can be found at Amazon.com by searching for Sudoku.
Technorati Tags: Sudoku, Sudoku electronic games, Sudoku books, Sudoku games, Sudoku software, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts
For several years I've thought about building a scale replica of Houston Field House in LEGO building blocks. I've often read that building a scale model using LEGOs is difficult, but I think I've found a very useful book that would help me along the way. The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide by Allan Bedford covers topics like:
This book includes a "brickopedia", a visual guide to about 300 of the most useful elements of the LEGO system. According to the book:
The Brickopedia (Appendix A) is a graphical reference tool that presents the most common and most reusable elements from available LEGO pieces. Although it does not contain an entry for every single piece ever produced, it does thoroughly examine the LEGO bricks, plates, slopes, and other elements that best define the highly flexible nature of this building system. I have categorized the Brickopedia using some traditional techniques but also using some newly defined criteria and classifications. I set this up intending that you use it as a stand-alone tool; therefore, it does not require a computer or Internet access to be useful.
I don't know if I'll ever build a replica of the rink I played hockey in during college, but if I do, I know which book I need to get started.
Technorati Tags: LEGO, how to book, toys
One of the questions that Operation Gadget readers have about the Leapster L-Max learning game system is which Leapster games play on the television with the L-Max?. Here's a list of games that are known to work on your TV:
LeapFrog takes a different approach. They provide a list of Leapster games that don't project on the TV with a Leapster L-Max. LeapFrog says that these games won't project to the TV for "quality and licensing reasons".
As far as I know, all of the L-Max games project to your TV. If I find out about any that don't work on the TV, I'll update this story. [ See also Leapster L-Max is a Popular Gift for 4 to 10 Year Olds ]
Technorati Tags: Leapster L-Max, Leapster, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts, toys
Leapster L-Max is turning out to be one of the most popular electronic learning games for the 2005 holiday season. I discovered this because of the response that has occurred since I mentioned the L-Max in an Operation Gadget called Electronics Dominate the Toy Wishes "Hot Dozen" Holiday Gift List for 2005.
The L-Max is the successor to the Leapster Multimedia Learning System which was very popular in 2004. The L-Max is compatible with games for the older Leapster system. It adds the ability to play many Leapster games on TV simply by connecting the L-Max to your television.
The L-Max also has an optional L-Max Recharging Kit which allows you to use a rechargeable battery pack instead of disposable AA batteries. The L-Max Recharging Kit will charge the L-Max in four hours, so it's perfect for recharging the L-Max overnight. I'm guessing that a charge will last for an entire day of L-Max use under normal conditions.
Technorati Tags: Leapster L-Max, Leapster, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts, toys
Since I published Electronics Dominate the Toy Wishes "Hot Dozen" Holiday Gift List for 2005, Operation Gadget readers have "voted with their wallets" by purchasing several of the toys and games that were highlighted. Early results indicate that the hottest selling toy among the dozen is Shell Shocker, a radio-controlled transforming vehicle for kids aged 8 and older. (Don't forget you need a Tyco Pro Flexpak Battery and Charger if you buy this.)
Close behind are:
A couple of related toys that were not mentioned in this article have also been picked out by readers:
I'll report back periodically to tell you which toys and the hottest selling with our readers as the holiday season rolls on. If you have any comments on these toys or tips on others that you think are going to be hot, feel free to post them here.
Technorati Tags: Hot Dozen, toys, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts
The Wall Street Journal reported in its Monday edition that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network will make some of their shows available on-demand for $2.99 per episode. According to the article:
The episodes will be tailored to work exclusively on toy maker Hasbro Inc.'s VuGo portable media player, a kind of video iPod for kids that began appearing on store shelves in recent weeks and sells for about $100 at discount retailers.
In an earlier article, I said that I put an iPod with video playback on my Amazon.com Wish List because I concluded that "video playback is going to be a very hot feature of portable media players in 2006". This deal between Viacom, Time Warner, and Hasbro is another indicator of the willingness of media companies to offer content for use on portable media players.
I think some of these initiatives will prove that there's a market for inexpensive content delivered on-demand. This will result in the availability of a wider variety of content, which will be its own demand driver. Whether lots of parents will pay $2.99 per episode for the right to download SpongeBob SquarePants episodes to their child's VuGo Multimedia System remains to be seen. { Subscription required to read most articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]
Technorati Tags: VuGo, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts
Toy Wishes Magazine has released its ever-popular Hot Dozen Toys for 2005. This list is intended to forecast which toys will be the most popular during the 2005 holidays. We can safely assume that if the magazine is correct, many of them will also become hard to find in stores at some point in the near future.
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Dora's Talking Kitchen: One of my
favorites on the Toy Wishes Hot
Dozen Holiday List. Product photos
courtesy of Amazon.com.
The Hot Dozen List includes (in alphabetical order):
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VTech V-Smile Pocket:
Little brother of the V-Smile Learning
System, which was a big hit in 2004.
If the 2004 Hot Dozen list was heavy with electronics, the list is overloaded in 2005. There are only two toys on this list that don't have a big electronic component: Black Belts Karate Home Studio DVD (also available in VHS) and the Magnetics MagnaWorld Series. I bought a set of Magnetix building toys for my nephew, Ben, a year or two ago, and I really wish they had been around when I was a kid, because they're fun to build with.
Last year, Operation Gadget readers bought a lot of VTech V-Smile, a video game-based learning system for preschoolers. In my opinion, this either means that V-Smile Pocket will be a similar hit, or it will be a dud. VTech has a strong lineup of add-on cartridges compatible with both devices based on Winnie the Pooh, Mickey and Friends, and the Little Mermaid. If these cartridges are entertaining as well as educational, I'm sure parents and grandparents will buy them, and many hours of fun will be had by all.
I'm concerned that the mix of electronic and non-electronic products in the Hot Dozen has tilted too far toward the electronics this year. Will there be hits in the non-electronic genre this year, in spite of the lack of attention? What do you think?
Technorati Tags: Hot Dozen, Toy Wishes Magazine, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts
I was in Toys-R-Us yesterday for the first time in the 2005 Holiday Season. One of the first things I saw being promoted was the 80th Anniversary Pooh Doll from Fisher-Price and it looks like its going to be a hot product this year. Winnie the Pooh first appeared in The London Evening News on Christmas Eve 1925. Since then he's become one of the most popular characters in the history of children's literature.
The 80th Anniversary Pooh is $29.99 in stores, but you can get it for only $6.99 when you purchase $50 or more of toy or video game products from Toysrus.com or Imaginarium.com through Amazon.com. All you have to do is add the qualifying products to your shopping cart, including the Pooh doll, and enter the promotional code RTYBGBKTRUAA at checkout.
This Pooh Bear is machine washable and has a commemorative 80th anniversary insignia on his left rear paw.
My wife Kathleen loves Winnie the Pooh and we have quite a few Pooh products around the house. I'd be really surprised if this Pooh Bear doesn't come to our place this December.
Technorati Tags: Winnie the Pooh, commemorative, toys, Fisher-Price, Toys-R-Us
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Operation Gadget is a weblog dedicated to news and reviews of electronic gadgets and technology used in sports.
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"... Lots of cool toys, well described to feed your gotta-have-one impulse."
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editor and publisher: Dave Aiello
west coast bureau chief: Martin O'Donnell Copyright © 2003-2006, Chatham Township Data Corporation. All Rights Reserved. "Operation Gadget" is a service mark of Chatham Township Data Corporation. All other products and company names mentioned on Operation Gadget may be trademarks of their respective owners. Any comments posted to Operation Gadget are the legal responsibility of the person that posted them. Comments may be removed from this system at any time, at the sole discretion of Chatham Township Data Corporation or its authorized agents. |
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