New York is one resiliant town. We got buried under more than 2 feet of snow, but that didn't stop the Toy Fair, which opened Sunday, February 12 (blizzard day). I got to the Javits Convention Center on Monday to see whether technology has made any new inroads into the toy industry; with a few notable exceptions (toys from LeapFrog, WowWee, and Hasbro among them) tech-toy pickings have been a mite slim the past few years. Maybe because kids are so glued to their Xboxes and Gameboys...? I get that, but the kid in me wants a bunch of this stuff too.
I loved the Floating Ideas levitating globe, at left, from Fascinations, whose motto is "wonders created by physicists." I'm a sucker for science toys. Anyway, it's done with magnets, of course, but it looks like magic. The base has an auto-rotate mechanism, so you can just let your world slowly spin in the air. This belongs on my desk!
I was also intrigued by a new robot kit, from Hitec Robotics, a company that's new to me. The Robonova-1 (right) looks a bit like the WowWee Robosapian but is definitely higher end, at a cool $1,000 for the build-it-youself kit and $1,200 for the prebuilt version. Robonova-1 has no fewer than 16 digital servos, which makes him positively acrobatic. You also get software programming tools so you can create a large variety of remote-controllable behaviors. And he's got Bluetooth: I know that'll excite a lot of hobbyists, if they can afford him! I stand corrected; no Bluetooth included. The ones at the show had it, but only so they could dance together.
Other fun stuff: the GameWave game console from Zapit, $99; it comes with 4 wireless controllers, and everyone can play at once. Cool for parties and families. M-Audio's Piano Wizard, a very cool concept in teaching kids (and others) to play and ultimately to read music. Kid versions of digital cameras, iPod cases, and more, from Sakar. And (software, not a gadget, but so what) Xipster's stop-motion animation programs, FreeStyle and QuickTake, which let you create little filmic masterpieces really quickly.
I'll be going back for more tomorrow, at the showrooms in the Toy Building. I think I should expense my next pair of snow boots.
Bluetooth is finally catching on as the hands-free connector of choice, but it's in just a handful of cars. Its acceptance should climb, though, with the new Bluetooth Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) just announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. This will help shepherd Bluetooth technology to market, and it may be a future path to linking your iPod or other music player to the car. It's possible some existing Bluetooth cars may be able to be upgraded, but that depends on each automaker's design.
Right now, Bluetooth connectivity -- when it works -- is pretty much limited to hands-free communication, meaning you use the car's radio speakers and an in-dash microphone to talk and listen. Also, you can answer and end calls, and if you've got voice input in the car, you can speak the number you want to call. The same holds for Bluetooth accessory kits sold for $100 to $200 from vendors such as Motorola, Nokia, Parrot, and Sony Ericsson. Automakers offering Bluetooth in cars include Acura, Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler (both Chrysler vehicles and Mercedes-Benz), Honda, Saab, Toyota, and VW.
One big drawback Bluetooth users discover: If you want to store your phonebook in the car, you may have to key in the numbers, even if you've already done so on your cell phone. And that's where PBAP comes in. It gives a common standard for phone makers, automakers, and Bluetooth kit makers to follow to ensure -- hopefully -- that stored cell phone phonebooks can be transferred to cars or car kits. Phones and phone kits meeting the spec should be here before year's end. Because of cars' traditionally longer lead times, they probably won't have the capability until model year 2007 or later.
In conjunction with PBAP, the Bluetooth SIG announced enhancements to the existing Hands-Free Profile, HPF 1.5. That may help improve today's compatibility among phones and cars. Currently, at least in the eyes of automakers, cellular carriers and phone makers are unleashing Bluetooth phones that don't always work with Bluetooth cars. The best solution? For now, before you buy a car, go to the automaker's Web site and check for a list of phones the automaker certifies as compatible. It's a lot easier to replace a $100 phone than a $20,000 car.
The Bluetooth SIG also trumpets the coming ability of music players to pass music, as well as track and artist information, to cars wirelessly. But Bluetooth will have competition from USB: The first of those products are coming to market. If a car-audio unit and music player both fully support USB, the same music, track, and artist information can be passed along from player to car. And USB does one important thing Bluetooth can't do: trickle-charge your music player.
HP freshened up their iPAQ handheld line today with the new hw6900, also known as the 6910, 6915, or 6940 depending on its sales channel. Whatever the number, this gadget will run Windows Mobile 5.0 with Microsoft's new push e-mail system, have integrated GPS, and connect to Wi-Fi and GSM/EDGE networks. Based on the history of the previous hw6515 model, I expect this to appear on Cingular within a few months, costing $399-599 depending on contract and rebates.
The 6515 was a cute handheld, but when I tested it, it was buggy and the phone performance wasn't great. Hopefully the hw6900 will be a more solid performer. With Microsoft's push e-mail on board, it's primed to compete against both RIM's Blackberry handhelds and Motorola's long-awaited Q smartphone.
For more on the hw6900, read my story on PCMag.com.
But nothing can compare to freelance artist Nathan Sawaya's LEGO PC. PC Magazine put Sawaya to the challenge--right down to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And he graciously built the LEGO PC for free. [I guess they didn't want to ask him for a LEGO desk and chair to go along with it.]
PC Magazine interviews the brick artist about his creation, LEGO Mindstorms, and Macs versus PCs. Here's a sneak peek:
PCMag: What's your favorite piece? Outer-space LEGO projects, or medieval LEGO constructions? Or something else?
Sawaya: I grew up with a 36-square-foot LEGO city in our living room (my parents were quite accommodating), so I was a fan of LEGO Town and City (although an occasional spaceship may have landed downtown now and again). These days, I love to build anything. Even a LEGO computer.
Nokia announced their 6136 phone at the 3GSM trade show today, and all but said T-Mobile is looking at it for part of their launch portfolio of Wi-Fi/cellular phones. That makes two Wi-Fi/cell phones in the Tea Mob's potential lineup, with this one and the attractive little Samsung SGH-T709 slider.
The 6136 will make calls from your home or hotspot and roam seamelessly onto GSM networks. It has a 1.3 megapixel camera, microSD memory card slot, and FM radio, and it will be available before June -- that's not saying that T-Mobile will launch their UMA Wi-Fi calling solution by then, of course.
Interestingly, the Wi-Fi doesn't seem to sock the battery life. The phone has about the same talk time on Wi-Fi and GSM, though Wi-Fi standby time is much shorter. Presumably, you'd keep it plugged in a lot of the time when you're home, right?
Nokia didn't say "T-Mobile" in their press conference, but as the Magic 8 Ball would say, "ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES."
The big 3GSM wireless trade show just started in Barcelona, and I'm here in the office. What is this "city that never sleeps" thing? I can't even get a Sausage McMuffin at this time of the morning. Anyway, the first big announcement for US folk is the first high speed, global roaming cellular PC card. The new Option GlobeTrotter GT MAX for Cingular will work on Cingular's EDGE and HSDPA networks here in the US, and on foreign EDGE and UMTS networks abroad for the fastest global cellular roaming ever.
The card's cheap enough at $99.99, but the service plans hurt: $109.99/month for unlimited US data and 100MB of travel to Canada and Mexico, and $139.99/month for travel to the rest of the world. Obviously, this card is for the globetrotting business elite.
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