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Happy Holidays 2006

Toy test

They're the latest, greatest technological toys this holiday season, but do they really work? Are they fun?

By KATHERINE SNOW SMITH, Special to the Times
Published November 23, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Bob Croslin] From left, Kelsey Gemmill, Summerly Brown, Alexa Asendorf and Taylor Glogowski take the ESPN Play by Play Sports PA and Entertainment System for a spin. [Times photo: Bob Croslin] From left, Kelsey Gemmill, Alexa Asendorf, Summerly Brown and Taylor Glogowski get a workout with the Twister Dance DVD. Kaitlyn Sferrazza, left, and Arlia Delphonse put the Digi Makeover plug-n-play game to the test. [Times photo: Bob Croslin]

Plenty of children have already made out their Christmas wish list, prioritized it, color-coded it by category and made multiple copies for Mom, Dad, grandparents and Santa. But for those not quite as familiar with the hot toys that kids are longing for this year, here's some help.

We picked 13 toys that have been touted by manu-facturers and analysts as the hot items for the holiday season. They all have some kind of technological aspect, which is always popular with kids but can also make for a disappointing Christmas morning if "it doesn't work like it did on the commercial."

To put these toys to the test, the St. Petersburg Times X-Team, bay area students ages 11 to 17 who write for the Xpress page, spent an evening trying them out and offering their views. We've listed critiques and prices, which of course vary from retailer to retailer and can sometimes be even less online.

X-Team members who participated in the toy test are Alexa Asendorf, Summerly Brown, Katie Bruce, Arlia Delphonse, Chase Ferreira, Kelsey Gemmill, Taylor Glogowski, Brett Phillips, Kaitlyn Sferrazza, Chase Shiflet and Andrea Willingham.

N.S.E.C.T. $99,. ages 8 and up

Another crowd-pleaser for girls and boys was Tyco's radio-controlled N.S.E.C.T. Not only does this tanklike creature move in all directions, but you can also make its clawlike mouth reach out and grab things. On the opposite end, you can lift its wings and out comes an arm that shoots foam bullets with suction cups. Though the suction cups never once stuck to a wall or other surface, the testers didn't care in the least. They laughed and shrieked plenty with the N.S.E.C.T.

Roboreptile - $99, ages 8 and up

Though the remote-controlled Roboreptile looks like a robotic dinosaur, it got lots of points for being so realistic. Its eyes seem to look right at you, the screech sounds real, and it raises its head and swings its tail just enough to appear curious or ferocious. The remote has 28 functions to guide the creature, though its acute vision and touch sensors allow it to roam on its own and avoid obstacles. "This is so cool; it really looks alive," said 17-year-old Summerly Brown.

Digi Makeover - $60, ages 8 and up

The Digi Makeover plug-n-play was a disappointment to the girls who tried it. The premise is appealing: You can take a picture of a friend or yourself with the control box. Then it appears on the TV screen and you can add makeup or change hairstyles using the same control box. But the makeup didn't fit in the right spots or blend well with the photos. "It's hard to move it and hard to erase it," said Kaitlyn Sferrazza, 12. "I was going to put this on my Christmas list, but now I'm not." Children's Web sites that allow girls to design hair and makeup are much easier and more realistic.

Golden Tee - $40, ages 8 and up

Thirteen-year-old Chase Shiflet, who plays golf, gave the PlayTV Golden Tee golf game a thumbs-up. Players spin a big white ball to swing, putt and pick their clubs and strategy for each hole. Though it plugs into a TV, it has the look and feel of an arcade game. Four people can play. "Once you get used to the controls, it's pretty fun," he said.

ESPN Play By Play Sports PA and Entertainment System - $99, ages 8 and up

This toy seems awesome at first but didn't hold the testers' attention or enthusiasm. It was fun for a few minutes to talk into the mike and hear their voices come out with an impressive-sounding echo as they pretended to offer play-by-play commentary. But nobody stuck with it long, and they agreed that only a true play-by-play addict would use it while watching an entire baseball or basketball game. "But it would be a good way to annoy somebody's dad," joked 11-year-old Arlia Delphonse.

Massively Mini Media - $80, ages 8 and up

These miniature toys got mixed reviews from one tester. They liked the fact that the size and price are smaller than that of an iPod, but the device is also more limited. This palm-sized media player can hold almost two hours of digital music, up to one hour of video, up to 1,200 photos, or a combination of all three. You can get free downloads from a special Web site or pay for other, longer downloads.

Katherine Snow Smith can be reached at snowsmith@verizon.net.

The Designer's World TV Game - $30 and up price varies widely, ages 8 and up

This game was a little confusing at first for Kaitlyn, but she ended up liking it quite a bit. "It's just like Project Runway," she said. "If you sit down and really read the directions, I think it could be a lot of fun." The game plugs into a TV and lets players pick from an endless selection of clothes to design their own signature creations. Players can lengthen or shorten sleeves, hemlines or collars. They can add embellishments or take them away and change the colors and patterns of the clothes.

They pick which fashion shows they can afford to enter, then try to win more money to move on to the next show. They can also choose models and get to know the personalities of an array of judges and fashionistas.

Hot Wheels Radar Gun - $30, ages 7 and up

The Hot Wheels Radar Gun is "pretty cool," according to 13-year-old Chase Ferreira, who measured the speed of his co-testers running across the room and Matchbox cars wheeling across a table. He said he'd also like to try measuring the speed of a soccer ball or baseball. But the Hot Wheels moniker on the gun takes a little away from it for him by making it seem more suitable for his younger brother, age 8.

Air Blade - $80, ages 6 and up

Tyco's radio-controlled Air Blade remote didn't get the high marks of the other two remote-controlled toys. The controls were hard to manipulate, and sometimes it froze for a few seconds. Because it sits on three fat tires turned sideways, it does have the ability to bump full speed into walls and furniture, bounce back and then keep going. The toy testers thought it was durable and agreed it would be "super cool" to try it at the beach or cross country. The Air Blade can go across land, water, snow or ice.

Pixel Chix Love 2 Shop Mall - $35, ages 6 to 9

This game is also for younger girls. Anyone older would probably think this handheld remote, sort of Polly Pocket meets Gameboy, is fun for about 20 minutes, then put it down. Players can manipulate a menu of buttons to make a girl shop, work or play games at either a beauty shop or pet store. The girl appears in a small screen on a plastic "store" about the size of an adult's hand. The unique aspect is that more pieces, such as other stores, a house or a car, can be plugged into each other and the Pixel Chix can move from piece to piece, which makes the game more interesting and holds players' attention longer.

Youniverse ATM Bank Machine - $50, ages 8 and up

This bank, which is supposed to allow kids to deposit and withdraw real money from a miniature ATM, was confusing and frustrating. Two teenage girls read the directions and set their PINs but still couldn't make a withdrawal. They agreed that real ATMs are tons easier and that anybody who is young enough to want to use this as a piggy bank wouldn't be old enough to figure it out.

Barbie B-Book Learning Laptop - $45, ages 6 and up

The Barbie B-Book Learning Laptop has a full keyboard and arrow keys to play 30 games that range from just fun to true tutorials on spelling, memory, math, logic and Spanish. Its content is geared for first- and second-graders. Though it looks like a laptop, it's only good for games, not word processing or Internet use.

High tech for toddlers

Kids on the X-Team are a little old to try out a few other technical toys that are popular in toy circles, but we wanted to mention them for parents of younger children.

TMX Elmo - $40, ages 18 months-4

In honor of Tickle Me Elmo's 10th anniversary, TMX Elmo has been released. This Elmo goes way beyond the happy jiggling of his predecessor. When a child touches one of three tickle spots, Elmo slaps his belly, falls forward, does back flips then progressively laughs harder and moves crazier until he is shimmying on his back and finally flat on the floor slapping his hands next to him.

Kid-Tough Digital Camera - $70, ages 3 and up

If a preschooler is old enough to handle digital recordings, why not a digital camera? Fisher Price's Kid-Tough Digital Camera comes in blue or pink and holds 60 pictures. They can be printed or e-mailed just like grownup digital pictures, but kids might just enjoy snapping then viewing them on the chunky camera's 1.3-inch color LCD screen.

Kid-Tough FP3 Player - $70, ages 3 and up

Fisher Price's Kid-Tough FP3 Player is a media player with big buttons for preschoolers that allows them to listen to downloaded songs and stories from a Fisher Price Web site. The offerings are pretty good. There are narrated books featuring Clifford, Curious George and even Dr. Seuss classics. Music includes singer Laurie Berkner and collections from Kidz Bop. Downloads start at 99 cents.

Play Along Speed Stacks Stack Pack - $30, ages 3 and up

The clear winner of all the toys tested was the Speed Stacks game. Players race against each other and a timer to see who can be fastest making pyramids out of plastic cups. A guidebook shows several configurations that get progressively harder and higher. There's even a DVD to teach players the art of speed stacking. Many of the toy testers had already seen videos of champion stackers on the Internet. They were thrilled to try this one themselves. "It's addictive. It's one of those games you can't do once," said Brett Phillips, 13. "Then you get six people, and they all want to try. Then you want to beat their scores." The box says Speed Stacks is for ages 3 to 94, and for once that claim may be true. Simple as it sounds, this is one of those games that really will amuse the whole family for some time.

[Last modified November 22, 2006, 09:50:59]