Weekly Daily Giz Wiz, Week of February 20th, 2012 Netcast 1353

Toy Fair Time!  My ABC World News Now Toy Spot:

http://abcnews.go.com/WNN/video/wnn-tech-toys-toy-fair-2012-15670725

ThinkGeek unveils a pocket-sized version of their huge iCADE seller!

The folks from ThinkGeek were at Toy Fair 2012 to unveil their newest product, the iCADE 8-Bitty. Leo & I have talked about its big brother, the iCADE gaming cabinet. That began as an April Fool’s joke and so many people actually wanted it, it soon became the most anticipated ThinkGeek product to date. The iCADE turns your iPad into an old fashioned video arcade. Now the iCADE 8-Bitty will bring the fun of playing those nostalgic video games of the iCADE to the smartphone and tablet users. It’s an enhanced gaming experience everyone can enjoy. Ty Liotta, head of ThinkGeek’s GeekLabs, was at the show and he told me that with millions of iOS and Android devices in circulation it only made sense to widen the field and bring the fun of iCADE to every possible device. (It’s way cheaper too, which will help it become a big seller.) The iCADE is $99.99 and the new iCADE 8-Bitty will be $24.99. The 8-Bitty is a wireless game controller that sports a classic D-Pad and button layout reminiscent of retro 8-bit game consoles from the 80’s and 90’s. It’s battery powered, and connects with your device via Bluetooth.  It features a fully functional directional game pad and eight buttons, just like the iCADE. It supports the iCADE's growing list of hundreds of top games, including the Atari Classics collection, Pac Man, Super Mega Worm, and many more. Developers of iOS and Android games can tap into the public API specification to make just about any game compatible with iCADE, and the list of supported games grows every week. Retail will be $24.99 and an exact release date has not been set yet. All I could get out of Think Geek was “later this year.” More info on the iCADE 8-Bitty is here: 

 iCADE 8-Bitty

Info on iCADE games is here: http://thinkgeek.com/iCADEGames. 

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1353

And now it's time for Leo's Turn The Table Turkey!

Can you guess who this is? Answer in the text.For this week’s TTTT, Leo reveals his own action figure! Actually the face looked pretty good. Without saying anything, Leo showed the figure to camera. I blurted out: “Is that an action figure of you?” Well, turns out, it was! Leo didn’t order it, and he’s not sure who send it. He thought it was most likely sent by the company that makes them: ThatsMyFace.com. You send them a couple of photos of your face (or anyone’s face, if you’re having one made as a surpise), and ThatsMyFace will turn them into a 3D image. Once they have the 3D image they can 3D print your head for your very own action figure likeness. (They offer a lot of other services using the 3D image, so check out the company’s website.) Leo thought the full-size life-mask portrait was a bit creepy, but he loves his custom-made pose-able action figure. Actually the action part is up to you and how you pose the figure and what you make it do. The only really custom make part of the action figure is the head. It goes on a body that you pick, along with your clothing selections. The action figure arrives with two types of glue so you can attach your custom-made head & face to your figure! The cost is $129, but ThatsMyFace also sells celebrity action figures. Most notable on the list is the John C. Dvorak action figure. (That’s him in the photo.) You see John Dvorak quite often on TWiT. When I was at the Brick House John's "action" was to walk off the set looking for food!) The pre-made celebrity action figures are $99. No Giz Wiz action figure is available, and as far as I know, there’s not one in the works!

www.thatsmyface.com   

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1353

Video of the week - You've heard of dancing in the dark, how about "Drawing in the dark"!

If the color in this week's video looks a little strange, you can't blame Dennis Wunderlin, who shot it. The lights in the room kept changing color and Dennis swears he wasn't drinking!

One of the trends at Toy Fair was “things that glow in the dark!” Crayola had an entire darkened room devoted to their new Digital Light Designer. It lets kids (even big kids, like me) create with colored LEDs on a 360-degree domed drawing surface. The outside dome itself is stationery, but there’s a spinning dome inside. Kids select from three different modes to create unique free-hand drawings with special effects, fun animations and interactive drawing games and activities. Using the Digital Light stylus, kids can select colors and line width to begin free drawing anywhere on the domed surface. They can easily switch between 8 different colors, or erase and start over. There are two different animation modes for simple or more advanced animated features. But wait, there’s more! Kids can save up to 50 of their original masterpieces in the gallery so they can replay their creations, edit them and set them in motion with cool animated effects like spinning, melting and image mix-up. There’s even more fun with over 50 interactive drawing games and activities, including maze races, animated connect the dots, mirror draw and memory games. The Digital Light Designer includes the 360 degree Light Designer domed drawing surface, a digital light stylus and easy to follow instructions. It’s powered by 4 D batteries, which are not included. I asked if it could be AC powered and it can, although the adaptor is sold separately. Designed for kids 6 and up. Under $50. Coming in the fall.

It’s not on the Crayola website yet since it’s a fall release:

Giz Wiz Video: http://youtu.be/7zRF-qWCh0g

http://www.crayola.com/ 

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1353

Got Balance --- Check out the SoloWheel!

The Solowheel is pretty unique. I saw it at CES, and again at Toy Fair. I’m not quite sure why they were at Toy Fair, since it’s far from being a toy. The Solowheel is a gyro-stabilized electric unicycle that the company calls: “the smallest, greenest, most convenient "People Mover" ever invented.”  There’s not much to the Solowheel as far as knobs, dials, etc. You step on it, lean forward, and you’re on your way! The folks at the booth were riding it up and down the aisles, in and out of traffic and were really good at using it. There's nothing to hold to, so you need really good balance. They offered me a chance to try it, but I preferred not to knock down a dozen people and crash into a wall. I don’t know what the learning curve is, but it does seem to work well. They reason it was strange to be at Toy Fair is the company warning: “We strongly recommend that children under the age of fifteen (15) do not use the Solowheel. Children fifteen (15) and up should use the Solowheel only with adult supervision.” It’s seems like a sort of Segway in operation. Lean forward to go forward, stand straight up to stop it. (I don't know if it goes backwards.) The maximum capacity is 250 lbs. Obviously riders have to observe all proper safety precautions and wear an approved helmet and other safety gear when operating the Solowheel. But the range isn’t bad. You can ride for 15 to 20 miles at a top speed of 10 miles per hour. The lady at the booth said the built-in lithium-ion battery can be fully recharged in two hours. And as with hybrid cars, the battery recaptures energy when going downhill or slowing down. The company says the Solowheel battery lasts for over 1000 cycles. The price? $1795.00. 

There's some good video at the company website: www.solowheel.com

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1353

Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse - Spearhats live!

First a look at this strange warehouse gizmo, then an update! Here's how it appeared on my website back in April 2008:

Hang on to your hat.  But watch you don’t cut yourself.

Spear Hat is one of the most bizarre gadgets Leo ever talked about. He found it at Toy Fair. Spear Hats are sold  as a pair. Each kid, parent, daredevil, etc. wears one. When you put them on your head make sure the spear is pointing straight up! The object is to take turns throwing rings at each other. The more rings you catch, the more points you earn. To catch more rings you might be tempted to run toward the ring as it flies in the air. This is where you have to be careful not to spear your playmate!  The instructions get even more bizarre when it suggests you throw fresh fruit at each and try to spear them! They’ve even printed a list of points you get for catching various kinds of fruit tossed in the air on your spear! Fruit salad, anyone? I wish this company a lot of luck! $49.95 a pair. I think Leo said $29.95 on the Netcast, but their $49.95 at the company's website. 

 www.spearhat.com

Turns out their website is still up! So I email them. Here’s their reply:

Thank you for inquiring about Spearhats.

Four years ago we introduced Spear hats at Toy Fair 2008. We didn’t have the best location since we weren’t actually inside the Javits Center, but rather at a table we set up on the street.  Our folding table & display was quickly confiscated by the police. Things didn’t look good until April 2008 when a podcast called the Daily Giz Wiz talked about our fine product. Sales tripled. We had only sold one Spearhat till than, but then after the Netcast, we sold 3. We haven’t sold any in the intervening 3 and ½ years. But then, like a miracle, your exciting email arrives. It was short, but well written – and we’ll never forget those magical words: --- “are you still in business?”  We weren’t, but the chance of selling another Spearhat has us jumping for joy! If you want to order a pair of Spearhats (you really need two to play the game correctly), let us know. We’ll assemble the production team, buy the supplies and then custom manufacture two Spearhats. Since making them is labor intensive, we need at least 24 hours from the time you order them, to the time we ship them.  2 hours if you’re in a real hurry.  

Chic Glitz – owner, inventor, & lounge singer….

Look for our new game coming soon – Pin The Sword on the Party Guest ---  “We make the sharpest games in the world!”

See or hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1353