Top Brands: Sphero - Wonder Workshop - Makeblock - Amazon Kids
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"
NEWS$show=/search/label/news
Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.
REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review
Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family.
There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for?
We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.
GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide
Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.
PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project
Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.
STEM$show=/search/label/stem
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.
CODING$show=/search/label/coding
Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.
ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics
We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware.
Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions.
Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.
ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics
We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them.
Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available.
Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.
MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making
We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun.
The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something.
We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.
Tracy and I attended a TOMY event a couple weeks ago and our kids got the chance to check out a new toys-to-life game, Lightseekers. If you like Skylanders you'll love Lightseekers which offer a similar physical and digital play experience. There are many differences, so check out the Parent's Guide to Lightseekers to learn more.
In this post, we'll explore the Smart Figures, which work with the Lightseekers mobile game, in more detail.
Disclaimer: My boys won the Smart Figures at the TOMY event as one of them achieved this highest score in the coin chase party game and both helped with a promotional video. Our opinions, as always, are our own.
The Lightseekers Smart Figures are manufactured by TOMY and are 7" collectible and playable figures that light-up, talk and vibrate. The Smart Figures come with weapons and accessories (some sold separately) to power-up in the Lightseekers game.
You don't need the Smart Figures to play Lightseekers, unlike other toys-to-life products, but if your kids get hooked, this could make a very nice gift! And we think it does add value to the gameplay.
What's in the box?
Currently, there are two smart figures you can choose from, Jax from Tyrax and Kora from the Mari tribe. Each figures comes with a weapon, 5 trading cards and a tribute card. There's talks of more to come. We'll keep you up to date here on Tech Age Kids. The trading cards can be used to power-up in the game as well as in the physical trading card game. Read the Lightseekers Trading Card Game - How does it work? to learn more about the physical game. (My boys LOVE this card game!)The figures come with a mini computer called the Fusion Core, which stores game data and also powers the action figures. The Fusion Core is rechargeable by USB cable, which is included.
Smart Toy Action Figures
The Smart Figures can be used as stand alone action figure toys, as well as linked to the mobile game and then they become game controllers for the game.I'm really impressed with the quality of the action figures. They feel really robust (even with my heavy handed 6-year-old) and the kids love the fact they have fully articulated legs and arms. "They are actual toy figures you can play with," says my 9-year-old.
You can play with the figures without the Fusion Core, but when it's connected it adds lights, sounds and vibrations. The two buttons on the Fusion Core lets you play weapon-sounds (when a weapon is connected) and pre-recorded messages. When you're connected to the game, the buttons become game controller buttons. It's a pretty smart toy!
I love the idea that the kids can use this toy during screen-time gaming, but when they need to have time away from the screen, they can continue to role-play the game with the figures. This is exactly how my boys have been playing with their Smart Figures.
My boys are completely different and each preferred a different Lightseeker character. My youngest, who's really technical and mechanically-minded loved Jax with the Nitro Hammer. He uses his abilities and gadgets to overcome challenges. My other son, was more attracted to Kora and her connection to nature with Lightning, Water and Air powers.
The figures don't necessarily shout "boy-only" and I especially like that there is also a 'female' character.
Accessories and Add-ons
There's also accessories and add-ons available for the figures which are interchangeable. The accessories clip into place really easily, but you need to use the release buttons to take them off. Be careful not to just pull the accessories or Fusion Core from the figures.Flight Pack
We got two flight packs, the Skyrider and Flynamo, which are sold separately. The flight packs turn your figure into a game controller. You also get one card, which you can use in the card game and activate in the mobile game.
Weapon Pack
There are also two more weapons to collect - The Electro Eel and Spinblade. The weapons also come with a trading card. The weapons will store in-game stats and abilities which can be transferred to another character.
The weapons have colour-changing leds which light up when you play, which is a nice touch. My son spotted this feature, as we recently did an activity using a colour-changing led. He was so pleased he knew what was happening 'under the hood'!
Power and Charging
The Fusion Core, which is the mini computer for the Smart Figures, is rechargeable using a USB cable. You can either disconnect the Fusion Core from the figure or just charge it whilst it's still attached. You'll know to charge the Fusion Core as the led light indicators will start to flash. Whilst the Fusion Core is charging the leds flash, but when it's in use they turn off.Unlike many other electronic toys, (and we see a lot) it's really good that charging these Smart Toys is easy and accessible. Big thumbs up to Lightseekers. (Must have been designed by parents!) ;)
Connecting to the Mobile Game
The figures connect, using Bluetooth, with the mobile game which is freely available on iOS, Andriod and Amazon devices. Your device, however, does need Bluetooth 4.0 and 1GB of RAM (device memory) to connect the figures and experience the full features of the game.Unfortunately, we couldn't get our figures to connect with our Amazon Fire tablets as the game kept crashing.
They did work on my iPad Air. And it's really cool that you can connect two characters to play at the same time. My boys really enjoyed the multiplayer aspect and the 'party' games.
Note: We later discovered that one of our figures has a faulty Fusion Core, which could have played a part in not getting them to connect properly.
Verdict
Admittedly the Smart Figures aren't cheap, but if you're going to splash money at an action figure then Lightseeker Smart Figures are definitely worth a look. Not only because they are fantastic build quality you get to use them in more ways than one. They are just cool action figures.
In terms of toys-to-life games, we love that the Smart Figures are actually playable toys. Some other toys-to-life toys are stuck on bases and don't have moveable parts.
I really like the interactivity the Smart Figures provide with the game. There is a connection between the physical and virtual world where movement in the real world affect your character in the game. It's a bit like playing with a Wii games console.
The Smart Figures are recommended for 8+ however my 6-year-old absolutely loves his Jax and it accompanies him everywhere.
Also see:
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- catroid
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- connected toys
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- cozmo
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- cubs
- curiosity
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- design thinking
- digital parenting
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- disney infinity
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- drawing
- drones
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- ebooks
- eco
- edblocks
- edison
- edtech
- education
- egypt
- electricity
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- electronic toys
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- electtronics
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- ewriter
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- games consoles
- gaming
- gift guide
- gifts
- girls
- giveaway
- glow in the dark
- grace hopper
- grove
- hackaball
- hacksoton
- halloween
- halloween costumes
- hardware
- headphones
- health
- hexbug
- hexbug aquabots
- hexbug project
- high school
- history
- home
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- homeschool
- hot toys
- hour of code
- html
- humanoid
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- in app purchasing
- indiegogo
- industry event
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- kids
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- kodu
- kubo
- label printer
- languages
- laptop
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- last minute
- leap motion
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- leappad
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- learning
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- learning tablet
- learning tablets
- leds
- lego
- lego boost
- lego chain reactions
- lego mindstorms ev3
- lego power functions
- lego technic
- lego wedo
- let's start coding
- lights
- lightseekers
- little kids
- littlebits
- logiblocs
- logic
- logical thinking
- loom
- machines
- magnetic
- make it
- makeblock
- makedo
- maker
- makey makey
- making
- mardles
- mars
- mars rover
- marty
- math
- maths
- mbot
- mbot ranger
- me arm
- meccano
- meccanoid
- meccanoid 2.0
- merge vr
- mews
- michael faraday
- micro:bit
- microbit
- microcontroller
- microscope
- microsoft
- middle school
- miles kelly
- mindstorms
- minecraft
- minecraft mods
- mixed reality
- mobile
- modular electronics
- monsters university
- morse code
- mothers day
- motion capture
- motors
- mover kit
- movie
- movies
- mu
- mu toys
- munzee
- music
- my first robot
- national dog day
- nature
- new
- new year
- news
- news coding
- nikola tesla
- nintendo
- nintendo switch
- ohbot
- ollie
- on the web
- opinion
- origami
- osmo
- outdoors
- ouya
- ozobot
- papercraft
- paperwhite
- parental controls
- parenting
- parrot
- pc
- people
- pet tech
- pets
- phone
- photography
- photon
- physics
- pi day
- picks
- pimoroni
- pinoccio
- pixel kit
- pixelart
- play
- playstation 4
- plezmo
- pocket code
- pocket money
- pokemon
- pokemon go
- poll
- pre order
- pre-teens
- prehistory
- preschoolers
- primary
- printable
- products
- professor einstein
- programming
- project
- projects
- puzzles
- python
- racing
- raspberry pi
- reading
- reivew
- remote control
- research
- resource
- resources
- retro
- review
- rights
- robot
- robot dog
- robot fish
- robot wars
- ROBOTERRA
- roboticals
- robotics
- robots
- role models
- role play
- romo
- romotive
- root
- rover
- safety
- sam labs
- samuel morse
- sandbox
- schools
- science
- scratch
- scratchjr
- screen time
- screenless
- screens
- sensors
- servos
- simbrix
- skills
- skylanders
- skylanders superchargers
- skylanders swap force
- smart pens
- smartphone
- smartwatch
- snap circuits
- social media
- solar power
- soldering
- sonic pi
- sony koov
- sound
- space
- sparki
- speaker
- speech sythesis
- sphero
- sphero mini
- spider
- star wars
- stars
- STEAM
- stem
- stikbot
- stop motion
- stop motion studio
- storage
- story
- strawbees
- students
- subscription
- subscriptions
- sugru
- summer
- swift
- tablet
- tablets
- tangible coding
- tech
- tech age
- tech craft
- tech is bad
- tech is good
- tech toys
- tech will save us
- technology
- technology will save us
- teens
- teknikio
- tekno
- teksta
- tenka labs
- tesla
- textiles
- thames & kosmos
- the extraordinaires
- tim berners lee
- tinkercad
- tinybop
- toddlers
- toot-toot
- top pick
- touch
- toy
- toys
- travelling
- TTS
- TV
- tween
- tweens
- tynker
- typing
- ux
- vehicles
- videos
- view-master
- views
- virtual reality
- voice assistants
- voice recognition
- vr
- vtech
- web
- websites
- wifi
- wii
- wii u
- windows 8
- wonder workshop
- wowwee
- writing
- writing. education
- xbox one
- xyzprinting