Holiday Gift ideas///Robosapien: Top 10 Hi tech toy!

[borg]

A bit early for Holiday gift shopping but I thought I better get two of these Robosapiens for my boys before supply runs out. It made Dr Toys Top 10 Hi tech toys & the hype is starting to build around it since media tv news started telling consumers about them. I saw it for the 1st time 2 days ago during a local news broadcast, since then I've seen 2 national news featuring these toys. I'm anticipating that these will be hot sellers, so today I decided to purchase a couple of them.

There are a few stores carrying them now but the cheapest price is at Toy's R Us, they are selling them for $109.00 CAD while the competition is selling them for $129.00 CAD.

Now I have to figure out a good hiding place so my boys dont discover them til X'mas.

Edited 04Nov12

I returned the items to Toys R Us, I found that Shoppers Drugmart was selling them for $99.00 CAD so I bought 2 from them after I got refund from TRU.

[FLPilot]

I think I saw this exact one on sale for under $70 at BJ's (wholesale club). It's a cool idea, but then I just think about what a waste of money it is.

[borg]

[q] originally posted by FLPilot
I think I saw this exact one on sale for under $70 at BJ's (wholesale club). It's a cool idea, but then I just think about what a waste of money it is.[/q]


$70.00 US equates to about $84.00 CAD in todays rates, it would be really fair but unlikely we'll be paying that kind of price @ any retail store up here (Canada).

Yeah it's a lot of money for a toy but my kids are really into robots/robotics......they spend some of their allowance on toys that they can make into "robots". They started out with mechano set to motorized legos, kinex & assorted other toys. Now they make their own robots from parts from all the above mentioned toys & whatever gadgets they can find.

At X'mas time they each get one gift from mrs borg & I, when I saw these things I thougt it would make a perfect gift, even though I suspect that in a few months it will be dismanteled & stripped just to see how it works. That I dont mind at all, kids are curious & learning in the process. The way I look at it, it's better than watching TV or playing video games........speaking of TV & video games, my kids spend a total of 4 hrs a week doing that & that's on weekends only( 2 hrs of that is spent watching a movie during Saturday movie nights where we all sit down & watch as a family, which leaves 2 hrs to play video games).

Is it a waste of money, perhaps a lot of people might look at it that way, obviously I dont.

[borg]

It's official, Robosapien rated top toy by The Canadian Toy Testing Council.

CTTC list:

2005 CTTC/Energizer Battery-Operated Toy of the Year
The toys are listed according to age. All award winners are of equal excellence.
6-9 years ROBOSAPIEN (ROBOT), #ws8081us02, $100-120 WOW WEE

8 + 20Q (ELECTRONIC GAME), #7410, $20-25 RADICA

2005 Children’s Choice Award
The toys are listed according to age. All award winners are of equal excellence.
6-24 mos. LAUGH & LEARN LEARNING BIRDBATH, #C6513, $30-35 FISHER-PRICE CANADA INC.

3 + WEE 3 FRIENDS, #G5560, $25-30 MATTEL CANADA INC.

3-6 years ROVIN’ ROLLERS, KID K’NEX, #85120 45047, $25-30 K’NEX INDUSTRIES, INC.

4 + ZOO, #3240, $150-155 PLAYMOBIL

6+ SCENE IT? DISNEY EDITION, #G3122, $40-45 MATTEL CANADA INC.

8 + SCENE IT? JR., #C3365, $40-45 MATTEL CANADA INC.

7+ PREHISTORIC CREATURES DESIGNER SET, #4507, $40-45 LEGO CANADA INC.

7+ CASTLE OF MORCIA, KNIGHT’S KINGDOM, #8781, $130-135 LEGO CANADA INC.

7+ PAINT YOUR OWN GARDEN BUGZ, #1391, $30-35 CREATIVITY FOR KIDS/

FABER-CASTELL

8+ QUANTUM PAD – GRADE 3 MATH, ISBN #1-932256-06-7,

$20-25 LEAP FROG

8-9 years QUANTUM PAD – SMART GUIDE TO GRADE 3,

ISBN #1932256-04-0, $20-25 LEAP FROG

8-9 years QUANTUM PAD - SMART GUIDE TO GRADE 4,

ISBN #1932256-05-9, $20-25 LEAP FROG

9+ QUANTUM PAD – GRADE 4 MATH, ISBN #1-932256-07-05.

$20-25 LEAP FROG

12 + PHOENIX (BOARD GAME), #328988002718, $30-35 EURO GAMES/FILOSOFIA

2005 Best Bet Award
The toys are listed according to age. All award winners are of equal excellence.
0+ LOTTY LADYBIRD DELUXE SOFT PLAY MAT,

#663488700239, $100-110 MAMAS & PAPAS

2-4 years FRIDGE PHONICS MAGNETIC LETTER SET, #80445,

$25-30 LEAP FROG

2-4 years DUPLO TEAM CONSTRUCTION, LEGO VILLE, #4688

$30-35 LEGO CANADA INC.

3 + LILA (DOLL), #25052-0, $75-80 COROLLE

3 + TRIPLE HIT BASEBALL, #B6312-0910, $30-35 FISHER-PRICE CANADA INC.

3 + SMART HOUSE SOUNDS LIKE HOME

(HAPPY FAMILY), #C7538, $90-95 MATTEL CANADA INC.

3 + BRENDAM DOCKS ELECTRONIC PLAYSET, #9671476511,

$60-65 LEARNING CURVE

3-5 years ZOBOOMAFOO ANIMAL ALPHABET, (SOFTWARE) BRIGHTER CHILD/

ISBN 0-7630-7105-6, $25-30 LEARNING COMPANY

3-8 years TUMMY ACHE, (BOARD GAME), #BG12, $20-25 ORCHARD TOYS/PIERRE BELVEDERE

4 + WIG OUT! (CARD GAME), #ISBN #1-888-439-89-0, $5-10 GAMEWRIGHT

6 + MAASK (WOODEN BOARD GAME), #00120, $20-25 BLUE ORANGE GAMES

8 + SIM CITY 4 DELUXE EDITION, (SOFTWARE), ELECTRONIC ARTS

ISBN #0-7845-3611-2, $50-55

8+ COLUMNS (WOODEN BOARD GAME), ISBN #1-932359-12-5,

$35-40 PIN/OUT OF THE BOX

8 + CONGA (GAME), ISBN #1-893028-34-8, $30-35 CRANIUM

8 + DRAGON DELTA (GAME), #EDG2565, $50-55 EURO GAMES/FILOSOFIA

8 + KIT & CABOODLE (GAME), ISBN #1-888-439-06-8, $15-20 GAMEWRIGHT

8-12 years HARRY POTTER MOTORIZED HOGWARTS EXPRESS,

#10132, $160-170 LEGO CANADA INC.

8-14 years ZIGITY (CARD GAME), ISBN #1-893028-49-6 , $15-20 CRANIUM

2005 CTTC Great Book Awards
● Read Me a Book, written and illustrated by Barbara Reid. North Winds Press (a division of Scholastic Canada Ltd.). ISBN 0-439-95726-5, Ages 9 - 24 months

● Drumheller Dinosaur Dance, by Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by Bill Slavin and Esperança Melo. Kids Can Press, 2004. ISBN 1-55337-393-6, Ages 3-6

● Ma, I'm a Farmer, written and illustrated by Michael Martchenko. Annick Press Ltd 2003. ISBN 1-55037-696-9, Ages 4+

● Penelope and the Humongous Burp, by Sheri Radford, illustrated by Christine Tripp. Lobster Press, 2004. ISBN 1-894222-83-0, Ages 4-6

● A Noodle Up Your Nose, by Frieda Wishinsky. Orca Book Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-55143-294-3. Ages 6-8

● Funtime Riddles, written by Marilyn Helmer, illustrated by Jane Kurisu. Kids Can Press, 2004. ISBN 1-55337-580-7, Ages 6-8

● That's Very Canadian, by Vivien Bowers, illustrated by Dianne Eastman. Maple Tree Press, 2004. ISBN 1-879099-05-8, Ages 7-12

● Monkey Business, written and illustrated by Wallace Edwards. Kids Can Press. ISBN 1-55337-462-2. Ages 8+

● The Amazing International Space Station, by Editors of YES Magazine, Kids Can Press, 2003. ISBN 1-55337-523-8, Ages 9-12

● Run, by Eric Walters. Penguin Books, 2003. ISBN 0-14-331218-9, Ages 9+

[RipRocK]

Great list, borg! I didn't even know there was such an agency that puts out a list like this. They must do this every year, right? They even have a list of books they recommend. That's good.

I'm sure your boys will love their present!

[FLPilot]

Wow Borg, that is amazing! I guess when you put it that way, it sure is not a waste of money. I think what I meant was that most kids now want things more like video games instead of these physical toys. The amazing part for me is that your kids only watch tv for a few hours a week. That is great!!! Keep up the great work my friend. BTW, The Sharper Image also have these for $99.00 and they always have a $20 off $60 coupon floating around in case you can't get it at BJ's. Sharper Image is usually high priced which means you could probably find this somewhere else cheaper. Good luck.

[borg]

RipRock, yes the CTTC compiles a list every year, it makes for a good research tool for recommended toys & books for the lil ones.

FLPilot, I'm sure if left unsuprevised my boys will be no different than most kids in that they would spend endless hours in front of the TV or playing video games.

Sometimes I feel that I maybe too strick but I just cant see myself approaching it any different. I'm just thankful that my current assignment allows me to spend a lot of time with them therefore I'm able to do the parenting that I feel I need to do.

[XPhile]

Originally posted by borg
It's official, Robosapien rated top toy by The Canadian Toy Testing Council.

CTTC list:

....


8 + 20Q (ELECTRONIC GAME), #7410, $20-25 RADICA

I tried the 20Q. Amazing toy. Go to http://www.20q.net/ to give it a try.

Another cool toy out there is The Plasma Car. http://www.plasmacar.com/
"It's like magic, but you don't need to be a magician to get it to work"

[ChipUser]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by borg


Yeah it's a lot of money for a toy but my kids are really into robots/robotics......they spend some of their allowance on toys that they can make into "robots". They started out with mechano set to motorized legos, kinex & assorted other toys. Now they make their own robots from parts from all the above mentioned toys & whatever gadgets they can find.

-----------------------
Considering that Robosapien was designed by mark Tilden - who is considered the father of BEAM robotics, your kids may like to join the BEAM mailing list. Also take a look at a Canadian BEAM robotics kit developer - Solarbotics.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beam/

http://www.solarbotics.com/

On http://www.solarbotics.net/ they also host a BEAM reference library & other resources.

[borg]

XPhile & ChipUser, thanks for the links, I'll be sure to show the kids & have them chekc it out.

[hondacuraplanet]

My son is getting a Robosapien

He won it by being the top catalog seller of holiday gifts for his school. Had his picture taken with it for the school paper

I have no idea what it is or what it does, but I'm sure he'll have fun with it.....if he has the time. Daddy's just beginning the construction of the new Lionel train layout

[robottik]

Saw this on TechBargains.com :

Computer Geeks has RoboSapien for $69.96 using code: ROBOGEEK

Exp 12/31
Tax in CA

[Oahu_Dave]

Originally posted by borg
A bit early for Holiday gift shopping but I thought I better get two of these Robosapiens for my boys before supply runs out. It made Dr Toys Top 10 Hi tech toys & the hype is starting to build around it since media tv news started telling consumers about them. I saw it for the 1st time 2 days ago during a local news broadcast, since then I've seen 2 national news featuring these toys. I'm anticipating that these will be hot sellers, so today I decided to purchase a couple of them.

There are a few stores carrying them now but the cheapest price is at Toy's R Us, they are selling them for $109.00 CAD while the competition is selling them for $129.00 CAD.

Now I have to figure out a good hiding place so my boys dont discover them til X'mas.

Edited 04Nov12

I returned the items to Toys R Us, I found that Shoppers Drugmart was selling them for $99.00 CAD so I bought 2 from them after I got refund from TRU.

Yeah I bought this for myself from Sharper Image for the cool blue color. Looks like fun.

[FLPilot]

Just saw that the Robot is on sale this weekend at Woot.com

The cost is $68.25 shipped. This website has already proven themselves and can be trusted in case anyone is wondering.

[Oahu_Dave]

Ok, I must say I give this thing about a half a star. It is a mess to control and isn't nearly as interesting as it looks on tv. The remote is a maze and there isn't even like a wander mode so you aren't hitting a button every half a second to make him move. He has major issues on my tile floor since it has very small dips between tiles, won't walk at all on our very shallow carpet. Also doesn't turn right at all, only left. I must say I am completely disappointed in this. I guess if the controls were easier and there was something you could set him to do so he would wander around and entertain, but alas no. Hard as heck to make him pick anything up and you cannot open the hands just at any time. The commands are just to reach down and open. So you cannot walk up to something, open the hand and pick it up. Ugh... $100 poorly spent. Oh well. I destroyed the packaging getting him out as those of you who ordered it will see. I think they did that on purpose so you couldn't return it. Have wirecutters ready and lots of patience.

Oh well. Hope those of you who ordered this for your kids or whatnot have better success, but after about 5 mins of playing he is going on the shelf for storage.