As a kid growing up in the 1990s, I remember one of the coolest novelty-type items I had was a pair of glasses that reflected rainbow peace sign holograms in the dark black lenses. Today, the fun of holograms is being taken to a whole new level by Goliath Games.
After seeing Goliath’s new product line for this year at American International Toy Fair, I was taken around to the back of the exhibit to see the grand finale: HolograFX. A new augmented reality app accessory, HolograFX turns a smartphone or iPod Touch into a special effects holographic magic show. Each HolograFX box comes with 20 tricks, a free downloadable app, and stage to create a magic show with holograms.
In the trick that was demoed for me at Toy Fair, kids can place an image of the “corpse” of Siren Electra inside the “reanimation chamber.” Then, after a little bit of magic, a holographic image of Siren-come-back-to-life climbs out of the chamber and moves and speaks on the stage. In addition to the pre-loaded hologram images included in the set, kids ages 7 and up can become a hologram themselves! It was by far the coolest thing at Toy Fair, and I was jealous I grew up with holographic glasses instead of being able to turn myself into a hologram when I was a kid. This toy truly feels like a toy of the future.
HolograFX won’t be in stores until late summer, but the set can be preordered by clicking here.
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For more commentary from Marissa, check back each Monday afternoon. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time!
COMMENTARY: Everyone Has One, But I Want Mine to be Unique
Last Friday marked my niece Courtney’s eighth birthday, and what was she hoping for most? An iPod. Now, in my opinion, an 8-year-old doesn’t have much business with an iPod, but kids today are getting into electronics at a much younger age. Though part of Courtney’s argument for “needing” an iPod was, “everyone has one except for me,” the first thing she did when she got it was personalize it. Before even putting a song on it, she slapped a peace-sign sticker right on the back of it—10 minutes out of the box (hence why 8-year-olds probably shouldn’t have iPods). But, this was her way of making it her own.
For parents buying their children expensive devices such as smartphones, iPods, or even portable gaming devices like the Nintendo 3DS or the PS Vita, there are some awesome products on the market that will allow kids to dazzle and personalize their devices without placing a never-gonna-come-off, gooey-backed sticker on said device.
Plugy, from Hashy, is a universal 3.5mm plug that fits snuggly into all standard headphone jacks. Plugys come in more than 40 different styles, including zoo animals, robots, and glow-in-the-dark options. Plugy has something for everyone, including a rainbow, Eiffel Tower, and an apple stem, and allows kids to take their smart device to a more personal level in a not-so-permanent way. Plugys are made of rubber and will not break when inserted into the headphone jack. They even protect the device from rain, dust, and sand when earphones are not plugged in. Plugys are available on amazon.com and from Hanging Mobile Gallery. For more information on Plugys, email plugyUSA@gmail.com. [Read more...]