Furby has a new little sister — or maybe brother.
In stores this week, Furby Party Rockers from Hasbro, costing $23, are smaller and cheaper than the regular Furby, which are priced at $60. But they do less, too. There’s no animatronics and cheaper, backlighted lenticular eyes, designed to look like more expensive color eyes that move. They run on three AAA batteries and come in four varieties, complete with predetermined personalities and names like Loveby and Scoffby.
So what can they do?
Because the base is rounded, you wake up these little Furbys with a rocking motion. These motions are captured and counted, along the sound of our voice. More sound and motion equals more Furbish-talk, and eventually a song. If another Furby is near, large or small, they will sing in harmony.
Kris Paulson, Hasbro’s design manager of integrated play, said Furbys communicate with high-frequency sounds, called audio watermarks. You probably can’t hear them, but a nearby Furby or your dog probably can. So can your phone if it’s running the free Furby App on Android or the iPhone operating systems.
These new Furbys are part of a growing Furby empire that includes dress-up items, furniture (furbiture) and social media hooks.
One feature that Party Rockers share with their larger counterpart is that there is no off switch. Your only option is to remove the batteries, or drop one into solitary confinement for a few minutes. Finding such a place when children are around just might count as a 21st-century parenting skill. There’s a video on how these work.
Gadgetwise Blog: A New Furby Toy
This article
Gadgetwise Blog: A New Furby Toy
can be opened in url
http://newsdiery.blogspot.com/2013/02/gadgetwise-blog-new-furby-toy.html
Gadgetwise Blog: A New Furby Toy
