Bezgar RC truck can take a licking

Like most kids, the children in my family love to play with radio-controlled vehicles. But they are still pretty young, age 6 - 10, so finesse and subtlety are traits they haven’t quite yet acquired. 

They’re favorite vehicles are ones that can take some punishment, off-road trucks that don’t wimp out on dirt tracks, jumping hills and gravel roads. 

The Bezgar Crawler truck looked to be just right for them.

At 1:14 scale, the Crawler is bigger, heavier and stronger than most RC trucks. It’s almost 10 inches long and 7.4 inches wide. It comes with wide oversized tires that have deep treads and heavy-gauge suspension springs.

The roof, hood and door panels are made of actual metal, not the flimsy plastic on other RC cars that I’ve seen go flying when the car takes a tumble. 

We also like light bar mounted on the Crawler’s roll cage. It provides an extra measure of fun on hot summer nights when we take the Crawler out after dark. 

The Crawler comes with two 6-volt battery packs that recharge using the standard USB cable found on most RC vehicle sets. The pistol-style controller has a trigger loop for moving forward and back and a wheel for turns. A trim lever on the truck’s underside lets you make alignment adjustments. 

We’ve put more than a few radio-controlled vehicles through their paces on neighborhood yards and driveways and this one deserves its “Big Foot” nickname.

This particular version of the Bezgar Crawler, Model TB141, sells for about $45 and is available on Amazon.

By: Ric Manning On 6/03/2022

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This mic is meant to be dropped

When rappers, TV stars and even US Presidents are punctuating their performances by dropping their microphone, you know you’re going to see it in wedding toasts, company meetings and living room karaoke contests.

The mic drop is supposed to be the last word, the end of the show. But what if the mic kept on talking or singing? Wouldn’t that be a hoot?

That’s the idea behind the Drop The Mic Microphone from Technical Graffiti. This mic doesn’t amplify your voice, it records what it hears, then plays it back when it hits the floor.

The mic is the size the size and shape of a professional model. It has a sturdy black handle and a metallic mesh head. The sample I tried out seemed to be built to withstand many drops, though the company advises users not to drop from from heights above your arm or onto a hard surface.

The Premier Edition mic arrived with two AAA batteries already installed in the handle and a plastic pull tab that will activate the batteries once it's removed.

The mic starts recording when you push and hold a button on the handle. It will store up to 15 seconds of your birthday wishes, bad jokes or off-key singing. The recording stays in the mic and will play again with another drop or a simple tap on its head.

I've been using the mic to entertain my toddler grandchildren. I tell them Papa's inside the mic and lets them drop it to hear his voice. They like the game and they really like being allowed to drop something.

To see the mic in action, check the video below. There are more videos posted on the Drop The Mic Microphone website and more information @DropTheMicIO on Twitter. Reviews and answers to questions about the mic are posted on Amazon where the mic can be ordered for $19.95. A special holiday version is slated to be offered soon.

By: Ric Manning On 6/03/2019

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Magnetic blocks build little engineers

Gizmo Editor Review

It seems as though most new toys are primarily passive entertainment devices. My grandchildren’s rooms are filled with toys that sing, dance or scoot across the floor and they came that way right out of the box. All the kids or their parents had to do was insert batteries and flip a switch.

That may be fine for the little tykes, but I would like to see the older kids have a toy that would let them create something straight from their imagination.

That’s why I bought a set of IMDEN Magnetic Building Blocks for 7-year-old Luke. They have more tech appeal than the snap-together blocks he played with as a toddler with just enough technology to be a big boy’s toy and the ability to put engineering concepts within his grasp.

The IMDEN set comes with 92 block pieces in square, triangle, and hexagonal shapes. The pieces have embedded magnets that allow them to be easily snapped together to make a virtually unlimited number or geometric shapes. You also get two sets of wheels on platforms and a pair of towers that can be used to build a Ferris Wheel, among other things.

For ideas, there’s a 30-page booklet that contains pictures of more than two dozen creations along with step-by-step instructions to build a car, a helicopter, a penguin and lots of other objects. The magnets allow the pieces to easily join each other.

You can make an elongated rectangle to serve as a tail or a submarine body, or a build a pyramid for a nose or a dome. The magnets shorten the time between inspiration and completed project and and make revisions a snap, literally.

I dropped off the blocks at Luke’s house, then checked back with him a week later to see what he could do with them. He immediately grabbed the wheels and showed me how to build what he called an “animal car” — a Transformer-style vehicle — that he whipped up in about two minutes. You can watch him at work in the video below.

On another occasion, his friends tackled the rotating wheel with only minimal assistance from the instruction. And the girls in the group seems to especially like the letter and number panels that snap into the square blocks, allowing them to name their creations.

I liked the sling bag that comes with the blocks set. It makes clean up easy and keeps all the loose pieces in one place. But most of all, I liked how the blocks let Luke gave his active imagination an easy and rewarding outlet.

The IMDEN Magnetic Building Blocks are priced at $29.99 and are available on Amazon.

By: Ric Manning On 5/19/2017

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Dino talks to your kids

Dino is not your average talking toy. Instead of a memory loaded with canned phrases, Dino uses Wi-Fi and a cloud connection to a computer that uses IBM's Watson technology to deliver a personalized play experience.

Dino, who was on display at the Showstoppers event at CES, can also tell jokes, play games, read stories and answer questions. Aimed at children ages 4 to 9, Dino adjusts to match the child's age.

A four-year-old who asks how far away is the moon would likely be told something like "Too far to walk," while the older child would get an answer in miles or kilometers.

Dino is slated to be available later this year for about $100. Pre-orders are being accepted at re CogniToys website.  

By: Ric Manning On 1/07/2016

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SpyNet's watch is for junior James Bonds

The SpyNet Video Watch turns older kids into pint-sized versions of James Bond by capturing still photos, audio and color video.

Mini-spies can view the videos on the watch’s screen or transfer them to a computer. The watch also has a built-in lie detector. I don't know how it works, but it could be a problem when parents start telling stories about Santa Claus.

The watch, made by Realtech costs about $50 at amazon.com.

By: Ric Manning On 11/17/2012

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Smart Cycle Racer keeps kids active indoors

Fisher-Price's Smart Cycle Racer is a bicycle that interacts with a TV, so kids can combine exercise, fun, and learning, even on bad-weather days.

When the bike is connected to a TV’s audio/video input plugs, the screen shows a country road that kids negotiate by pedaling and steering. They also use a built-in joystick to master a series of learning games and puzzles along the road. Mom and Dad can change the scenery and the games by buying cartridge packs for about $25 each.

The Smart Cycle Racer costs about $95 at amazon.com.

By: Ric Manning On 11/15/2012

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An MP3 boombox for little fingers

Three-year-old Lucas loves music. He sings along from his car seat when we play "The Wheels On The Bus" and other songs as we travel to our house for a weekend visit. So, for his birthday, he'll get his own-kid-sized boombox loaded with his favorite songs.

The Discovery Kids MP3 Boombox works like a music player for grown-ups. Songs are stored in its internal memory or on an SD memory card.

The player has stereo speakers, a plug for headphones and a small display screen that shows track numbers and song titles. The volume knob and other controls are oversized for tiny fingers and the case is built to take playtime punishment.

The player costs about $45 at amazon.com.

By: Ric Manning On 11/13/2012

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Like all the best fashion models, Mattel's Barbie will have a new look for the holidays.  This time Barbie gets a high-tech element added to her wardrobe: a digital display built into the front of her t-shirt.

Mattel's Barbie Photo Fashion Doll has a digital camera lens built into her necklace and controls on her belt. Girls can take photos from Barbie's point of view, then turn them into shirt designs or use a pink USB cable to upload them to a PC or Mac computer.

The doll costs about $45 and it's available Toys R Us and other toy stores.

By: Ric Manning On 11/10/2012

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Even kid-pads deserve an upgrade

Just like Apple and Google, LeapFrog also has a new upgraded version of its popular LeapPad tablet. The LeapPad2 has front and back cameras to capture still photos and video.  The tablet has five pre-installed programs that focus on drawing, reading and music.

Geekdad James Floyd Kelly -- and his two preschool kids - gave the new version high marks in his column at Wired.com.

There are hundreds more apps, ebooks and learning games available from the LeapFrog library but they cost about $25 each - a lot more than Mom and Dad pay for their apps.

The LeapPad 2 comes in green or pink and costs $99 at amazon.com .

By: Ric Manning On 11/07/2012

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Foam Fighter puts WWII dogfights in your hand

One of my favorite PC games from the early 1990s was Battle of Britain from LucasArts. It was the first combat flight simulator that used WWII fighter planes such as the British Spitfire and German Stuka dive bomber.

I was reminded of that game when I tried piloting the Foam Fighter from Appgear, even though Foam Fighter is designed for portable devices such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Androids. Instead of using a computer mouse of joystick, you pilot your fighter by holding and turning the portable device and pressing on the screen to fire at your opponent.

The game use realistic images of mountains, fields, water and landing strip. And it has a varied list of missions, including dog fights, bombing runs and escort duty. You can test your skills flying with either Allied or Axis colors in missions based in Britain, over Europe or in the Pacific and compete against computer-generated opponents or battle up to eight friends over local Wi-Fi.

Each Foam Fighter package comes with two models of fighter planes than can be attached to the backside of your device where it shows in the view from your camera. That makes it fun to chase your opponent through the dining room and into the kitchen.

Each version of Foam Fighters cost $9.99 at Wowwee.com. Once you buy the package, you can download the app for free.

By: Ric Manning On 7/23/2012

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