Every February, children’s entertainment professionals from around the world converge in New York as the overlap of Toy Fair, Engage Expo and KidScreen Summit turn the city into a veritable stomping ground for those of us in the kids business. And every year, I can hardly wait to hear about the trends and see the products that will entertain children throughout the year ahead. This year did not disappoint!
Surprisingly, the product that most interested me this year came from toy giant Fisher Price, who unveiled the Laugh & Learn Baby iCan Play Case, a plastic case that protects any generation iPhone or iPod Touch from the poking, prodding and sticky fingers of young children. Coming out of a show filled with augmented realities and 3-D, this basic product may seem like a surprising pick as a standout. However, it’s less the product itself that is interesting, and more the commentary that it makes about the role that mobile devices are playing in kids culture today.
(more…)
Surprisingly, the product that most interested me this year came from toy giant Fisher Price, who unveiled the Laugh & Learn Baby iCan Play Case, a plastic case that protects any generation iPhone or iPod Touch from the poking, prodding and sticky fingers of young children. Coming out of a show filled with augmented realities and 3-D, this basic product may seem like a surprising pick as a standout. However, it’s less the product itself that is interesting, and more the commentary that it makes about the role that mobile devices are playing in kids culture today.
(more…)