?Girl Tech? Toys: The Gadgets for Girls Revolution
by: Sarah Corlett
While girls? toys have always been lucrative for toy
makers (think Barbie, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears and ? more recently -
Bratz), the market for technology-based toys has always been much more heavily
aimed at boys. While, certainly, many girls enjoy them, video gaming systems and
other such leisure technologies feature war games, flight simulators and fantasy
role-playing games whose pace and graphics are meant to appeal to the male
demographic. Lara Croft does not wear tiny shorts for the benefit of her female
fans.
This Christmas, a company called ?Radica Games? is promoting a line of
technology-based toys aimed exclusively at young girls that they call ?Girl
Tech?. These gadgets for girls include such items as the ?Password Journal?, a
sort of high-tech diary for modern girls. It uses voice recognition software to
keep unauthorized people (like siblings and parents) from reading the owner?s
innermost thoughts and includes features like an invisible ink pen for even
greater security, a calendar to keep the social life organized and an alarm to
tell the owner if someone is trying to break in to the journal. However, it may
be a better product in theory than in practice: many online reviews of this
product do not recommend it due to technical glitches, most citing the
voice-recognition software as the problem.
Another ?Girl Tech? item that is poised to be very popular this Christmas is the
?Girl Tech Digi Makeover?. It has a built-in digital camera and can hook up to
the owner?s television. The point is to take a picture of someone and then use
the device to try out different hairstyles, haircuts and makeup to see how they
look. It advertises over 50 hairstyles and colours, as well as an array of
makeup that makes for an almost endless combination of new looks. Unlike the
diary, this item has had very positive reviews from consumers on different
websites and is touted as one of the must-have items for Christmas 2007.
?Girl Tech? features many other items as well, from a digital video journal that
can be hooked up to the computer for customizing entries, to a virtual pet
called the ?Password Puppy?. The target age range for all of the ?Girl Tech? toy
line starts around age 8 and they are appropriate through the preteen years.
Radica suggests that older people may enjoy them as well, but older teen girls
would probably be more interested in more sophisticated technological gifts,
such as the latest mobile phone or digital camera. ?Girl Tech? toys, however,
are a great way to show younger girls that technology isn?t just for boys.
Reprinted with the permission according to the guidelines of
ArticleCity.com
GizGadMo © 2009 Lee Brannon All rights reserved. |
