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The hottest high-tech toys of 2010

By Stewart Wolpin
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Being adult geeks, it wasn't hard to be intrigued by the many curious and exotic playthings at the 2010 edition of annual industry confab Toy Fair, which took place last month at New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center. Plush toys, board games, tricycles, puzzles, dolls, child-size furniture, model kits, puppets… it was a veritable wonderland for kids of all ages. (Sample highlight: Trying out the Folkmanis hand puppets The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson favors – we even got to stick our hand into Wavy the crocodile!) Even better still for us tech-savvy types: There was also a couple of aisles' worth of innovative electronic play gear destined to amaze and delight on display as well. Curious what the future holds for the big kid in everyone? Allow us to present ten of the most interesting new toys for grown-ups you'll want to be checking for in coming months:

Cheeky Monkey

Speaking of Craig Ferguson, an English chap called Nick Donaldson has invented a cute companion he calls Cheeky Monkey. Cheeky sits on a Velcro shoulder pad and has 16 different behaviors, each accompanied by some sort of sound effect or "monkey-ized" English phrase, all controlled by a small remote control, or you can just put Cheeky into auto mode. He can be made to look at you, wave and execute all manner of cute monkey moves, all on three AAA batteries. Cheeky will be available this summer for around $20.

Hot Wheels RC Stealth Rides

Meet the lightest and smallest line of RC cars around, which won't bulge the front of your jeans too much the next time you head for the playground. A car or tank comes flat and slides out of its case, which doubles as its controller. Push the top of the car or tank, and the wheels pop down and you're ready to roll. Press the car or tank gently down again and you get a flat vehicle ready to slip back into its case. As you can see, it's the size of a BlackBerry and weighs a surprisingly light 1.1 ounces.

Quasi

See that cute two-foot-tall robot… er, emotive animatronic, that is, with the antennae? That's Quasi, but you can't buy him (there's a pile of expensive computing gear in a box beneath him) and he's not what this description is about. It's actually about his neo-natal 10-inch tall puppet sibling, as yet unnamed. Essentially, the new robot will actually be controlled by a human, presumably a parent, from up to around 100 feet away. This little android, due later this year for less than $200, will be able to access pre-recorded messages, songs or stories; is capable of eight different motions; and you'll be able to speak and hear your distorted voice come through it. If you don't have kids, well -- at least it makes an interesting way to tease your cat.

Rockboard

This scooter really isn't electronic, but that may be a good thing. You rock up and down with your feet on the toggle board, and the thing boogies on. It officially can hold up to 200 lbs, but the company whispered it'll likely support up to 400 lbs, and the downpipe telescopes for adult-sized riders. Right now, the $199.99 board comes in white or orange, but pink, blue, and an all-orange version are due later. That's us attempting to stay on board -- it's a lot tougher than it looks and don't try going up a hill.

Guitar Shirt

Don't lug your axe to your next gig -- just wear it: That's the premise being this unique piece of interactive apparel. Just press the appropriate spots on the neck fret board attached to this t-shirt to strum your way through 14 power chords (minor chords are for wussies), which are then blasted through a battery-powered belt clip mini-speaker amp, that, we kid you not, goes all the way to 11. A magnetic pick sticks to the front of the amp, which includes a 3.5mm jack to let you output to a real amp. When you need to wash your wailing shirt ($29.99), the fret board strips off its hook-and-loop backing (not Velcro but an incredible simulation).

Roboni-I

It's a two-wheeled RC car that can develop a mind and a personality of its own. Totally programmable via a PC (Mac to come) to play against other Roboni-i or against the clock, each vehicle has 16 sensors and four processors and can develop both reflexes and a personality. When plugged into a PC, the Roboni-i also connects to a virtual world for racing and play, then can bring what it learns from its online adventures to the real world. Roboni-i can roll on any surface all day on a single charge from six AA batteries. Eight games come in the package ($199.99), such as soccer, along with one Roboni-i and a remote control.

Puppy Tweets

Everyone go "Awwwww!" at the puppy in the picture. Now that we've got that out of the way, see that blue thing hanging off the puppy's collar? It's a pendant with sound and motion sensors. You plug a USB 2.4 GHz transceiver into your PC or Mac. You then create a Twitter account for your pooch. You read that right: A Twitter account for your dog. Once activated, the pendant senses what Fido is up to from up to around 350 feet away, and transmits one of 500 matching Tweets, including scintillating missives such as "I finally caught that tail I've been chasing and… OOUUUCCHH!" This whole idea is either imaginatively cute or insanely ridiculous, but it's definitely different. Both the blue and a pink version will be available in July for $29.99 from Radica, a Mattel brand.

Sonic Slam

Another wireless gadget from Radica, this is a paddle ball game without a ball and almost without a paddle. You get a handle and a racquet frame, but it's hollow. As with Nintendo's Wii, you'll be hitting a virtual ball, which you'll only hear thanks to the speaker in the racquet. Using motion technology, the racquets recognize both the speed of your swings and the distance between you and your opponent. You'll hear the "whoosh" of the ball, voiced game prompts, sound effects and trick shots. It literally and figuratively sounds weird, but living room lamps and vases will stay safe.

Rubik's Slide

Choose a level of difficulty and watch as colored squares (red or blue) light up in one position then flash to another in this Rubik's Cube variation. Your mission: Slide, twist and turn the top layer to move the lights to the squares originally lit. You can also push a button to be reminded to where you're supposed to shift the lights, thank goodness. There are several layers of difficulty and thousands of seemingly never-ending variations. We found the whole concept a bit, well, shifty, but maybe you'll have better luck when the Slide comes out this fall at $19.95.

Spin Master Air Hogs Vectron Wave

It looks like a skeleton skull cap with a built-in fan, but it's actually a hovering, flying cap. It can be controlled via a traditional remote control, still, why not be a man and use your hand? Simply start its motor and slip your hand underneath to guide it around, or gently move your hand up to toss it up and into the wind or to a friend who can move their hand under it to toss it back. Also from Air Hogs: The first RC helicopter with "tail lock" technology, which means it needs no rear rotor. It's also the first RC helicopter that fires missiles. Both flying objects will be around just as the winds kick up this spring for $24.99 each.