perspectives
Toy Industry Association
LIVING
DIGITAL WORLD
The Intersection of Toys, Play, and Technology by Kristin Morency Goldman, communications specialist, Toy Industry Association
I
n light of the upcoming Digital Kids Conference being hosted at the 111th American International Toy Fair this February, the Toy Industry Association (TIA) reached out to a number of experts in the field of digital play for some insight into the hottest new technologies, the enduring popularity of traditional toys, and what’s in store for the future of play. Here’s what they had to say:
What’s Next in Tech? From the cutting edge to the practical, the latest tech toys are in step with what both kids and parents want. Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, a team that produces technology lifestyle conferences, says that curated kids’ content—in the form of “best of breed apps” and kids’ tablets with built-in content— are high on the list for most parents. “Sometimes, finding a good app is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Raskin. “If you search ‘dinosaurs’ in the iTunes store, for example, you get something like 1,200 apps. How is a
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parent supposed to know what’s good, bad, or otherwise? Curated collections from companies such as Scholastic, Fingerprint Play, Speakaboos, Toca Boca, and others, have more than one app, often times from different vendors… Some tablet vendors such as Kurio and Nabi have also curated the apps for parents so that they can buy the tablet and know that they’re getting appropriate content without having to hunt for it.” Raskin adds that the kids’ tablet and mobile market is “poised for explosion,” listing Samsung, Vivitar, Polaroid, Techno Source, LeapFrog, and VTech as some of the frontrunners in the field. Dr. Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review, predicts that kids will be drawn to technologies that make toys “smarter,” such as augmented reality, which allows kids to “alter” the world in which they live, and radio frequency identification (RFID), which allows toys to “remember” and “recognize” how they are being played. He also believes that “outdoor digital playgrounds” will become prevalent, such as “huge
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014