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New toys have new Tech
...and what's with the Aussie taking out Ken
"Toymakers have really focused on making technology both usable and fun," said Tom Conley, president of the Toy Industry Association, who said that 70 percent or more of the toys on display at the fair this year included at least one microchip.
The most interesting toy tech demoed at the show was VEIL -- Video Encoded Invisible Light -- which soon will be incorporated into a line of Batman toys being produced by Mattel. The toys will interact with Warner Bros. Animation's The Batman cartoon series, set to premiere this fall.
A data stream embedded into the cartoon will be transmitted from the TV screen right to the toy's LCD screen module. When the show is on, the toys will make appropriate noises and movements in synch with the cartoon. After the show is over, the toys will have been "upgraded" with a few new features that correspond to the recently viewed cartoon's story line.
"Batman is the technology superhero," said Scott Miller, vice president of business development at Veil Interactive Technologies. "It's logical that his new show would incorporate advanced technology."
Supernerd or not, Batman won't be the only toy communicating with the TV. Barbie -- who this week officially broke up with longtime love Ken in favor of an Australian surfer dude doll , according to Mattel -- will be singing along to The Princess and the Pauper DVD. Two new Barbie dolls, dressed up to look like a princess and a pauper, of course, will even warble along in two-part harmony."
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