Gadgets for pre-teens to test traditional thinking

Discount Store News, March 6, 2000

Whose hose department is this anyway? The onslaught of technologically enhanced toys headed to retail this year stands to create disputes among whether innovative new products will be best merchandised in the toy aisle, the CE corral or the school and home office area of the store.

More critically, the new approach to the toy business paves the way for non-toy retail segments to charge after market share that has long been the province of traditional general merchandise retailers and toy specialists.

According to a recently released study by research firm TechTrends, the new wave of techno toys is already blurring the lines between toys and consumer electronics. There's no reason why some of this year's well-designed "toy" pagers, diaries and organizers can't comfortably fit into product assortments at Circuit City, Office Depot or, for that matter, Old Navy.

"Technology is moving so fast that your next competitor could be from another industry," said Ted Eischeid, president and ceo of Educational Insights at a preview event leading into the recent Toy Fair in New York.

All this at a time when the rapidly growing Internet channel of retailing has opened new avenues of competition for established retail chains.

According to statistics released last month by Toy Manufacturers of America, sales of electronics and communications toys grew 5% in 1999 to $178 million. That modest growth will surely accelerate this year as a slew of electronic toys surges into retail stores.

Some of the most innovative and potentially channel-jumping products coming out this year are directed at the pre-teen set, particularly girls. Rolling out between spring and fall will be communications gadgets certain to wreak havoc in study halls across the nation, electronic games with decided slumber-party appeal and products that refresh themselves through Internet plug ins.

"There's been a real void in electronics for girls," noted MGA ceo Issac Larian. Not anymore.

In what stands to be one of the hotter trends of the Back-to-School season, manufacturers will introduce kid-scale versions of adult pagers, palm pilots and messaging systems.

In a modern twist on the time-worn appeal of note-passing in school, Toy Biz's Vmail hand-held devices use infrared technology to let kids send voice mail up to 100 feet away, transmitting through walls. The gadget has a message alert Light, six different sending channels and five mailboxes for messages. Priced at $19.99, the device--which doubles as an ink pen--will ship in July.

MGA's iCandy, also shipping in July, is a palm pilot-shaped device that allows for instant messaging through walls at a range of up to 70 feet, as yell as voice mail and e-mail. Priced at $49.00, the system also serves as an organizer and comes loaded with electronic games.

Manufacturers also a pursuing higher price points for more fully featured units. Chat@ will bring out a hand-held wireless e-mail device with an $89.99 retail price. The Girl Tech Pocket Com, which will retail for $70, is a hand-held computer that includes a calendar, address book, and to-do list, as well as features for allowing girls to draw and write memos. MGA's Instant Messenger has voice mail and e-mail with added features, including a digital recorder, a more sophisticated LCD panel and PC compatibility so kids can download games or upload messages through the MGA Web site. Suggested retail is $100.

Tiger Electronics' entry for the Back-to-School season is Lightening Mail, a handheld e-mail device that lets kids send and receive e-mail by plugging into a phone jack. Through an agreement with NetZero, the e-mail service is free. The device, which will retail for $59.99, can also send wireless messages up to 50 feet. A touch-screen/stylus interface is accessed by an on-screen keyboard, but it also lets users write or draw directly on the screen.

Also debuting this fall, Tiger's M'e-mail is an organizer shaped like a cell phone. Girls record messages on the card, and the contents can only be unlocked by friends who have been given the password. The card tracks every exchange and the number of new M'e-mail friends girls communicate with, allowing girls who have amassed enough points to unlock special characters to include in their messages. The device will retail at $24.99.

Mattel's E-Secret Electronic Message Compact, shipping in June at a suggested retail of $9.99, is a compact with mirror that doubles as a message recorder. Secrets can be accessed only by using one of two keys shipped with the compact and can be attached to a necklace or belt. The device records messages of up to 12 seconds.

Organization tools with sassy pre-teen styling but serious functionality will also be making their way to retail shelves this year.

Tiger Electronic's Quik Writer pocket organizer performs basic tasks such as address logging and scheduling, with both a large button keypad for typing and a pull-out stylus for writing or drawing. The wallet-sized device, shipping in fall with a retail of $32.99, also uses radio-frequency technology to send and receive messages within a 50-ft. range.