adminAiming to shake off the global economic slowdown, about 2 000 exhibitors from 43 countries were displaying their wares at the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair, the second largest in the world and now in its 38th year.
The 30 centimetre plastic “iDroid” robot sports wraparound glasses that light up when controlled by smartphone systems via Bluetooth.
“The concept came about one day when we were thinking how to incorporate the latest technology with something fun for the kids,” Eddie Yu, chief marketing officer of the robot’s maker, Hong Kong-based Globalactive Technology Ltd, told AFP.
“Everyone has a smartphone these days, so naturally we thought it could be used to control a cool toy,” he said, using his phone to make the robot perform Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk to the delight of the young audience.
At other times it fires a toy machine gun at giggling toddlers, swivelling its mechanical arms.
Across the hall, Maja von Hohenzollern, a member of Germany’s former royal family, was debuting her line of pink princess baby clothing, accessories and furniture.Decked out in a sparkling bright pink dress suit, the blue-eyed blonde said: “Every girl deserves to feel like a princess – a real princess.”
“All the items here are based on the things I used as a child,” she added.
The fair – the second biggest after the Spielwarenmesse event in Nuremberg, Germany – ran until yesterday, and while it’s all fun and games on the inside, manufacturers are having a tougher time outside.
The toy industry, which heavily relies on Chinese factories, has been hit hard by the sluggish US economy and eurozone debt crisis.
Hundreds of toy factories in China have shut down since the 2008 financial crisis. Rising labour and raw material costs in China have added to pressures on manufacturers. – AFP.
Online Reporter