This week we're having a peek at a return of a classic idea - give a kid a box of LEGO bricks and they'll go hog-wild with creative building ideas. They've brought this idea back in a number of mixed brick sets, one of which is the "LEGO Classic Bricks on a Roll" set number 10715, 60th Anniversary Limited Edition. That's a pretty long set name, but the contents are simple.
I had the opportunity to review the Radio Flyer Landspeeder (from Star Wars) this late Fall, and I must say: It's pretty neat. It's not the sort of thing you'd buy if you're looking to roll out on the road - it's not big enough for that. It's not the sort of thing you buy if your kid is reckless - it is a vehicle, after all. This machine is, instead, the worlds most adorable Star Wars gift on wheels.
If there’s a bittersweet lesson from Star Wars: The Last Jedi it’s that, whether you’re good or you're evil, sometimes you have to give up on what's most heartfelt before it brings about your downfall. That’s a lesson which fans must learn too, as they navigate how The Last Jedi embraces some of the franchise's core concepts while rejecting others. In Star Wars, the deaths might be bloodless but that doesn't make the losses hurt any less.
This is the Destiny's Bounty, and it's arrived at SlashGear just in time for The Ninjago Movie premiere. The Ninjago Movie is coming to theaters in the United States this weekend, and this ship aims to be the real-world representation of the main characters' flying skyship, containing the entire crew of 7 main character minifigs. Behold, this film's most iconic vehicle.
When I reviewed BB-8 by Sphero, I didn't expect the company would go back and create an R2-D2, too. They built their name on the original remotely controlled sphere - Sphero - and they'd not yet expanded to the world of Cars and Spider-Men. Since then they've become a much more diversified group of smart-device creators, and it's become time to roll out with the most beloved Star Wars robot in the history of the world: R2-D2 (also now by Sphero).
The LEGO DC Super Heroes Wonder Woman Warrior Battle (set 76075) ticks all the boxes for essential and classic LEGO set. While there's not really a BAD set of LEGO bricks for the first Wonder Woman movie as yet - this is the only one out in stores so far, as it were. Cross your fingers for a whole lot more down the line - especially in the form of Justice League action.
TVs are getting smarter, either via an extra dongle like a Chromecast or through their own power. While Samsung, LG, Sony, and Sharp may be the household names when it comes to smart TVs, Vizio isn’t one that can be easily ignored. It’s practice of offering “bang for buck” premium features at affordable prices has put it in the sights of Chinese entertainment giant LeEco. Vizio definitely dodged the bullet there, but it served to highlight Vizio’s market potential.
Sonos is the first to admit it made a mistake. The PLAYBAR, its home entertainment-focused soundbar speaker, was an audio marvel back in 2013 when it was first announced, but the ergonomics didn't live up to the sound. Turns out, Sonos belatedly realized, that while the PLAYBAR works best when wall-mounted, only the minority of people actually wall-mount their TVs. Enter the Sonos PLAYBASE, completely redesigned to slip right underneath your flatscreen.
ROLI has made a name for itself with weirdly tactile, expansively flexible musical instruments, and its ROLI BLOCKS promise to bring that to the mainstream. The British company built its reputation among electronic musicians for its rubbery-buttoned keyboards that allow for hitherto-unachievable levels of expression; problem is, even the smallest Seaboard RISE is $800. On paper, therefore, the much cheaper BLOCKS make perfect sense, but how do they hold up in practice?
NewLight is a company that prints light-up portraits suitable for hanging on walls. They're a relatively small company, run by a fellow by the name of Joe Brychell. His aim is to bring the ability to deliver photographs to your eyes with light, but to do so without a computer screen. The result of the work the NewLight company does is a portrait that uses both projected light and reflected light to create a rather unique product.
In reviewing Anki's Cozmo robot we've confirmed that the future will be full of fun robots - not at all like the Terminators we've come to fear. Perhaps the terror fears of rogue AI had by the greatest minds in modern science and engineering were not meant to come into fruition. Perhaps, instead, companies like Sphero and Anki have found the safe path forward by creating robots that are enjoyable and safe at the same time!
The folks behind the Anki remote control car group have released a new set of vehicles for all of our racing and smashing needs: Supertrucks. These miniature beasts play in to the Anki system of infrared camera-embedded car racing like hammers in a drawer full of nails, making it a wild new experience to attempt racing cars on the same track.