Toddler Tech

MercuryNews.com: From industry giants Mattel and Hasbro to smaller players LeapFrog and VTech, toy manufacturers are lowering the age ranges for their high-tech and educational offerings at this year’s Toy Fair, betting that “toddler tech” will help reverse several years of slumping sales.
But perhaps most alarming to the toy business is slumping sales, as video games, cell phones and MP3 players compete for kids’ attention and parents’ dollars. U.S. retail sales for the toy industry as a whole fell 3.6 percent to $21.3 billion in 2005, according to NPD. That followed a decline of 3 percent in 2004.
The toy industry has responded by embracing technology, adding interactivity, creating whole new categories of educational toys and expanding the use of sophisticated electronics in products for kids as young as newborns. Notably, NPD said that sales of learning and exploration toys rose in 2005, adding 6 percent to $400 million.
Toy makers push high tech for tots [MercuryNews.com]