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A squishy robot that can dance and tell jokes has been tipped to become the toy of the year, with Tesco already predicting it will become the chain's Christmas bestseller.
The Fijit is likely to enthral children and irritate their parents in equal measure.
The foot-high robots, which come in a variety of pastel shades and with soft plastic skin, are able to respond to some basic human commands. When you say goodnight, they respond by closing their eyes and snoring; when you tickle them, they laugh; if you ask them to chat with you they have 100 set phrases with which to respond.
If you ask them to tell you a joke they are able to trot out fairly amusing knock, knock jokes.
In America the Fijits, which are made by Mattel, are being marketed as every girl wants a best friend, especially one that can bust a move, though in Britain retailers are hopeful boys will fall in love with the technology. The robots can interact with an iPhone application.
Tesco, the country's biggest retailer, is so confident that the robots will take off in Britain when they go on sale, that it thinks they will knock Lego, Buzz Lightyear, Nerf guns and Zhu Zhu hamsters off the top of the Christmas wishlist.
The prices have not yet been decided, but Fijits retail for about $50 (ã30) in America, and hit British shelves later in the summer.
John Stanhope, Tesco's senior buying manager, said: ââ¬ÅFijit is going to be this yearââ¬â¢s must-have gadget.
Children across the nation will want to enjoy all the fun of interacting with the cute and cuddly creatures which can even react to programmes on television as well as to the spoken commands.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8557792/Fijit-squishy-robot-tipped-to-be-toy-of-2011.html
The Fijit is likely to enthral children and irritate their parents in equal measure.
The foot-high robots, which come in a variety of pastel shades and with soft plastic skin, are able to respond to some basic human commands. When you say goodnight, they respond by closing their eyes and snoring; when you tickle them, they laugh; if you ask them to chat with you they have 100 set phrases with which to respond.
If you ask them to tell you a joke they are able to trot out fairly amusing knock, knock jokes.
In America the Fijits, which are made by Mattel, are being marketed as every girl wants a best friend, especially one that can bust a move, though in Britain retailers are hopeful boys will fall in love with the technology. The robots can interact with an iPhone application.
Tesco, the country's biggest retailer, is so confident that the robots will take off in Britain when they go on sale, that it thinks they will knock Lego, Buzz Lightyear, Nerf guns and Zhu Zhu hamsters off the top of the Christmas wishlist.
The prices have not yet been decided, but Fijits retail for about $50 (ã30) in America, and hit British shelves later in the summer.
John Stanhope, Tesco's senior buying manager, said: ââ¬ÅFijit is going to be this yearââ¬â¢s must-have gadget.
Children across the nation will want to enjoy all the fun of interacting with the cute and cuddly creatures which can even react to programmes on television as well as to the spoken commands.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8557792/Fijit-squishy-robot-tipped-to-be-toy-of-2011.html
