Hot Tech Toys Worth the Buzz?

Dec. 17, 2007 — -- Every year innovative toy makers think of new ways to use technology.

This year, many of those tech toys have found their way onto this season's "hottest toys" lists. But the burning parental question is: Are these tech toys really worth buying? Here's the inside scoop on three of this year's hottest smart toys:

Jakks Pacific, www.EyeClops.com, $49.99, for ages 6-up, plugs into TV

What's the Buzz? It's a 200-magnification microscope that you plug into your TV.

Shaped like a big plastic bionic eye, EyeClops is simple to fire up after installing five AA batteries and connecting it to your TV's video jack. Kids can view a world they didn't know existed by looking at their skin, their hair, salt, paper and even live bugs placed in a special tube.

Does It Deliver? Yes. The bionic eye has three built-in LED lights, so it easily illuminates the things kids are looking at. While it can be a little tricky to get it to focus on things that aren't flat, once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. Make sure to take a close-up look at a $10 bill -- it's amazing what is hiding there.

Fisher-Price, www.Fisher-Price.com, $100, for ages 3-6, plugs into TV.

What's the Buzz? Touted as a video game system for preschoolers that is played by riding on a stationary bike. With childhood obesity becoming a big concern for parents, games that get kids moving are hot.

Does It Deliver? Yes and no. Kids sit on the stationary bike and pedal to move around a virtual world presented to them on the television screen. As they pedal, educational activities appear as off ramps to the road. Unfortunately, those educational activities, while good, don't require any pedaling. Rather, they use a joystick housed on the frame of the bike.

Only two of the seven activities that come with the system require you to pedal: In one, you pedal and move the handlebars to run over letters, numbers and shapes; and in the other, you pedal like crazy to win a race.