Tablets and smartphones steal the scene at Tokyo toy show

Japanese automaker Toyota’s new electric car kit for children “Customised Camatte57s Sport”, which is driven by electricity and composed of 57 detachable body panels, at the International Toy Show in Tokyo. Photo - Reuters Tokyo: A toy helicopter created from cannibalised smartphones was among the main attractions at a huge toy show in Tokyo yesterday, where producers were targeting the young and the young-at-heart. The motor that makes a telephone vibrate provides the power for the rotor blades on the Nano-Falcon, which its makers say is the world's smallest radio-controlled helicopter. The 6.5-centimetre (2.4-inch) machine weighs just 11 grammes (0.385 ounces), has a range of just five metres (15 feet) and can fly for five minutes, but its makers say they are feeding the fantasies of adults who never really grew up. "Japan's ageing population made us think of developing a toy targeting adults," said Naoki Nakagawa, head of sales at maker CCP. Helicopter-toys "Ten or twenty years ago, helicopter-toys could cost a lot of money. Those who couldn't afford it at the time can now make their childhood dream come true at a reasonable price." The mini machine retails at around 4,700 yen ($50), a price company spokeswoman Kiyoko Hayasaki said came from its use of bits of mobile phones. "We were able to set the price at this relatively cheap level because we took some key parts from stocks that are widely available in the market for smartphones," she said. Elsewhere at the exhibition, toymakers were showcasing tablet computers specifically for small children. "Children like to emulate what adults do, and a survey said 90 per cent of tablet computer users let their children use their tablets," said Yuki Itagaki, a spokeswoman for MegaHouse, a subsidiary of major Japanese toy maker Bandai Namco Holdings. The International Tokyo Toy Show runs until Sunday at Tokyo Big Sight in the Japanese capital's bay area, with Saturday and Sunday open to the public. From : Times of Oman