A stroke of interactive genius
One item, available for only a month, already appears high on the “hottest toys” lists: the Fly Pentop Computer, a $100 educational, interactive gadget from LeapFrog.
The Fly contains a AAA battery, a computer chip, a speaker and – mounted near the ballpoint tip – a tiny camera to track pen strokes for everything from music and games to calculations and language translations.
The Fly, aimed at “tweens” (8- to 14-year-olds), requires special paper whose surface is imprinted with nearly invisible microdots. As it moves, the pen reads software off the page, and the Fly package comes with a fun sampler. For example, tap countries on a world map, and the pen pronounces their capitals or plays their national anthems. On a mini-poster of a disc jockey’s setup, tap buttons to get music samples and record your own compositions.
The starter programs are stored in a cap on top of the pen. The Fly can accommodate additional cartridges – sold separately, at $25 to $35 each.
Flash in the plans
Consumer electronics such as digital cameras, digital music players and USB drives soon could be less expensive. Intel Corp. and Micron Technology say they’ll spend up to $5.2 billion over the next three years on a joint venture to make computer memory for such digital devices. The venture, called IM Flash Technologies, will focus on a type of memory called NAND flash. NAND is sought-after because it can store large amounts of data yet has no moving parts. That makes devices that use it – such as the Apple iPod Nano and nearly every digital camera – less likely to break or skip. NAND also uses little power, which leads to longer battery life.
But NAND is considerably more expensive than other kinds of computer memory. That’s why it’s not used in electronics that need a lot of memory, such as Apple’s larger iPod music players or most digital video cameras. That will change when Intel and Micron open factories in Idaho, Utah and Virginia and start shipping NAND in early 2006.
