Ah, the first of this year's Christmas gifts has arrived. From China!
I saw these Walkie Bits on Time Magazine's list of the best inventions of 2005, and I knew they would make perfect gifts for some of the kids I happen to know. So I set out to find them. The trouble is that they don't sell them in the US yet.
Of course, the best solution to international trade boundaires is eBay. I ordered a handful of them and had them shipped by airmail from Hong Kong. (Is it weird that these toys are Japanese, but they originated in China?) I got a registered mail slip last week, and Nana has been bugging me about it ever since. So this afternoon, I went to pick them up.
Want to see a movie of it moving?Isn't it cute?
Very cute! ;-)
I don't get it - am I missing something? What differentiates them from your average run of the mill windup toy? I mean, sure, they're cute, but to go through the trouble of importing stuff from HongKong, stuff has gotta be more than just cute (for me ;) )
As soon as I figure out the Japanese manual, I should be able to teach it to chirp and move in predefined patterns, and some other interesting robotic tricks.
At least, that's what I'm led to believe by other sites in English that talk about them. I could, of course, be totally misled. Wouldn't be the first time. :)
There is a summary of the instructions for Walkie bits in the original Walkie bits press release (June 30, 2005) at this link. (Also other press releases for other recent interesting Takara products not yet available much outside of Japan.)
-Kennedy Gitchel (Full disclosure: I work for Takara)
Excellent! Thanks, Kennedy. That's what the web is about. Feel free to stop by with Takara info any time. I love cool toys. :)
[...] Item #3 - Walkie Bits Maybe you saw my earlier post about these little toy robot turtles. They’re cute and gadgety, and a perfect desktop conversation piece, or a way to while away download time. [...]
Hey, I know it was on eBay, but to whom did you buy it from, and how much did it cost you?
I got it from mimiwoo and paid about $14 (somewhat more than retail, due to the import).
. . . .
THEY CUTE AS HEEEEYLL!
where else can you buy them within 2 days?
Unless your eBay seller can get them to you expeditiously, then you're out of luck. :(
I just llloooovvee walkie bits! They're soooo adorable!! I asked my mom to buy me it this Christmas. I kept on thinking about it one night and when I woke up I thought it was Christmas!!