Reported by Reyne Rice, Toy Trend Analyst, New York City, USA
First posted on the YourToyCom.com blog forum and community website serving the toys, games and childrens’ technology industries, on behalf of the Spielwarenmesse. Spielwarenmesse is the leading and largest International ToyFair in the world, held annually in Nuremberg, Germany in early February.
This past week, at the International CES 2013, where the biggest players in technology reveal their most important launches to kick off the new year, the official announcement of the award winners in the KAPI (Kids at Play) technology category were also honored.
The most promising new achievements, and key innovators in children’s technology are awarded this coveted top prize. As one of the jurors for this award competition, it is always very challenging (and rewarding) to be a part of the lively debate which evolves around what is truly ground-breaking in this segment of the tech sector. These products influence, guide, teach and engage our youngest consumers of technology.
The winners were announced by Robin Raskin, founder of Living in Digital Times, a key innovator and tech guru , and contributor to the CES annual conferences and show floor exhibits, and Warren Buckleitner, Ph. D, the Editor of the Children’s Technology Review and a columnist for the New York Times on children’s tech.
The final top 10 awards were narrowed down from an extensive list of over 200 official entries, by a juror team of 13 top industry innovators comprised of app and virtual world developers , tech and trend specialists, veteran tech reporters and entrepreneurs, hardware and software creators, educators , and industry analysts. The playing field was comprised of new children’s technology introduced in 2012 from the extensive categories of apps, appCessories, cross-platform introductions, hardware and software achievements, toys and video games, tablets, publishing, educational tech, and pioneers in this fast-paced children’s technology industry.
And the winners of the 2013 KAPI Awards are:
1) Best Younger Children’s App: Letter School by Borreal Publishers
2) Best Older Children’s App: Imag-n-o-tron by Moonbot Studios
3) Best Tech-Infused Toy: Skylanders Giants by Activision
4) Best Video Game Software: Sesame Street Two-Way TV by Microsoft Game Studios for Kinect
5) Best Hardware or Peripheral (eg Tablet, Video Game): Kindle Fire HD with Kindle FreeTime Unlimited by Amazon
6) Best Technology Toy from the toy sector: Little Bits by Little Bits Electronics
7) Best Ed-Tech: BrainPOP GameUP by BrainPOP, LLC
8) Novito (Innovation): Cubify 3D printer by 3D Systems, Inc.
9) Pioneer: Dale Doherty, Co-Creator, Maker Faire, Publisher, MAKE Magazine
10) Pioneering Team: Toca Boca , from Sweden and San Francisco
At the end of this month, the highly respected and coveted ToyAwards for the Spielwarenmesse International ToyFair Nuremberg 2013 will also be awarded to the most promising new product introductions for 2013. They will be revealed at the Annual Opening Night Ceremony held in Nuremberg, Germany on January 29th, at 6:30PM, in the Nuremberg Exhibition Center. NOTE: Entrance tickets are required.