TOMY_Toy World_Vertical Ads_60x285mm_X4.pdf 2
Arjuna
However, these require an app specific to that toy be downloaded and launched, and falls short of a ‘put any toy on top of the tablet and see what happens’-type experience. Creating an ideal toy-to-tablet link is the goal of
Karunaratne CEO,
IdentiToy.com
What should happen when a toy is placed on a tablet PC?
What if a child removes a wooden toy train from its tracks and places it on the screen of a tablet PC, and automatically an animation of a train track appears at the correct position under the train, and an interactive game ensues?
What if a child places a wooden letter C on a tablet and a picture of a cat appears with the letters “at” displayed next to the letter C in the correct orientation? What if a spelling board game could be made with
real letters and on a virtual tablet screen? What if every physical toy, in addition to its normal
play value, could be given an alternate virtual play value, and do so for less than 25p added cost to the toy? A trip through Hamleys, imagining the virtual play of
every physical toy that one sees, is definitely a trip. Some specially designed toys have attempted to use the touch screen to detect the presence of the toy.
IdentiToy.com. There are two main aspects to the link: identification of the type of toy, and triangulation of the position on the screen. For identification, IdentiToy uses inexpensive NFC (near field communication) technology to uniquely identify the toy; this technology is already present on some tablets and phones for the purpose of reading credit cards. For triangulation, IdentiToy uses an optical method to determine the position on the screen, which works as long as the toy is lit by some light from the screen. This method works even when the toy is hovering above the screen, and is more ‘toy friendly’ than a touchpad interface designed for humans.
A new generation of Table PCs, where a large flat- panel display forms the top surface of a coffee table, for example, will also create synergies with this new technology. These tables could even power or recharge objects placed on top of them and thereby create some interesting possibilities. IdentiToy, based in Silicon Valley, California, has
shown the feasibility of the technology, and is in discussions with tablet manufacturers to define and implement a global standard for a general purpose object-to-display link. This interface will have many uses beyond toys, and has the possibility to become as common an interface as touch screens or computer mice have.
C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
John Baulch Publisher, Toy World
The trouble with retrospective discounts
No prizes for guessing who gets this year’s ‘Scrooge McDuck’ award: step forward Debenhams. Showing truly impeccable timing, the retailer wrote to its suppliers one week before Christmas, seeking what it politely referred to as a “contribution” to “support (our) ongoing investment”. The ‘contribution’ (I love the way retailers use that word, as if to imply that it is entirely voluntary) equates to a 2.5% lump sum on all outstanding payments, and an additional 2.5% on all orders currently on the system. Now, anyone who has followed my scribblings over the past few years will know exactly what I think of these retrospective discounts. In my humble opinion, they are nothing short of (attempted) robbery; the practice – which I’m sure most suppliers hoped had died out with Woolworths’ demise – seems to me to be wholly indefensible. The company has apparently
attempted to defend its actions by saying that “it is not unusual to ask suppliers for discounts”. Clearly no-one would deny that ‘asking for discounts’ is an inevitable part of the negotiation process. But surely it’s not fair to do it long after terms and conditions have been agreed? Some might even say ‘fair’ doesn’t come into it: isn’t the whole grubby approach basically illegal? In the past, suppliers’ reaction has tended to be fairly hostile when faced with similar requests. Most of them have told me that they intend to tell the retailer making the request where they can stick it (or words to that effect). Whether they do or not is, of course, another matter entirely. Some people must pay up, or retailers would presumably have given up on this unsubtle form of extortion long ago. But even those suppliers which do decide to pay up must do so with a huge degree of reluctance, and it must have an impact on the partnership going forward. Given all the negative connotations surrounding
retrospective discounts, I’m still at a loss to comprehend the justification behind the request in the first place. If there is a retailer out there who would like to speak in its defence (anonymously if necessary), I’d love to hear from you. Because right now, watching the media coverage of the whole affair, it seems to me that the whole sorry episode could spectacularly backfire on Debenhams.
Huge Brand Re-lAUNch for 2014
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