It has more than 60% of the electronic educational toy market in the U.S. and Europe, selling under the VTech name through chains such as Toys "R" Us.

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As part of the program, children also swapped toy guns for bicycles, electronic devices and toys.

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"With electronic toys, the child is being programmed by the toy, " she says.

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We haven't checked in with littleBits in quite some time and, honestly, it was a bit of a surprise to find the electronic tinker toys hiding in a quiet corner of the floor at Toy Fair this year.

ENGADGET

But perhaps Lego should not strive unduly to keep up with electronic fashion: the big hit this Christmas at Hamleys, London's toy mecca, was a come-back story dating back to ancient Greece: the humble yo-yo.

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So for an entire weekend I was that 46 year old bald guy obsessively pecking away at his new little toy, just like I was when I got that new Mattel electronic football game as a kid.

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Bandai, a Japanese toy company, made millions of dollars by transferring the precepts of pet-keeping to the electronic world with tamagotchi.

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