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Disney Applingz for iPhone and iPod touch, interactive Mickey and Minnie Mouse pictures and hands-on

Mickey Mouse Applingz

AppToyz, the company behind the famed AR toy AppBlaster for iPhone and Android (through AppBlaster v2), has branched out from its own smartphone and tablet gaming accessories into licensed products.

A partnership with Disney will bring several new products in 2013, all combining with iPhone, iPod touch or iPad mini devices and proprietary applications in different ways. There's a version of the AppBlaster that is Marvel licensed, focusing on The Avengers (the Marvel comic brand is owned by Disney these days), and there are plans for a Cars steering wheel accessory, even an iPad mini version that ties in with Pixar's forthcoming Planes movie.

But it is the interactive plush Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse toys - AppToyz Disney-licensed versions of its Applingz range - that younger children are going to find most endearing, .

The toys are soft and cuddly, but - much as with the Moshi Monsters App Monsters released last year or the original Applingz - both Mickey and Minnie have well-protected slots where you can replace their faces with an iPhone or iPod touch.

A free application will then become Mickey or Minnie's face. It will animate and be interactive - press on Mickey's nose, for example, and he giggles.

As both of the versions on show at the Toy Fair in London were prototypes, the software is only very basic at the moment - it's still in development. But Pocket-lint was told that the final version will have all manner of animations and sounds, including speech. In addition, if you owned Mickey and Minnie (and two iDevices, naturally) they could talk to and interact with each other via Bluetooth.

Another cool feature promised is that the Disney Applingz will interact with a DVD release. Sit them in front of the telly and they will respond direct to the action on screen. For example, if Mickey is hit on the head in the cartoon, the toy version will grimace.

We're not sure how much the Mickey and Minnie Mouse Applingz will retail for when they are released later this year, but the current non-branded Applingz are £14.99, so expect it to be there or thereabouts.




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