Tech
Intel targets toys with Mattel deal
Intel has followed Microsoft into developing "intelligent" toys by signing a letter of intent with toy maker Mattel to co-develop toys that incorporate PC technology.
Unlike Microsoft which has a walking, talking interactive Barney the Dinosaur toy, Intel wants to develop an interconnection standard that allows smart toys to be connected to PCs, which would also give the company the ability to sell processors, consumer PCs, and flash memory into the toy market.
The move comes from the Intel Architecture Labs in Oregon, which envisages programmable toys such as dolls that can be programmed by parents and their children to act or speak in specific ways.
Mattel has already developed Talk To Me Barbie, and the Intel/Mattel alliance is expected to take the concept a stage further.