The HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set has been honored by Savvy Auntie in their Coolest Toy Awards!

Melanie Notkin, the founder and CEO of Savvy Auntie, the multiplatform lifestyle brand for aunts by relation, aunts by choice and godmothers, announces her gift ideas for nephews and nieces available this holiday season. There are 16 toys with the “Coolest” title, 6 toys with the “Lux” title ($99 and over), and 16 toys with honorable mentions.

Notkin has proudly accepted the position as tribal leader for the underrepresented 50% of American women whom she’s dubbed PANKs™ (Professional Aunts No Kids).  This underserved demographic has a strong desire to make the most savvy toy choices this season. When Notkin realized many toy marketers focus on primary caregivers, Notkin created the Savvy Auntie Coolest Toy Awards in 2009 to give aunts and other secondary caregivers the toy-savvy they need to make the right gift choices for the children in their lives.

Find the entire list of Savvy Auntie’s Coolest Toys here.

The HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set was named a Toy of the Year by Disney FamilyFun Friday!

More than 500 new toys were narrowed down by parent and kid testers from across the country, who evaluated quality, value, and of course, fun. Using FamilyFun’s new ToyHopper App, available now on the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, it’s now easier than ever for busy parents to find the perfect gift, including this year’s T.O.Y. Award winners and hundreds of other toys, books, DVDs, and video games. Each item has been family-tested and hand-picked by FamilyFun editors and can be sorted into shopping lists, shared with friends, and filtered by age, price, type, or theme.

“For nearly twenty years, we’ve served as a trusted resource for parents when they’re making their annual holiday shopping list and checking it twice, so it’s important that each toy undergoes an intensive assessment by FamilyFun toy testers for function, design, durability, safety, and play value,” said Ann Hallock, editorial director at FamilyFun.

Download the entire press release here.

HEXBUG Nano has been nominated for a People’s Play Award in the Tech Toys category by Time to Play magazine and we need your votes to help us win!

Voting is taking place at www.peoplesplayawards.com

Help us spread the word by retweeting the voting link we are posting on Twitter everyday and you’ll have a chance to win.

Everyone that retweets the message has a chance at winning a HEXBUG Nano (one winner per day, starting October 5) and one grand prize winner of a HEXBUG Nano Habitat set will be chosen on November 29, the last day of voting.

Start voting and spreading the word for your chance to win!

Greenville, Texas – Sept. 28, 2010 – Innovation First Labs Inc., creator of the popular HEXBUG® Micro Robotic Creatures, today unveiled its rapidly-growing product line-up for the holiday season, including the first glow-in-the-dark HEXBUG Nano, the six- legged remote-controlled electro mechanical marvel that is the HEXBUG Spider, and three diverse and customizable Habitat Sets for HEXBUG Nano architects. The highly- sought after HEXBUG Micro Robotic Creatures, including the HEXBUG Nano and Habitat Sets, are ready to invade major retailers nationwide just in time for the bustling holiday gift-giving season.

Unlike any other toy on the market, HEXBUG combines science and technology with kids’ innate love for bugs, in a way that translates into hours of imaginative and interactive playtime. Parents and kids will fall in love with HEXBUG creatures’ fascinating life-like behavior that brings fun and excitement to robotics. Designed to foster children’s creativity and fuel hours of imaginative playtime, HEXBUG product is set to stock the toy shelves of Walmart, Target, Toys“R”Us, RadioShack and Brookstone stores nationwide.

“When we launched the HEXBUG Nano and Habitat Set less than a year ago, we knew we had a hot product on our hands by the overwhelmingly positive response we received from children, adults, and our trusted retail partners,” said Chris Troyak, president of Innovation First Labs, Inc. “As a result, our engineers have been hard work developing new additions to the highly-coveted line that will arrive just in time for the holiday season.”

New HEXBUG products for October / November 2010 include:

● HEXBUG Spider – This not-so-creepy crawler features 360 degree steering, an LED forward eye, and two-channel, user selectable infrared remote control. The two-channel remote control enables users to operate multiple bugs independently or at the same time. As the largest member of the HEXBUG family, the complexity of its internal mechanisms and six-legged crawling motion is truly hypnotizing! CPSIA approved for children 8 years and up; MSRP: $24.99;
Available this November exclusively at RadioShack stores nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com

● Glow-In-The Dark HEXBUG Nano – The undisputed micro-robotic favorite, HEXBUG Nano, is a tiny 1.75 inch energetic micro robotic bug that uses the physics of vibration to skitter along and explore its environment on smooth surfaces. Now it can come to life during the day or night. There is more to the HEXBUG Nano than meets the eye. Pop the top of a Nano test tube to gain access to the unique code that enables kids and families to register and keep track of their collection at www.handandstars.com online. The website is designed to engage kids with fun facts about real scientists and their discoveries, and to stimulate minds in increasingly difficult levels of game play. CPSIA approved for children 3 years and up; MSRP: $9.99; Available this October exclusively at Brookstone stores nationwide or online at www.hexbug.com.

● Bridge Battle – The HEXBUG Nano Bridge Battle Habitat Set allows kids to create the ultimate battleground for the HEXBUG Nano. HEXBUG Nano owners place their bugs on either side of the elevated arena where they must scurry over an orange bridge, through one-way gates and meet in the center battle platform. HEXBUG Nanos nudge and knock their competitor out of the battle arena until only one bug is left standing and reigned champion. Bridge Battle comes with 29 easy connect pieces and two rare HEXBUG Nanos. CPSIA approved for kids ages 3 and up; MSRP: $39.99; Available this October at Toys“R”Us, RadioShack, Target, Walmart Stores and specialty retailers nationwide or www.hexbug.com.

● Raceway – Ready, Set, Nano! Kids can race their HEXBUG Nanos by constructing their very own customizable Raceway Habitat Set. HEXBUG Nanos test their speed and take off out of the starting gates at a lightning pace in attempt to out-scurry their competition to the finish line, zooming through dangerous divides and tricky turns. Raceway comes with 28 easy connect pieces and 2 rare HEXBUG Nanos. CPSIA approved for kids 3 and up; MSRP: $49.99; Available this October exclusively at Target stores nationwide or www.hexbug.com.

● Elevation – HEXBUG Nano collectors can unleash their creativity as they build and construct the expansive Elevation Habitat Set. Elevation features a multi- level spiral and bridges that can accommodate an entire HEXBUG Nano collection, and enable each Nano bug to stretch its rubber legs as it traverses through the sizable mini-community. The customized track includes one spiral ramp that rises two levels up, offering explorative HEXBUG Nanos the best view in town. Elevation comes with 52 easy connect pieces and 2 rare HEXBUG Nanos. CPSIA approved for kids 3 and up; MSRP: $49.99; Available this October exclusively at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide or www.hexbug.com.

About HEXBUG and Innovation First:

HEXBUG® is a product line developed by Innovation First Inc., and distributed and marketed by Innovation First Labs, Inc., both wholly owned subsidiaries of privately held Innovation First International, Inc. The company was founded on the belief that innovation very early in the design process is necessary to produce simple and elegant product designs. Innovation First began developing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now an industry leader in research and development for the hobby, competition, education and toy markets.

Innovation First International’s three main subsidiaries, VEX Robotics, Inc., Innovation First Labs, Inc. (makers of HEXBUG® Micro Robotic Creatures), and RackSolutions, Inc. span the education, consumer and business-to-business markets. The VEX® Robotics Design System is the leading platform for middle school and high school education and competitive robotics. Leveraging the company’s core competency in electrical and mechanical engineering, the RackSolutions® division works closely with all major computer OEMs to provide custom mounting solutions and industry-wide rack compatibility for data installations of all sizes.

In the 2009 the company added offices in Hong Kong, mainland China and the United Kingdom to better serve the global marketplace. With an advanced in-house metal fabrication plant, distribution center and corporate office located together in a 13-acre complex in Greenville, Texas, the company is poised to continue on a rapid growth path. Please visit www.innovationfirst.com for additional information.

Download a PDF of this release here.

The HEXBUG Nano Habitat Set has been named one of the Hot 20 Toys for the Holiday Season by The Toy Insider!

The fifth annual Toy Insider, featuring 96 toys broken down by age group, will be published in the Nov. 17 issue of Woman’s Day. Further items will be listed on the group’s website. Value- for-money, technology-based items, toys based on popular culture and games that bring the family together will be among the top sellers, Toy Insider said.

Read more on The Toy Insider’s Blog.

It’s official, three new HEXBUG Nano Habitat Sets have begun hitting stores as well as HEXBUG.com.

Information on Bridge Battle, Elevation and Raceway can all be viewed on the Nano product page at www.hexbug.com/nano

Also, check out the new HEXBUG Nano Bridge Battle Habitat Set commercial that hit the airwaves this week:

The Baby Bottom Line recently reviewed the HEXBUG Nano:

I got to try out a HEXBUG Nano…and was really interested to see what this tiny robot could do. It has 12 legs and vibrates to move itself across the floor. If it tips over, it picks itself right back up and carries on. If something comes in its way… it changes direction and keeps going. Let me tell you…this thing is FAST! Man… it was crazy!

Read the full review on The Baby Bottom Line’s blog.

HEXBUG Nanos were featured on AOL Shopping’s Blog:

The latest fad in our house for my two boys are these HEXBUG Nanos. They are basically robotic toys – small robots shaped to look and act like a bug does. Turn them on and they shake and move just as you would expect a little bug to. You can buy accessory habitats for them with doors you can open and close that they will zip around in…This is definitely a hot one for the holiday season for the 5 and up crowd.

View the entire post at the AOL Shopping Blog.

The Hexbug Nano’s will be making their TV advertising debut in Germany when they hit the Nickelodeon airways this summer. The 30 second advert was created in the US by White Dwarf and has been updated for the German market by UK Company White Noise Productions. The airtime package was provided by UK media buying agency Media Clarity.

The 2 week campaign has been split into one week slots starting 23^rd August and 6^th September and is a first for Hexbug’s creators Innovation First in Germany. Ian Laugher, European Managing Director comments: “The Nano’s are fun gadgets for kids, and this advert reflects that perfectly, it’s been very well received in the US and the UK and we feel it’s an ideal match for the Nickelodeon channel in Germany”

The advert features eleven children playing with the tiny robotic bugs. The Hexbug Nano has 12 legs, will move in any direction and with a self righting mechanism it can flip back the right way if it rolls over onto its back. One Nano on the move is an impressive sight but throw more into the mix and it becomes a swarm; they interact and literally bounce of each other. Also featured is the Nano habitat; hexagonal pods and easily connecting straight and curved bridges to create mazes.

Available in five colours; green, blue, red, orange and purple, the HEXBUG Nano is sold individually in its own ‘test tube’ container. The Nano is the latest product in the HEXBUG range joining the Original, Inchworm, Crab and Ant. Prices start from €11.24 and are available to buy online or from stockists throughout Germany.

The advert is available to view here

The second phase of TV advertising in the UK of Hexbug Nano’s started this week.

The 30 second advert is being shown on UK Nickelodeon for the next two weeks.  The advert was created in the US by White Dwarf and has been updated for the UK market by Lancashire based White Noise Productions. The airtime package was provided by Manchester based media buying agency Media Clarity.

The 4 week campaign was split into two week slots.  The first phase finished end July and the second phase started on 16^th August.  It’s a first for Hexbug’s creators Innovation First in the UK. Ian Laugher, MD comments: “The Nano’s are fun gadgets for kids, and this advert reflects that perfectly, it’s been very well received in the US and we feel it’s an ideal match for the Nickelodeon channel in the UK’

The advert features eleven children playing with the tiny robotic bugs. The Hexbug Nano has 12 legs, will move in any direction and with a self righting mechanism it can flip back the right way if it rolls over onto its back. One Nano on the move is an impressive sight but throw more into the mix and it becomes a swarm; they interact and literally bounce of each other. Also featured is the Nano habitat; hexagonal pods and easily connecting straight and curved bridges to create mazes.

Available in five colours; green, blue, red, orange and purple, the HEXBUG Nano is sold individually in its own ‘test tube’ container. The Nano is the latest product in the HEXBUG range joining the Original, Inchworm, Crab and Ant. Prices start from £8.99 and are available to buy online or from stockists throughout the UK, including Harrods, Hamley’s, Selfridges, NEXT and RED5 – visit www.hexbug.com for details.

The advert can be viewed here