Word: aibo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...playing digital music, which is pretty cool in itself, the Photo YEPP has a color screen for displaying text and pictures. It's so nifty, Bill Gates was spotted admiring it on the show floor. In the "old dog, new tricks" department, Sony unveiled the next generation of its Aibo robotic puppy ($1,500). The new pooch--full name ERS-210 (we've come a long way since Rover)--can learn 50 distinct words. Tell it to "take a picture," and it snaps a photo with a digital camera in its nose...
That's all changed, apparently, with Sony's impossible-to-buy AIBO, a $2,500 robotic dog. Since I already have a somewhat cheaper pooch (Otto Quittner), I'm not interested. Also, no way would my wife let me spend $2,500 on something that wasn't a coffee table...
Since all 2,000 AIBOs destined for these shores have already been snapped up online, I was practically salivating when Sony reps let me take the floppy-eared robo-dog for a test drive. To the lucky prospective owners, I can report: AIBO is worth the wait. Five years in the making, this pup is a technophile's dream toy. He has a chip in each detachable limb. He has a camera in his nose. He chases after balls, as long as they're hot pink. He walks on all fours--a major cybernetic achievement, I'm told. He wags...
...AIBO won't recognize your voice, unfortunately, and his mouth is too small to carry a newspaper. In fact, he has no practical applications at all, though Sony hopes developers may one day produce upgrades. Then again, the current AIBO is the kind of pet that I (and 2,000 others) like--utterly useless, and utterly cute. Guess I'll have to settle for a hamster...
...BEST FRIEND Looking for the perfect pet, one that never slobbers, growls or barks in the night? Meet Sony's AIBO (Artificial Intelligence Robot), a foot-tall plastic pup, powered by computer chip, that can walk, sit, lie down, even raise a paw in the air. Stroke a sensor on its head, and AIBO wags its tail; throw a ball, and a digital camera in its snout will track it. A remote control turns it left or right. Available at www.world.sony.com/robot/for $2,500, AIBO costs more than most purebreds. But it doesn't shed, can't dig holes...