SlashGear Japan
Ugobe’s friendly little robot dinosaur, Pleo, seems to have had a brush with extinction. Original plans to fit a non-user-replaceable rechargeable battery – which would last a few years but then, like laptop cells, refuse to hold a charge – have been scrapped in the face of public concern that their prehistoric buddy would meet an untimely end. Ugobe have also released images of the Pleo packaging:
Images courtesy of Ugobe, Inc.
I have to admit, I’m quite interested to see Pleo; launch date is still uncertain, but Ugobe are saying it’s very near:
“The photos on the box are nearly life size and are designed to convey the wonderful range of expression and organic movement of which Pleo is capable. I also want to relate the very latest news: based on feedback from you, the community, Pleo’s battery will be both rechargeable and replaceable.
The process has been a challenging one but we are getting really close to bringing Pleo to market.” Caleb Chung, Ugobe Inc.
Since the demise of Aibo, the consumer intelligent-robot market has looked upsettingly bare; we’ll not have long to wait to see if Pleo is a suitable replacement.
Sneak Peek at Pleo’s Packaging [RobotsRule]
5 Responses to “Pleo saved from battery-death extinction”
electro^plankton May 23, 2007
I hope Chris Davies will send one my way. ;)
NeutralJenn May 23, 2007
I’m fairly certain that Yume Neko will not tolerate having to share your affection yet again. Robot Chick was delicious and therefore non-threatening, but a dinosaur?!
And don’t get me started on what the PG Tips monkey will say about all of this.
Over the line, Chris. Over the line. ;)
NeutralChris Davies May 23, 2007
Since I stopped buying him premium brand electronic cat food and tried to fool him with store-own, Yume Neko thinks I’m so far over the line that I can’t even see it any more.
[quote comment="22602"]Over the line, Chris. Over the line. ;)[/quote]
NeutralJenn May 23, 2007
Ah, then the line is a dot to you.
NeutralTL June 26, 2007
Just so you know, Pleo is now available for pre-order for mid-October delivery.
Customers in the U.S. can pre-order direct from UGOBE…
http://store.ugobe.com/store/
… or from Walmart.
I assume Amazon will eventually have pre-orders too.
In the U.K. you can pre-order from Amazon.co.uk.
And if you’re looking for Pleo news & information, head on over to Pleo HQ…
http://pleohq.com/
It brings together Pleo content from a variety of sources such as links from del.icio.us, a custom feed of news and blog posts, images from flickr, videos from you tube, auctions from ebay, and also has some other basic info like technical specs, an FAQ with open commenting, and so on.
Neutral