While we’d love to say this is SlashGear’s new intern, in actual fact it’s a shot from the first review we’ve seen of WowWee’s RoboRover. Announced at the tail-end of September, the RoboRover is WowWee’s first robot to use tank-track style locomotion and, according to RoboCommunity member GWJax, they – together with the IR-based obstacle avoidance system – do a pretty decent job.
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Remotely controlling your TiVo from a BlackBerry has been possible for a while now - thanks to the mobile web interface - but now there's a specific app that aims to make it even easier. TiVo for BlackBerry Smartphones is available free from the App World, and has browse, search and scheduling functionality, together with "Daily Picks" and "Most Popular" categories.
Earlier this month we were lamenting the dearth of consumer robotics in 2009, and it seems someone at WowWee has heard our cries. The company has released preview information of two upcoming ‘bots, the WowWee Roborover (left) and the WowWee Joebot (right), both with remote-control functionality as well as autonomous modes.
Salt at the ready – and you’ll need a pretty big handful this time around – because according to the Boy Genius Reports’ tipster you’re looking at a “product mockup that may coincide with the launch of a revised Apple TV“. If you reckon it looks like a touchscreen remote control then you’re not alone.
The device – about which little is known – does show a Safari option, which has led to suggestions that it could be a WiFi tablet in its own right. Alternatively, if it really is a true companion device to the refreshed Apple TV, it could be a trigger to loading Safari on the mediaplayer, with the remote then working as a touchscreen keyboard and mouse pad to control browsing on your HDTV.
Compared to 2008, we’ve had something of a dry spell this year when it comes to consumer robotics. Japanese firm Vstone aren’t exactly attempting to remedy this – their target is the prosumer or education market – but we’re still embracing their Robovie-nano ‘bot with open arms.
Video demo after the cut
Sony Ericsson promised to revolutionise personal audio, and while that’s so loaded with PR hyperbole we’d normally just throw any subsequent press release straight out of the window, it turns out their Motion Activated MH907 headphones are pretty nifty. The stereo headset is the first to use SensMe, where capacitive sensors in each earbud can track whether they’re in your ears or not, and remotely control your cellphone accordingly.
Video after the cut
We’ve seen cellularly-enabled CCTV cameras before – capable of shooting images across the mobile networks and directly to your cellphone – but never have they been so droid-like in their design. BrickHouse Security’s motion-activated Global Watchman is a ruggedized 1.3-megapixel camera with onboard battery and IR flash for discretely illuminating nighttime scenes.
Video demo after the cut
The HP DreamScreen takes boring digital photo frames to a whole new level. Not only is it sleek and stylish, it adds a brand new dimension to sharing your digital content. Get up to date Facebook status, watch videos, and listen to Pandora Internet radio right from the DreamScreen. The DreamScreen comes in two display sizes – 10.2 inches on the DreamScreen 100 and 13.3 inches for DreamScreen 130; priced at $249 and $299 respectively. Both feature a piano-black design with a flush glass widescreen display, 2GB of built-in memory, a remote control, WiFi b/g streaming and integrated speakers.
Video hands-on after the cut
Since we’re big geeks here at SlashGear, we’re allowed to get unduly excited at the first inklings of WowWee’s upcoming holiday range. The toy and robotics company has revealed their latest ad campaigns for their new remote-controlled gadgets, including an update on the FlyTech Dragonfly, the CrashFX plane we saw back in April and a mini UFO with LED messaging.
Video demos after the cut
Netgear have announced their latest networked media box, the EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live, which allows for both locally-streamed and IPTV content to be shown on your big-screen TV. The EVA2000 can play YouTube videos, pay-per-view movies, Hulu, VuNow and Netflix content, among other things, together with audio, video and images from USB external storage.
SlashGear Japan
