Demo Review of the Pleo

The Demo.com site reviews new technology and is a damn useful site. They've obviously got a page about the Pleo Dinosaur and they give a good summary of the company behind the Pleo - Ugobe Inc as well as a quick "review":

If you look at Pleo and see only a cute toy, you've missed the real innovation. By using breakthrough materials, an array of sensors, and programmed “intelligence,” Ugobe has created a unique animated form that challenges the relationship between human beings and non-living creatures. Pleo is destined to be the must-have toy of 2006.

They also have a nice demo video of the pleo that you may wish to check out.

Inside the Pleo

So you want to see what the Pleo looks like "under the bonet"? Well Robot Magazine has a great expose of the Pleo Robotic Dinosaur.

The article in itself becomes a Pleo Toy FAQ which every potential buyer should read. It gives a fantastic overview of how it'll work as well as a "first glimpse" of the Pleo's UI.

So have you bookmarked it yet?

Good Summary of The Pleo

The Harvard Student Mag has a good review of the Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Toy.

It's well worth a read.

Electronics Institute Gives Pleo Thumbs Down

And now for a negative news story.

The readers of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers have given the Pleo Dinosaur a thumbs down.

60% of their readers said the Pleo will be a loser this year whilst only 26% said it'll be a winner.

But I'm sure the editorial comment by Willie D. Jones swayed the reader's opinion:

As an electronic gadget, it is certainly cool. But it seems to fall in a market chasm, being too expensive a toy for small children, but not hyperkinetic enough for the average music-video- and home-video-game-addled teenager. Will parents be reluctant to buy it for fear that it will be shunted aside after the novelty has worn off, as many live pets are? Either way, Ugobe has missed a golden opportunity, because last-minute tweaks pushed Pleo’s release date well past the holiday gift-giving season when buzz alone might have swept it along with the current of year-end shopping frenzy.

But what do you think? The toy market is totally driven by marketing and pester power. If Ugobe get's their marketing strategy right (I'm sure SHIFT Communications, will play a big part) then I'm sure it'll make a big splash!