AUSTIN, TEXAS--Every so often, a product comes along that just changes the game. The iPhone. The Segway. The Roomba.
Now, get ready to add the Pleo to that list.
A row of five prototype Pleos at the Maker Faire in Austin, Texas on October 19, 2007. These Pleos are not final production models, though they are very close.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)The Pleo, which is a much-anticipated animatronic dinosaur, is expected to hit the market sometime next year. Already, it is possible to pre-order them, for $349.
And what makes this toy such a game changer is that it is just so amazingly life-like that it's sort of hard not to begin treating it like it's real.
I first saw the Pleo at Demo 06. Back then it was expected to be out by the 2006 holidays and cost $200. Well, so much for that plan. And I suppose that with that in mind, some healthy skepticism that the toy's maker, Ugobe, will be able to get it out any time soon is warranted.
'Make' magazine editor-in-chief and Boing Boing co-editor Mark Frauenfelder pets a Pleo at Maker Faire Austin. The Pleo has sensors that allow it to walk to the edge of a table and stop before it falls off.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)Still, this is one amazing toy. I played with it for a few minutes today during the final afternoon of preparations for Maker Faire Austin, which begins Saturday and will continue through Sunday. It was totally charming. The Pleo has dozens of sensors, sensitive to light, to touch and to edges, and so its behavior is somewhat akin to that of a pet.
It's not, of course, but when you play with it, petting its head, or scritching its chin, and the little dinosaur purrs contentedly or tilts its head back in seeming bliss, it's hard not to believe it's alive.
A Pleo reacts with obvious pleasure and happiness when its chin is scritched.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)So, I have little doubt that when it finally is available for sale, it is going to set the toy industry on its ear. Consumers will be blown away by what it can do and how it behaves. Ugobe is going to take a further step into making it fantastic by letting owners download new sounds onto it and also to modify it with custom behaviors.
Thus, it really is a suitable product to exhibit at Maker Faire.
Ugobe brought a bunch of Pleos to the event, some of which are wearing green tags around their necks to designate them as "A-list performers," according to Ugobe employee Prema Polit. That means, she explained, that the green-taggers can be counted on to do what they're supposed to, moving as expected, reacting as designed and so forth. By the time they're released, of course, the company will ensure that all Pleos are A-listers.
Whether the amazement it generates will translate into huge sales is another question. The price of $349 is pretty steep, even for such a lifelike creature, in part because, despite its realism, it can't do that many things.
I love it, though, and I want one. I'm not sure what I would do with it, particularly because I'm pretty sure my cat would have harsh words with it.
You can 'feed' a Pleo fake leaves. It won't chew them, but you can play a game of tug-of-war with the food you give it.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)But here's hoping Pleo is available soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing how people react. I expect a collective dropped jaw.
source: www.news.com
