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New Version of Sony's AIBO Robot Dog Released

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the got-an-allergy-for-every-pedigree dept.

Cave_Monster writes "Sony has unveiled a new version of its canine robot AIBO which, unlike your average puppy, can talk and keep a diary but which still needs love and attention. Sony starts taking orders Thursday, with a price tag of 194,250 yen (US $2,263.40) in Japan including a five-per cent sales tax. Now that's one expensive toy!"

5 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Price tag by null+etc. · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From TFA:

    The robo-dog may steal owners away from the Tamagotchi virtual pet, which swept the world in the mid-1990s.

    Uhm, yeah. This +$2K puppy will surely steal the market share from a $10 toy!

  2. Expensive? by Jupix · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sony starts taking orders Thursday, with a price tag of 194,250 yen (US $2,263.40) in Japan including a five-per cent sales tax. Now that's one expensive toy!

    Expensive? Bear in mind that most $2k computers go to ten-year-olds and they are also pretty much just toys so that makes them expensive too. Nah, I'd say that $2k for a robot puppy is actually quite reasonably-priced if not a bargain.

    1. Re:Expensive? by whiteranger99x · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Whether said $2k computer goes to a 10 year old or not, the computer itself is far more useful than a stupid robotic dog.

      It's like the internet, just beacuse people play games or look at porn doesn't mean the internet is exactly as useful as an XBOX or a Hustler Magazine.

      --
      Join the TWIT army now!
  3. Tamagotchi by gunpowda · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The robo-dog may steal owners away from the Tamagotchi virtual pet, which swept the world in the mid-1990s.

    Did anyone ever play with theirs for longer than 5 minutes? More importantly, what audience is there to 'steal' given that these haven't been on the market for years?

  4. Bah by mark-t · · Score: 2, Insightful
    When it has voice recognition that can recognize, comprehend, and respond to casually spoken speech with same fluidity that another person could reasonably exhibit, has many of the functions of a modern cellphone and pda combined, and when the thing is as small as a wristwatch, wearable on a wristsrap or neckchain, I'll be interested.

    Until then, I see this sort of thing as just a toy that would be liable to be entertaining for all of... oh... maybe up to a week or so, and then forgotten. Kind of a lot of money to spend on something with such a brief entertainment value, don't you think?

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'