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I cannot lie.  Yes, I am a grown man and yes I love all remote controlled toys!  There, I said it!  Of course I have two young sons so I can always use them as the excuse to buy or play with anything RC.  At a very young age, I began a long love affair with cars, boats and anything I could control with buttons and sticks.  Fortunately for me, my sons have inherited this love and will play with any of these toys for hours.  Now, mix remote controls and robots and we are on to greatness!  When I first saw the Skitterbots, I immediately thought I had to have one.  They are

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• Hand-to-hand robot combat?  Check.
• Sumo-wrestling robots?  Check.
• Fire-fighting robots?  Got them, too.
• Dancing Robots? Robots mixing cocktails?   Done and done!

You remember that lovable robotic baby dinosaur, Pleo, don't you?  Well now you can help choose the next Pleo and take advantage of a great deal this month.   Pleoworld is holding a poll to select one of five color patterns for a new Pleo that will come out this year. Go vote for your favorite Pleo color now, and you will be automatically entered for a free raffle to win your very own one-of-a-kind custom made Pleo designed by Jerry Finney.   So what are you waiting for?  Be the coolest kid on the block -- or the coolest parent on the block -- with your very own Pleo.

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Kysoh.com has released the new Tux Droid 2.0.  Tux Droid is essentially a Open Source Nabaztag that looks like Tux the Penguin (Tux was originally designed as the Linux mascot by Larry Ewing).  The Tux Droid is wirelessly connected to your computer via its cute fish shaped dongle, which  has a striking resemblance to Tux himself.  What does Tux do?  He'll do a little dance whenever you get an E-mail, Twitter message or a Facebook messag; he also has a text-to-speech engine, and by interacting with Tux Droid, you can also complete certain tasks on your computer.  If you aren't right next to him to interact with him, you can

Spyball can be connected to from many WiFi enabled devices such as PC’s, video game consoles and even cell phones. It comes with a USB cord that takes the user through an easy setup process to configure Spyball

Hello Judie, Reminiscent of one of the robots at the robot carnival in the movie A.I., Mr. Personality is a unique interactive robot companion that talks up a storm. He's a natural joke teller, a fortune teller, and will even give you whimsical answers about your future. Instead of a featureless face Mr. Personality has an animated face which is displayed via a head mounted full color LCD. Features * Can move in all directions using a unique three wheeled mobile base * Tells stories, jokes, and fortunes and will talk to you too * Full color head mounted LCD screen display an animated face with synchronized facial expressions and sounds * Has several distinct play modes including: Bits, Crystal Ball, Fortune Cookies, Demo and others. * Detects and avoids obstacles and will let you know if he has fallen over or if his batteries are getting low on juice Official WowWee YouTube video:

Kindle your child’s curiosity for prehistoric creatures and make-believe adventures with his very own life-sized baby dinosaur. You may have seen “talking” and “moving” toys before, but chances are your dino-loving toddler has never seen a prehistoric “pet” that comes to “life” with realistic electronic sounds and motion. It’s fossil-sized fun standing just over three feet tall. A hidden handle helps kids hold on once they climb onto the dinosaur’s back. Realistic stomping sounds add to the make-believe fun as kids bounce in place on the spring seat. Talk to KOTA the Triceratops and he roars back with expressive tail, head, eye, mouth and horn movements. Hold out your hand and KOTA “sniffs” it! In fact, it’s easy to trigger all of his sensitive spots – try tickling his belly or chin to make KOTA “laugh”. And when you think this pretend dinosaur has worked up an appetite, be sure to “feed” KOTA his leafy snack – it really sounds like he’s munching on it! Four different adventure-themed tunes set the mood for your child’s wild imagination as he embarks on a dino-filled daydream. But don’t worry! A convenient volume control switch lets you adjust the level or turn it off. KOTA the Triceratops may look thick-skinned, but just one stroke on his scaly-like fabric “hide” will prove he’s really a soft and snuggable playmate who’s ready for all of your child’s dino-roarin’ escapades. Dinosaur figure comes with leafy snack and instructions.

photo and descriptive quotes from Amazon

Hello Judie in BFE, [Ed note: you see how he is?! ;-) ] WowWee is pulling out all the stops with their new Rovio spy cam robot. Instead of the usual toy style videos they have already produced and published 3 gloss high quality teaser style videos that are high in information content and devoid of fluff. The 3 short TV style videos just published to YouTube give you a crisp look at the Rovio's features, web interface, and home networking requirements in a rapid yet clear look at their flagship robot product for 2008. Here they are: Meet Rovio - TV commercial style clip , short and sweet

WowWee's highly anticipated remote surveillance robot, The Rovio, has finally been seen in the USA as a pre-order item with an expected ship date of 9/26/2008.  Currently the only place I can find that is accepting pre-orders is Hammacher Schlemmer at a price of $299 (Note: Hammacher never uses the manufacturer's product name in their web page text but you can see for yourself from the product picture and description that it's a Rovio, along with their product lifetime guarantee)

Hello Judie, WowWee's hilarious and ill-behaved robot junkyard dog has finally popped up in the USA for ordering. Amazon has it available for about $140 (USD) and lists it as "in stock". Hammacher Schlemmer, who offers a "lifetime guarantee" on their products (about 9 years) also has it with an expected ship date of 9/26/2008 and a price of $130. Buy.com has it available for ordering with Free Shipping, but lists it as "Temporarily Out Of Stock" and at a price of $150. So far the other major retailers like Target and WalMart don't have it yet. Here are

Hello Judie, WowWee's first female robot ever, Femisapien, is now available for purchase for $99 (USD). So far she's been spotted for sale at Amazon, Target, and WowWee's online store and listed as being in stock. Femisapien is also known as E.M.A. the Kissing Robot. Amazon Target WowWee Online store My 5000 word detailed review and companion video review of Femisapien Thanks, Robert Oschler RobotsRule.com

Hello Judie, Put this under the "truth is stranger (and more fun) than fiction" category. Here's a video that shows Pleo World member maggie44n's Pleo named Linus getting the full treatment at the Changes Salon, including a fossil rock massage: Link: maggie44n's Plog (Pleo diary). In my next life I'm coming back as a Pleo! Thanks, Robert RobotsRule.com

Hello Judie, Here's my latest. The first detailed review ever of WowWee's first female robot ever is now online, posted just minutes ago. In-depth review and companion video gives solid coverage of Femisapien's revolutionary new touch based interface and shows several of her many truly unique and entertaining behaviors. Most importantly, the video shows that she is the first truly capable dancing robot in the consumer price range. The review page contains critical tips for buyers and would-be owners of WowWee's new robot. Femisapien is scheduled for release this month and is already shipping in the Hong Kong and some Asian markets. Her estimated U.S. price is $99 USD.

Hello Judie, See Wall-E sit down for a nice quiet music lesson on the magic piano from hell! This brand new video stars the Wall-E iDance robot in a 90 second action video that includes cameo appearances from several of WowWee's new robots like the The Bat and Fairfly, along with the legendary Robosapien V1 and universally creepy Alive Chimpanzee. I will be updating the video page in the near future with details on how the video was made, what tools were used including the latest information I have on the growing Wall-E robot line of toys

Hello Judie, The best way to start a Monday is with a smile. Pleo rides the Roomba, complete with matching surfing attire: This video is from Pleo world member Maggie44n. Everyone can read more fun stories about her Pleos Linus & Schroeder on her plog. Robert RobotsRule.com

Hey Judie, I ran across this funny and heartwarming story of a family and their Robosapien V2.  I'd tell you more but I don't want to ruin the surprise for you by giving you too much detail.  Take a moment and relax while reading this funny Robosapien V2 story that proves once again truth is stranger than fiction: http://charlieinwonderland.com/?p=481 Thanks, Robert

Hello Judie, As part of a WowWee's new "Insider Video" series, they released just minutes ago a pair of videos that give an advanced peek at some of Femisapien's more advanced features. The first shows WowWee uber-inventor Mark Tilden showing just how easy and it is to script Femisapien simply by moving her body around (posing). The second shows how the scripting-by-posing can be used to create scripts that show truly intricate movements in the setting of a Femisapien fencing match. The Femisapiens aren't really fighting each other since it's all scripted and they are not tracking each others movements and then striking at a target, it does make the point strongly of just how nimble she is and just how easy it is to create fun skits with her that involve advanced body movements.

Note: The E.M.A. robot recently announced by Sega Robots is really WowWee's Femisapien, which will be released shortly in the USA for a suggested retail of $99 (USD).