Pleo Available for Pre-Order!

Pre-Order yours now for delivery in October! There's a cute little flash movie on the site (also uploaded to YouTube below) showing just how amazing the animatronics are. It's more expensive than the "approximately $200" they had promised/hoped to sell it for. But at $349 this cute little BABY DINOSAUR still looks like a bargain!

Hey, Mr. Moneybags -- buy me one while you're at it? Thanks!

Pleo Spotted In The Wild

Well, the wilds of Beverly Hills anyway. Found this over at NotCot.com. No real news, but some great pics. I encourage you to click on over to NotCot, but here's a couple of teasers.

Pleo News - Good and Bad

I finally got an update from Ugobe after signing up for their "newsletter" back in, oh, March? Read the good news and the not-so-good news for yourself below. In short: Cool sounding improvements (including a camera) and better internal hardware & software (Yay!), mean we won't be seeing Pleo in our living rooms until well after the holiday season (Boo!).

Dear Pleo News Subscriber,

Thanks for signing up to receive updates on Pleo. At Ugobe, we are committed to making Pleo absolutely right. In pursuit of this goal, we have added upgrades to Pleo's basic design (i.e. Pleo now has a camera, upgraded CPU and microprocessors, more powerful motors and quieter custom designed gears).

These upgrades and our commitment to the highest quality control standards have resulted in Pleo being available later than we originally expected. You may have seen Pleo's new release dates in the press, but we wanted to make sure you were personally notified. Online pre-order sales will now begin on December 24th and we expect Pleo to arrive in March in the homes of those customers who place online orders. Pleo will become available at major retailers shortly thereafter.

We know you may be disappointed with the delay. We have heard from many of you who are as eager to welcoming Pleo into your homes and offices as we are and we're confident that when you do receive your Pleo, you will agree with us that he was worth the wait.

Thank you for your interest in Pleo!

The UGOBE Team

[Note: I borrowed the image above from this blog.]

Waiting for Pleo is Hard!

Waiting for the Pleo to become available for purchase is hard enough. But wouldn't that waiting be a little easier if we at least got some new information about the Pleo now and again? Specifically: When, exactly, will Pleo be available? How much, exactly, will one cost? Sigh. Nothing yet on either of those pressing questions.

However, it looks like Ugobe's Pleo homepage has been updated with new information and details about the cute little Camarasaurus, including the picture above (and the sketches below) of the Pleo's "regeneration bed."

Can a long-extinct species be resurrected? Ugobe designers and engineers studied the long extinct Camarasaurus, a dinosaur from the Jurassic period...

Pleo is a 'designer species'. He incorporates all the basic traits of autonomous life. He is specifically engineered and enhanced to mimic life and relate to his owner on a personal level.

Pleo is equipped with senses for sight, sound, and touch. He learns as he explores his environment. He will exhibit genuine reactions to sensory stimuli. Every Pleo begins life with certain tendencies but, interaction with his environment has subtle effects on his behavior. Every Pleo eventually exhibits a unique personality.

Now, doesn't that make the waiting a little easier? (And a little harder, too?)

Two Months, No Pleo. =(

O.k., we weren't really expecting any Pleo appearances yet, were we. But there hasn't even been an iota of further news -- no new photos, no teaser commercials, no nada!

Well, look at it this way -- at least we're two months closer to that wonderful day when we'll all have a Pleo of our own.

Oh, and just a side note on this blog (and the upcoming MyPleo.com): I am not affiliated with Ugobe or the makers of Pleo in any way. My only stake in the success of the Pleo is this: I want one! (Even though my cat, Barry, will probably not be amused.)

See Pleo Blink

More video of the Pleo in action. Thanks Washington Post!

Anatomy of a Pleo

Oooh, pictures and schematics and facts, oh my!

From the PC Mag Article (which confirms a "sub-$200 price): When Pleo ships later this year, Ugobe plans on selling personality modules that end users will be able to install either via SD cards or a USB port. Owners may even be encouraged to have little Pleo play dates as the robots are expected to interact with each other.

Pleo -- Caught on Film! (Well, Video...)

It lives! See Pleo chomp fingers and generally just look cute as the dickens, thanks to this rare footage of the little dinosaur in the wild. Thank C/Net for the video, and BoingBoing (or MAKE:blog -- I can't remember which I came across first) for tipping me off to it.

Oh, and at the end of the interview you can hear him say that Pleo should only cost around $200. Yay!

I Want My Pleo!

This page will document my eager anticipation of, and eventually my experiences with, my own personal DINOSAUR. Stay tuned!