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The Gazette (Montreal)
August 12, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition
Bunny you should say that: nabaztag, which is moving into the U.S.
market, reads emails and stock quotes it gets via Wi-Fi Internet
ASTRID WENDLANDT, Reuters
PARIS - In the evolution of electronic companions, first came the
speaking doll, then the Tamagotchi virtual pet, then Sony's
short-lived AIBO dog.
Now, it could be the dawn of the Wi-Fi rabbit era.
The plastic bunny with ears like TV antennae can read out emails and
mobile phone text messages, tell children to go to bed, alert its
owner to a stock collapse and give traffic updates by receiving
Internet feeds via a wireless Wi-Fi network.
The bunny, which stands 9 inches tall and has a white cone-like body
that lights up when it speaks, is called Nabaztag, which means rabbit
in Armenian, its creator's mother tongue. It can also wiggle its ears
and sing songs.
French entrepreneur Rafi Haladjian, who conceived the idea, says the
rabbit sometimes carries more sway over children than their parents
and can help men who have misbehaved win forgiveness from angry
partners.
"It is sad, but true," he said.
Nabaztag costs 115 euros ($148 U.S.) in France, 80 pounds ($152) in
Britain and $150 in the United States. It is made in Shenzhen, China.
Since its market debut last year, 50,000 Nabaztags have been sold in
France, Britain, Belgium and Switzerland, and Haladjian hopes to sell
150,000 by the end of this year.
The businessman is now looking to conquer the U.S., where he only has
a tiny presence, and is gearing up for the December holiday shopping
season.
In December, Haladjian appeared on CNN for three minutes and received
350,000 online information requests.
"The only problem was that we had zero bunnies, we had sold them all
already and we had not even started selling them in the United States
yet," he said.
The rabbit is made by French company Violet, 55 per cent owned by
Haladjian and 30 per cent by Banexi Ventures, a private equity arm of
French bank BNP Paribas.
Paul Jackson, an analyst at research house Forrester, is among
several analysts who predict the Nabaztag will find favour among the
well-heeled and technology-savvy as it benefits from the spread of
Wi-Fi networks around the globe.
In western Europe's seven largest markets, on average about six per
cent of households have a Wi-Fi home network, while in the United
States, the rate is between 12 per cent and 14 per cent, according to
Forrester.
Nabaztag, which performs basic tasks, relies on relatively simple
technology - Wi-Fi and online software and filters.
Analysts say one of the reasons Sony's AIBO dog was discontinued this
year was that its technology was too complex and the robotic animal
too pricey.
But some say simplicity can also be a weakness. Tamagotchi fell out
of favour with children because its functions were repetitive,
analysts say.
Haladjian says the key to Nabaztag's longevity will be constant
innovation and finding new applications as the Internet evolves. But
competition is heating up.
Ambient Devices, a spin-off of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, is one of several rivals putting
Internet-based communicating devices on the market.
Ambient sells a lamp ball that glows different colors to display
real-time stock market trends, weather and pollen forecasts for $150.
GRAPHIC:
Photo: BENOIT TESSIER, REUTERS; Rafi Haladjian, chairman of French
company Violet, displays the company's latest creation, a Wi-Fi bunny
called Nabaztag, in Paris on Aug. 4.
August 12, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition
Bunny you should say that: nabaztag, which is moving into the U.S.
market, reads emails and stock quotes it gets via Wi-Fi Internet
ASTRID WENDLANDT, Reuters
PARIS - In the evolution of electronic companions, first came the
speaking doll, then the Tamagotchi virtual pet, then Sony's
short-lived AIBO dog.
Now, it could be the dawn of the Wi-Fi rabbit era.
The plastic bunny with ears like TV antennae can read out emails and
mobile phone text messages, tell children to go to bed, alert its
owner to a stock collapse and give traffic updates by receiving
Internet feeds via a wireless Wi-Fi network.
The bunny, which stands 9 inches tall and has a white cone-like body
that lights up when it speaks, is called Nabaztag, which means rabbit
in Armenian, its creator's mother tongue. It can also wiggle its ears
and sing songs.
French entrepreneur Rafi Haladjian, who conceived the idea, says the
rabbit sometimes carries more sway over children than their parents
and can help men who have misbehaved win forgiveness from angry
partners.
"It is sad, but true," he said.
Nabaztag costs 115 euros ($148 U.S.) in France, 80 pounds ($152) in
Britain and $150 in the United States. It is made in Shenzhen, China.
Since its market debut last year, 50,000 Nabaztags have been sold in
France, Britain, Belgium and Switzerland, and Haladjian hopes to sell
150,000 by the end of this year.
The businessman is now looking to conquer the U.S., where he only has
a tiny presence, and is gearing up for the December holiday shopping
season.
In December, Haladjian appeared on CNN for three minutes and received
350,000 online information requests.
"The only problem was that we had zero bunnies, we had sold them all
already and we had not even started selling them in the United States
yet," he said.
The rabbit is made by French company Violet, 55 per cent owned by
Haladjian and 30 per cent by Banexi Ventures, a private equity arm of
French bank BNP Paribas.
Paul Jackson, an analyst at research house Forrester, is among
several analysts who predict the Nabaztag will find favour among the
well-heeled and technology-savvy as it benefits from the spread of
Wi-Fi networks around the globe.
In western Europe's seven largest markets, on average about six per
cent of households have a Wi-Fi home network, while in the United
States, the rate is between 12 per cent and 14 per cent, according to
Forrester.
Nabaztag, which performs basic tasks, relies on relatively simple
technology - Wi-Fi and online software and filters.
Analysts say one of the reasons Sony's AIBO dog was discontinued this
year was that its technology was too complex and the robotic animal
too pricey.
But some say simplicity can also be a weakness. Tamagotchi fell out
of favour with children because its functions were repetitive,
analysts say.
Haladjian says the key to Nabaztag's longevity will be constant
innovation and finding new applications as the Internet evolves. But
competition is heating up.
Ambient Devices, a spin-off of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, is one of several rivals putting
Internet-based communicating devices on the market.
Ambient sells a lamp ball that glows different colors to display
real-time stock market trends, weather and pollen forecasts for $150.
GRAPHIC:
Photo: BENOIT TESSIER, REUTERS; Rafi Haladjian, chairman of French
company Violet, displays the company's latest creation, a Wi-Fi bunny
called Nabaztag, in Paris on Aug. 4.