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NABAZTAG: NAVIGATING THE RABBIT HOLES OF THE WEB
Brian Reinhardt
Invention & Technology News
August 11, 2008 8:49 AM EST
PA
As the Internet has grown by leaps and bounds, it has quickly become
a resource people can't live without. Most of us rarely go more than a
couple of days without checking emails, getting online news or reading
a favorite blog. Since the Internet has become such an integral part
of our daily lives, several new devices have emerged to help people
access Web content without sitting in front of a monitor 24-7. Along
with Chumby and Wi-Fi Radio, Invention & Technology News now takes
a look at another innovative gadget called Nabaztag.
If Nabaztag sounds like a foreign word, well, it is. It's Armenian
for rabbit, which is exactly what this little Wi-Fi-enabled gadget
resembles. The Nabaztag has the body of a ghost with a drawn-on face,
and two missile-shaped ears that twist and turn. Its body also is
equipped with lights that flash in different colors. The rabbit gets
plugged into an outlet and connects wirelessly to a home's Internet
via a router. Through the Nabaztag Web site, the user programs what
types of updates he or she wants to receive from the rabbit. Category
choices include news, finance, entertainment, sports and health,
lifestyle, kids and more. The rabbit then sits in a room - like
a kitchen - and provides individuals with verbal Internet updates
throughout the day. Nabaztag speaks five different languages and can
read messages in 16. Occasionally, the rabbit even adds some emotion
into its readings (for example, when it reads the air quality as
"so-so" its tone sounds somewhat downbeat). The Nabaztag also can be
muted and instead flash its lights when an update comes in.
In addition to sharing Web news, the rabbit is jam-packed with
extra features. For starters, it can be programmed to signal a
user when he or she receives a new email - a useful feature that
eliminates the need to keep checking a computer for an important
correspondence. Nabaztag also receives messages from friends via
email or text message (sent to a person's nabaztag.com address),
which it reads aloud. Individuals can even send songs to friends'
rabbits that will play upon reception (the rabbit will twist and
turn his ears and light up to the beat). Nabaztag also responds to
certain verbal requests. By pressing a button on the top of its head
and speaking commands like "give me the weather", the rabbit will
quickly hop along to find the information requested. And, since it
was "raised on the Internet", the rabbit "never stops learning" -
which presumptively means it receives software updates through Wi-Fi.
For children (who may actually be the best audience for this device),
the Nabaztag will be sold with three Ladybird Tales starting in
September - "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Cinderella" and "The
Elves and the Shoemaker". Nabaztag will be able to identify the books,
retrieve the stories from the Web and then read them out loud. Users
can navigate through the chapters of a story by moving the rabbit's
ears, and the rabbit will even remember the chapter where it stopped
during the last reading. This book-reading feature is just the latest
addition to an already-loaded device that may spare some Webheads the
strained eyesight and carpal tunnel associated with endless hours in
front of the computer.
Three different model rabbits are available for online purchase at
the Nabaztag Store (also known as the Ztore) from $99 to $299.
Brian Reinhardt
Invention & Technology News
August 11, 2008 8:49 AM EST
PA
As the Internet has grown by leaps and bounds, it has quickly become
a resource people can't live without. Most of us rarely go more than a
couple of days without checking emails, getting online news or reading
a favorite blog. Since the Internet has become such an integral part
of our daily lives, several new devices have emerged to help people
access Web content without sitting in front of a monitor 24-7. Along
with Chumby and Wi-Fi Radio, Invention & Technology News now takes
a look at another innovative gadget called Nabaztag.
If Nabaztag sounds like a foreign word, well, it is. It's Armenian
for rabbit, which is exactly what this little Wi-Fi-enabled gadget
resembles. The Nabaztag has the body of a ghost with a drawn-on face,
and two missile-shaped ears that twist and turn. Its body also is
equipped with lights that flash in different colors. The rabbit gets
plugged into an outlet and connects wirelessly to a home's Internet
via a router. Through the Nabaztag Web site, the user programs what
types of updates he or she wants to receive from the rabbit. Category
choices include news, finance, entertainment, sports and health,
lifestyle, kids and more. The rabbit then sits in a room - like
a kitchen - and provides individuals with verbal Internet updates
throughout the day. Nabaztag speaks five different languages and can
read messages in 16. Occasionally, the rabbit even adds some emotion
into its readings (for example, when it reads the air quality as
"so-so" its tone sounds somewhat downbeat). The Nabaztag also can be
muted and instead flash its lights when an update comes in.
In addition to sharing Web news, the rabbit is jam-packed with
extra features. For starters, it can be programmed to signal a
user when he or she receives a new email - a useful feature that
eliminates the need to keep checking a computer for an important
correspondence. Nabaztag also receives messages from friends via
email or text message (sent to a person's nabaztag.com address),
which it reads aloud. Individuals can even send songs to friends'
rabbits that will play upon reception (the rabbit will twist and
turn his ears and light up to the beat). Nabaztag also responds to
certain verbal requests. By pressing a button on the top of its head
and speaking commands like "give me the weather", the rabbit will
quickly hop along to find the information requested. And, since it
was "raised on the Internet", the rabbit "never stops learning" -
which presumptively means it receives software updates through Wi-Fi.
For children (who may actually be the best audience for this device),
the Nabaztag will be sold with three Ladybird Tales starting in
September - "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Cinderella" and "The
Elves and the Shoemaker". Nabaztag will be able to identify the books,
retrieve the stories from the Web and then read them out loud. Users
can navigate through the chapters of a story by moving the rabbit's
ears, and the rabbit will even remember the chapter where it stopped
during the last reading. This book-reading feature is just the latest
addition to an already-loaded device that may spare some Webheads the
strained eyesight and carpal tunnel associated with endless hours in
front of the computer.
Three different model rabbits are available for online purchase at
the Nabaztag Store (also known as the Ztore) from $99 to $299.