iDog - A Perfect Companion for your iPod
Voila!! A new accessory for our favourite iPod. The iDog is a robot dog that exhibits behaviours and learning ability. It is designed and manufactured by Sega Toys. It is also manufactured by Hasbro which provides the iDog to North American audiences. It is also marketed as the eDog in Germany and the Netherlands.
The iDog reacts to music from an external source like the iPod and will work with any MP3 device from a 3.5mm audio jack input, and has an integrated speaker. It also reacts if placed near an audio source and has 70 built-in melodies.
All these interactions with humans are enabled with a number of switches and sensors on its nose, head and tail which allow it to react to user input.
Currently, iDog comes in various kinds of colors and designs to enhance its popularity.
I personally finds this iDog very interactive as it ‘feeds’ on the music that I played to him. Whenever an user pats it on the head or “feeds” it lots of music, at least 5 minutes every hour, iDog will show lots of flashing lights to signal that he is in good mood. However, if an user neglect him, iDog’s mood will change from excited to sad. Moreover, it also barks to let a user know that he is hungry for more music. It features seven flashing LED lights on its face that shows an user his mood and personality with tons of blinking lights patterns. In a way, it behaves like an actual dog as it requires the owner’s constant attention. iDog's built-in speakers can be switched off by flicking his tail, but he will give a deep growl when an user deprives him of music.
Following the huge success of the cute iDog, Sega comes out with more pets like iDog-Pup, iCat, iFish and iCY. And the best thing about them is that they love music. I cannot wait to be an owner of iDog as it brings some much fun and entertainment at a mere price of USD$29.99.
