AIBO is not cheap. The 3.5-pound dog will cost $2,500 when it's available in late June. And the motion editor software will cost $500. AIBO is also somewhat fragile. You certainly don't want to give it to your kids to mess around with.
Sony plans to make 5,000 of the first AIBO, 2,000 for the United States and 3,000 for Japan. The first version is more a curiosity piece than a useful robot. It's amazing, but it's not ready to fetch your slippers yet. At that price, and at that availability, AIBO is only for the overgrown kid who already has a Porsche and yacht, and doesn't mind spending $3,000 for a limited robot.
Sony's building a new business unit in the United States for these entertainment robots, so expect a range of less-expensive and more-capable virtual pets. AIBO is a great first step. During our test we attracted an amazed crowd of jaded ZDTV employees. But it's more a sign of great things to come than anything else.
AIBO will be available on the Internet only. Sony will start taking orders June 1 at 9 A.M. Japanese Standard Time.
Product name: AIBO ERS-100
Company: SonyPrice: $2,500 & $500 for motion editing software
Available: Late June
Robot Specs: 16MB of RAM, 64-bit 100MHz MIPS RISC processor, 18 motors, 180,000-pixel CCD camera, two microphones, one speaker, two heat sensors, one infrared range finder, four spatial acceleration sensors, one angular velocity sensor, one pressure sensor, four switch pressure sensors, 7.2-volt lithium ion battery, 3.5 pounds
Software platform: Windows 95 and 98, 200MHz Pentium, 32MB of RAM, PCMCIA card, 800 by 600 screen, 16-bit color
