RABBIT-EARED ROBOT DEBUTS
By Astrid Wendlandt; Reuters News Agency
The Toronto Star
August 14, 2006 Monday
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 one
to a stock collapse and give traffic updates by receiving Internet
feeds via a wireless Wi-Fi network.
The bunny, which stands 23 centimetres 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.
"If I send a text message to my wife and she is busy cooking, she will
hear it without having to check her mobile," said a Paris-based telecom
analyst at an international brokerage, who did not wish to be named.
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) 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 United States, where he
only has a tiny presence, and is gearing up for the December holiday
shopping season.
Last 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.
Wi-Fi technology is the latest must-have in many mass-market consumer
goods, from mobile phones to personal digital assistants, laptops
and TV set-top boxes. In Western Europe’s seven largest markets,
on average about 6 per cent of households have a Wi-Fi home network
while in the United States, the rate is between 12 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 in a sophisticated
market where some want all the latest bells and whistles.
"The problem with targeting this tech elite is that they are very
fickle," said Jackson.
Tamagotchi fell out of favour with many children after a while 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 from 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,
excluding shipping costs.
GRAPHIC: BENOIT TESSIER reuters Rafi Haladjian with his company’s
creation, a plastic bunny with ears like TV antennae. The robot
can read out emails and text messages, tell children to go to bed,
or alert one to a stock collapse by receiving Wi-Fi.