Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE: Tech Toy Product Review

If you are depending on a dog or cat to provide you with animal companionship, you are behind the times. Those decidedly low-tech alternatives are being supplanted by the Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE. The Pleo Dinosaur is the latest high-tech attempt to separate consumers from their money by offering a pet-like experience with none of the inconveniences of a real pet.

The Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE is a one week old dinosaur that is equipped with almost 40 sensors that allow it to interact with its environment. Having had the opportunity to play with a Pleo Dinosaur recently, I can honestly say that they are impressively realistic. The movement is so fluid and natural that I was almost convinced that I was watching a real baby dinosaur, but the Pleo Dinosaur is much more human than reptilian in its responses.

Like human infants, the Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE arrives in your home as a blank slate, but it will eventually develop its own personality depending on environmental influences. The Pleo (my friend named hers Littlefoot in honor of "The Land Before Time) has speakers on both sides of its head so it can detect motion and sound from all directions and it can tell the difference between light and dark, but the Pleo Dinosaur can also "see" colors. He makes adorable cooing sounds and if you pick him up and cuddle with him (and trust me, once you see him and he bats his big blue eyes at you, you will) he will nestle against you. There are eight sensors on the Pleo Dinosaur's body that lets him "feel" when you touch him. Different Pleos respond to touch in different ways, but Littlefoot squirmed and grunted when he was stroked on his back. The Pleo Dinosaur also has sensors on his feet, so he knows when he has been picked up. If you leave your Pleo Dinosaur at home alone, he will continue to explore your house and will change the way he walks based on the feel and texture of your floors. He will not, however, leave a surprise on your carpet. He comes with a leaf that he is fond of playing with. Littlefoot particularly enjoyed playing tug of war with his leaf, growling and tugging when anyone tried to take the leaf, just like a small puppy.

If your friends have Pleo Dinosaurs, you can arrange a playdate. Pleo Dinosaurs can sense other Pleos and can learn from them. I was not able to see and evaluate this, as only one person in my immediate area has a Pleo Dinosaur.

The Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE is powered by a rechargable battery and if all of his cooing and grunting makes it hard to watch TV or sleep, there is a volume button on his tummy in case you need to mute him.

There are only two areas in which the Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE makes slight missteps, and they are minor. The first is the skin. It is rubbery and feels artificial. Hopefully the engineers at UGOBE can eventually develop skin that feels slightly drier and more pleasant to the touch. The second area is the sound of the joints when the Pleo Dinosaur moves. The noise isn't overly loud, but it does distract from the illusion of reality that the designers tried so hard to give Pleo. But these are minor complaints is the face of such an incredible robotic pet. Such "pets" have been around since Furby, but to compare the Pleo Dinosaur by UGOBE to a Furby is like comparing a MacBook Air to a Commodore 64.

All of this cuteness and technology carries a hefty price tag, though. You can get your hands on a Pleo Dinosaur at Sharper Image and Best Buy for $350, but it is available at Amazon.com for $300. You can also find Pleo Dinosaur for sale on eBay, but the final price of the auctions are exceeding the retail price.