Although it was put to sleep almost two years ago, Sony's Aibo was an object of much affection for those people who enjoyed watching a robotic dog run around the house. And while many are still mourning its death, there is finally some hope.
Sony may be poised to release a new version called Aibo PS, designed to work with Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation 3, according to numerous reports.
More of the same?
According to the speculation, the updated Aibo will feature wireless control, a built-in camera, motion sensors and facial recognition. But the major attraction will be its ability to stream video over a wireless network to your PSP, which means it'll guard your home and alert you if someone is trying to get in.
But now for the bad news: so far, Sony has yet to confirm any plans to go beyond this update. Based on the specs that are known at this point, there aren't enough technological developments that would justify a new generation of the Aibo.
There is no word on pricing or availability, and with no confirmation from Sony, this should be firmly filed under the 'rumour' category until further notice. It's nice to hope though, isn't it?
In other news...
If you're in the market for a home theatre system, a subwoofer should sit at the top of your list. And with Tymphany's announcement of a new subwoofer called the LAT250, you might have found a winner.
It deviates from the traditional cone approach, instead "displacing air using a linear array of multiple smaller diaphragms". But perhaps most appealing is the subwoofer's size: it's just 10.24- x 3.5-inches, and weighs only 844g. Even better, it's available now for $58 (£27).
LaCie has unveiled a new external hard drive created by Neil Poulton. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, the LaCie Hard Drive offers the kind of storage capacities you would expect from today's generation of hard drives. It comes in a glossy, piano black case and emits a soft blue glow at its base, adding to to its beauty.
Even better, it cools itself without a fan and should run without too much sound. Stuffed with 320GB to 1TB worth of storage, the hard drive, which starts at $120 (£56) for the 320GB version and runs all the way up to $400 (£192) for the 1TB version, is available now.
