After almost a year spent flailing wildly about and capturing the hearts and minds of Tokyo technophiles, the Sony Rolly music robot is finally available in the United States.
This egg-shaped robot, about four inches long, contains one gigabyte of flash memory for music files. When you set it on a table and play music, it flaps its side flippers and rolls around the table in a series of highly choreographed dance moves. It also plays a multicolored light show. It can hold about 242 songs.
The device plays MP3 and Atrac3 audio and includes PC-compatible motion editing software, allowing you to create your own dance moves. It costs $400 and is available online at www.sonystyle.com.
You can also stream music wirelessly to the Rolly over Bluetooth, ensuring the party never has to stop. JOHN BIGGS
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A booming stereo sound from the phone in your pocket
Many mobile phones serve as pocket jukeboxes for people who want to have music with them at all times, but phone speakers are not known for their high fidelity. Logitech's new Pure-Fi Mobile speaker system, however, lets you wirelessly blast your tunes from the phone in your pocket to everyone within earshot.
Although the speakers can stream music wirelessly from most Bluetooth-equipped phones, only phones that support the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) technology get stereo sound. Phones without the A2DP feature may still be able to get stereo sound through an auxiliary or USB cable connection, but going wireless with Bluetooth lets the phone roam up to 33 feet from the speakers.
The speakers will sell for around $150 when they arrive this month. They get about 12 hours of play between battery charges; full specifications are at www.logitech.com.
And if you need to take a call while rocking out, the Pure-Fi Mobile also doubles as a wireless speakerphone. J.D. BIERSDORFER
This video camera fits
the YouTube mold
Someday all movies will be on the Internet and, if current trends persist, will last only 10 minutes. Budding auteurs can prepare for this future with the JVC Everio GZ-MS100.
The GZ-MS100 records video to an SD card (not included) and has a special upload button that cuts off the video at the 10-minute mark to conform to YouTube's rules, and then automatically uploads it to YouTube when the camera is connected to a PC. It has a 35x optical zoom lens and a 2.7-inch screen with a touch-sensitive scroll pad on the side for selecting options and scrolling through video.
The camera will be available this month at most major electronics stores for $350.
JOHN BIGGS
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