WowWee Rovio unboxing / first impressions
Yeah, yeah, we’re a little late on this one, but what can we say? We’re in love. For anyone that gets a kick out of remote viewing, this little thing is bound to mess up your head. You probably know all about it by now, but it’s a fully mobile 3-wheeled robot that houses a webcam, speaker, mic, and more. It effectively let’s you roam to any part of your office or home while streaming the video for your live, anywhere you are. Want to check up on that shady maid you found on Craigslist? Maybe you want to make sure the Time Warner guys aren’t playing Madden ‘09 in your TV room but actually working. Either way, this thing lets you be there when you’re not, and that’s pretty damn cool.
The packaging is a standard affair with the actual unit, battery, A/C adapter, USB cable, software CD, and charging base all included. Rovio is decently heavy and at first handle, it looks to be extremely well manufactured. Setup is dead simple, too. If you’re on a PC, just insert the setup CD and it will run through the configuration options. If you’re on a Mac, you can simply set it up by accessing the robot through a web interface. When controlling it remotely, you’ve got a lot of options including creating a path for the robot to follow, snapping pictures, recording movies, talking and listening to the surroundings, and even sending that little bugger back to its charging base. We’re happy to report that browser compatibility is not an issue here. On Internet Explorer you get the most options when remote viewing, but you can also work it reasonably well over an iPod Touch or iPhone. The BlackBerry Bold did not perform well in that regards. Make sure you show our unboxing photos to your girlfriends/wives so they don’t order you the wrong gift this Christmas Kwanzaa Hanukkah holiday.
Tags: blackberry bold, iPhone, ipod touch, remote viewing, Rovio, Unboxing, webcam, WowWee
> It effectively let’s you roam to any part of your office or home
Wow, it’s conquered the stairs problem?
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Yes, I want one. I want to um, check up on the sexy single next door Neighbor. To um, make sure she’s okay.
at My place, my 2 yro will likely not leave this thing alone.
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In all seriousness, one of these would allow me to keep tabs on the puppy AND the cats (or at least torment them) while I’m at work.
Because I’m worried that one of the cats isn’t eating, I’ve been planning to set up a motion-triggered webcam on the food bowl (which is in a direct LoS with the “office”). This *might* be a better solution.
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whats the camera resolution looks like?
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whats the camera resolution looks like? 2mp or more?
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Whats the range of this thing?
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I’m assuming it will render correctly on the Storm?
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No thanks it can only use WEP. Pass.. If they do come out with a WPA or WPA2 model then I’ll consider it.
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