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[nirajvashi]

This post will concern PLEO owners for whom Robotic/Electronic Pets are companions and not just a piece of technology. There are some points I am listing below which are a matter of concern:

1) The world of Consumer Robotics was shocked with the announcement by Sony to discontinue the world famous Sony AIBO as the AIBO line was a hindrance to Sony's profitability. It is obvious that Sony was not selling AIBOs at a price lower than the costs but still it was forced to discontinue it. It is a matter of concern as if one of the world' s topmost and economically strong companies - Sony could not sustain its Robotic dog on account of profitability, will a company which makes nothing but only one kind of Robots be able to continue making them and providing support for the ones that they have sold? Pleo already has had a hiccup in the form of Ugobe' s bankruptcy.

2) It is well-known that Sony AIBOs were made probably with the highest quality of materials available at that time which makes the dogs still live on even after 10 years from the date of manufacture. Of course, AIBOs were that costly too but as much it makes all of us happy that Pleo is much more affordable, it is also a matter of concern whether the quality of the materials used to manufacture it are good enough for the years to come even if Innvo is not able to provide support.

3) Some may argue that the 2xx Series of AIBO dogs had major problems like the DHS/PAS/TAS. The last and the most advanced ERS7 also had problems but overall they are considered as design problems and not material quality problems. While in the case of PLEO, owners have faced problems of the skin and so on even if we do not consider the breaking of the neck and others which some may argue as the problems of design.

4) PLEO may be more famous than the I-Cybie but it is not as famous as the AIBO. There are innumerable websites and forums on the internet which try to resolve the issues and have built a community over time which help each other in keeping the AIBOs running. AIBO enthusiasts have started repacking the battery packs as the batteries are not available new any more and will not be available surely after 2013. In PLEO' s case, Bobthepleo is the only forum which has a substantial number of members and PLEO Lovers. It is highly desirable that Bobthepleo keeps growing and becomes strong enough to sustain the lack of support from manufacturers in future.

     I wish that we all Pleo Owners do not have to face all the above mentioned problems in the future but it is not meaningless to think over the above listed problems that may arise. I humbly request all the Bobthepleo members to give their opinion on the above and also list problems that may arise in future and the way to tackle them. Thank you.

Niraj

[mweed]

As to item 1, with the bankruptcy of Ugobe, pleo is now owned by a fairly large company (Jetta).  While there are very few companies of the size of Sony, pleo does have a reasonably large and stable company behind it.  Jetta will be around for a long while.  But like the AIBO, if pleo is not a profitable product line, there is nothing to say it won't be dropped.  Jetta had originally committed to keep pleo around for years to come, but the only way to guarantee pleo's long term survivability is to get more people interested!

As to item 4, we here have an obvious vested interest in keeping these forums going for many years to come.  The good news is these forums have been pre-paid for the next two years . . . so even if we have another giant meteor crash into the planet and plunge us into another ice age, killing off all mankind and bringing back the age of the dinosaurs, they'll be able to see how much we loved them!  We have members here who have also looked into rebuilding battery packs, fixing broken pleos, and keeping our aging pleos working.   We are able to order batteries from companies other than PleoWorld.com,  The biggest problem pleo owners face in keeping pleos going for 10 or more years may be the skin.

[Crewella]

As far as I'm aware, AIBO was a side project for the research and development that went into QRIO so it's hard to compare how cost effective they were to produce.  Pleo, on the other hand, has been developed as and for itself.  I would also argue that the infamous Aibo 210 DHS problems (and PAS and TAS) was caused by the material failure of one part over time, though I agree the overall build quality was excellent.  The early ERS-7s did also have problems with their back legs ......

The common problems with Pleos over time do seem to be the skin and neck cables - I cannot speak for others, but certainly I am very committed to trying to learn how to keep our Pleos going for as long as possible.  



*Glad to hear we're paid up for a couple more years .......  so I won't be out of a job .........*

[kat]

I am hoping to join the ranks of pleo tinkers some time soon (still looking for my little damaged pleostein to tinker on and hopefully bring back to life  )and also hopefully be able to contribute to the learning of how to keep the little guys going.  I think the skin is going to end up being the biggest issue as so far as we are aware no one as yet has found a solution to fixing badly damaged skins or an alternative replacement skin.  But then you never know what may crop up over time.     We have had some fun with painting experiments for those pleos with lots of paint loss.  maybe a skin replacement experiment wont be too far off.  And we do have some lovely clothing options out there to help with the cosmetic look in the meantime. 
The neck and tail cables are also it seems an issue but we do now have a great how to instruction video for fixing neck cables thanks to IMR so looks like we are working on that issue too 

[Talon]

Lol! Pleostein! That's good, Kat! I can't add anything really useful to this thread but I am interested in learning about keeping our little robotic friends around and in good working order.
Talon

[nirajvashi]

Thank you for the responses. Regarding mweed's post about Jetta being a financially strong company, it would be interesting to have a look at their financial statements. I have visited their website but have not spent substantial time to study their financial stability. I will post the details as soon as I find them. It will be great if members can throw some light on it too.

It is also a matter of concern that PLEOs do not have Service Centres as per my information like AIBOs had AIBO clinics. Also, PLEO owners are not able to take Backups of the Soul (Software) of PLEO in case the PLEO Hardware fails which was possible to an extent with AIBO. I have read on the PLEO website that if the PLEO is sent to Innvo, they would take backup and load the same in another body for a price but that does not seem to be a very reliable/bankable option.

Again, all this will concern only the people who consider PLEOs as companions and not just a piece of technology.

Niraj

[nirajvashi]

As I had wrote earlier, I tried to find out Financial Statements of Jetta Company Limited but unfortunately I failed to do so. From the little information available about the company apart from its own website (which also does not have any financial statements), it seems that Jetta is a privately held company. Members from China/Hong Kong and those parts of the world may be in a better position to comment on the legal status of the company. It seems so far that Jetta is not a listed company on any stock exchange.

I will be posting more details if I happen to find some.

It is very important for Pleo lovers who want their Pleos to live long to be aware of the manufacturer and its stability which is necessary for the technical support of the product for the years to come.

Niraj