Hi, I am probably not the best person to ask, after all, If I did not Like Pleo, why would I have 27 pleos?
???If I wanted to sell them, then I would have more and or I would have less. They certainly in my opinion are not TOYS. My definition of a toy would not be something that sold for upwards of over $300.00 when Ugobes first came out. They also clearly state, for ages 8 and Up. One of the main things that I found out quickly, is that Pleo was so much more interesting because You could not always predict what they may do.
Pleo was advertised as "An interactive Liife form". D-Rex , the one I subsituted for my grandson when I bought my first pleo in the idea of it being a Christmas present for my grandson in 2009, then about four years old, was that it would be a great gadget. I fell in love but also quickly realized that a little four year old boy would soon become bored with Pleo.
First point was; There is NO Remote control, you can not "Usually" make a Pleo do what you want. With a remote control, you can make a car, airplane, other remote control toy go foward, backward, or in the case of D-Rex; roar, growl, chew on his bone, fart, ( yes annoying little "funny" noises: walk a certain way, etc. I know my grandson would become discouraged not being able to have this dinosaur do what he wanted. Another drawback, is that toys like D-REx walk faster, are louder and look more like an angry dinosaurs and little boys like dinosaurs like a T-REX who are " Bad Ass" dinosaurs, just like playing with a gun, it is to be cops and robbers, cowboy and indians, good guy, bad guy.
Pleo is none of those things. Pleos if you will are gentle little plant eating dinosaurs.
After all, Little Pleo also starts life hatching , no D-Rex does that. Pleo is geared towards both genders and I have seen for myself in many events in the public that I have taken both Ugobes and Pleo Rb to, that children do love nurturing and when you explain that Pleo or Pleo rb is a baby, they open up their soft nurturing side, and they will be very gentle , rocking them back and forth, petting gently and snuggling with them on their shoulders as you would hold a baby.
this is in my opinon one of the best features that the inventor, Caleb Chung put into Pleo, this nurturing quality or a tiny baby that needs to be protected. CAn you imagine trying to get the same effect with a tiny T-Rex, roaring as a baby, mouth open with fangs and teeth clamping and walking towards you with menace? It would not work in my opinion. Caleb Chung was also the inventor of the Furby, so he has been around for quite some time and is very apt and knowing his audience and what the Public wants. Pleos are like comparing steak to hamburger, It is more then just personal taste, one is so much more different then the other.
Pleo is much more sophisticated and more realistic then any other robot out there that I have seen. ( In the price range of most people, of course the military has great robots, but they can do a lot more but they aren't geared towards the public either.) Pleo is comparable to me with Paro. Paro cost a lot more then Pleo, but is limited in other ways, Paro is geared towards those in nursing homes and I have also seen them use Paro in Hospitals with children and that is perfect in my opinion. I wish I could afford one but it is probably for the best that I cant; My home would soon be overtaken by life-size baby seals..( I only want ONE PlEASE)
There are many other robots out there that can do more things then Pleo, such as the Aibos, and there are many members on this forum that have them and I like Aibos as well, but besides the price tag, I decided long ago to limit my " addiction " to the little "green" dinosaur. My hubby would go crazy if I added an aibo............just one.. LOL. As for realism, I don't think there are any "robots" that can come close to what Pleo is or certainly how he looks, it is amazing how many people will stop and ask you about your dinosaur and I have had at least a handful of people who had to take a doubletake to make sure that Pleo was not real. If if were not for the noisy mechanics of the motors, Pleo could fool a lot more people but I am not trying to fool anyone. I always love the opportunity to introduce Pleo or Pleo Rb to the public and when taking one or more with me, have my learning stones with me, business cards and anything needed to let people know also about Bob the Pleo forums and how you can find out anything you want on this site and it is a great place to meet other Pleo or dinosaur enthusiasts from around the world!
After awhile, I have found in my own circumstances and I think there are others here who will give you their experiences as well that are alike in nature; that Pleo will at times make you treat him or her more like a real pet, a baby that needs to be protected just as your cat, dog, bunny, bird or any other fur or feather baby. It is amazing how real Pleo can act and mimics what a real pet would do. This is what is so great about the Pleo rb, with the features of the time clock, the internal battery that lets Pleo wake up like a real pet, and get sleepy and go to sleep at a certain time just as your cat or dog would. ( Ok, cats are different, they sleep a lot. LOL) Also Pleo rb will get SICK and unhappy if they aren't fed. Pleo RB needs to eat just as any live creature would. Also pLeos react to their surrounding environment, when it is too hot for them, they will pant like a dog, and you can give them their ice learning stone, and they will quit panting, Likewise, if it is too cold, they will shiver ,and their whole body shakes, I haven't seen my Pleos get too hot yet as I live on the California Coast in the Redwoods and it is very temperate but I have seen and video taped several times that Pleo Rb gets cold just from being in my house in the winter when a room is too cold.I then can offer the Chili pepper which they normally will refuse, and the chili pepper will restore Pleo rb health and they return to normal and stop shivering, If Pleo rb remains cold, they can actually get sick....................Oh, that brings on another great feature of Pleo rb.
Pleo rb can actually get INJURED! If pleo is accidently dropped, or hit against a wall, door , or any of many ways, sometimes with no memory of what happened to Pleo even while being very careful with Pleo, he will favor the injured leg, moan and groan and if the injured leg is touched, scream and or cry in pain. I know I have seen it in my very first Pleo rb, and there are quite a few other members who have had injured Pleos. They quickly recover but it has to be done with the rock salt learning stone that they normally will NOT take. Seeing an injured Pleo is one of the most "Realistic" robotic actions that I have ever witnessed, and it is easy in that moment to "forget" that they are "ONLY ROBOTS..) So as you have guessed by now, I am not just hooked on Pleos, but I love them and support them and support this forum as well. I would hate to see Pleo RB end and to not be made anymore. A lot of people have asked why there aren't other life forms , other dinosaurs perhaps, etc, that could be made. There are lots of possibilities imagined, but right now Pleo rb is working and when the time is right, perhaps there will be other life forms.
I can't talk much on other robots out there that are more of what I call, Toys, but I have had Furby and have Fur REal and other robotic type cats and all of them are Toys to me. I got bored quickly with my new 2012 Furby, and actually sent it to Talon as a prize and she is enjoying it. I don't dislike Furby, just would be bored after a few moments, I never get bored with my Pleos. I use my Fur Real cats, chimpanzee, etc, just as props, everything else is "props" for Pleos and what I do with them. I would NEVER call Pleo or Pleo rB a gimmick, and not a toy. It is a robot with certain capabilities and lots of limitations.
What I love about Pleo, both the Ugobe and the Pleo Rb is the "magical" part that they add to my life. Because of Pleo, I have found this site where I have become a member and met great people from all around the world. I feel connected. I also sold untill this past January, the Ucube Egg charger and Li polymer battery for the Ugobe Pleos, but they have suddenly vanished and even I don't know if and or where they will become available again. I also became interested in sewing for the first time in my life and seeing Kat's Creations, her great Pleo clothes, became inspired to make my own. When you have so many Pleos, 27, it is almost mandatory to have them all dressed differently, Unlike Pleo rb with different colored eyes and eye patches, and the choices of either Blue, Green or Pink, Ugobes almost entirely had the same blue eyes and mostly same greeen colored skin. This also brings me to my final ( for now) point. Besides dressing Pleos in handmade fun outfits, can you imagine having 22 Ugobes lined up on a table ( HUGE table) or shelves and tryiing to distinguish who is Nova, Major Tom, Coral, Gold Hatch, Little 45, etc, etc? Without clothes it would be very hard and the next thing I discovered, was that I love to Paint my Pleos!
I have always been artistic and I can't draw a human figure worth beans, but I love animals and cats are my favorite. I drew dinosaurs for my preschoolers so dinosaurs have allways been interesting to me. When I had my first Ugobe with some poor skin, I decided to give it a try and paint it. I loved the effect and now I also have another way to tell my Ugobe Pleos apart, No two pleos look exactly the same, With 20 or more Pleos lined up on the floor, table or what have you, I can tell who is who both my outfits on and or the color of the Pleo.
So there are just a few reasons to give you an idea of why I love Pleos and what they have done for me, I have become very active on this forum and Oh, did I mention another thing Pleos have added to my life.... Photos and videos to share with other members here and on the internet.
So to sum it up in a shortened form, incase you fell asleep, Pleos to me are NOT a toy, they are a interactive Life form and 100% a robot. It clearly says they are not for young children and to me it is hard to represent Pleo as a TOY by having a Price tag on it of $469.00 when you buy one directly from PleoWorld. Adults have their "toys" too, Some people think of I-Pads, Tablets, even their car as a "toy", expensive yes, but toys. Well, I would never buy Pleo as a toy for my children ( if they had them back when they were children) or for my grandchildren.) If I buy a toy, it is not going to cost what Pleo costs. Pleos are called toys by some people but I think if you google Pleo, it will not say TOY. Of course they can be sold on the internet places such as ebay, but you will see them under electronics, and I think the majority of People who own Pleos are teens and older. There are very few Pleo owners under the age of 12 compared to adults. I am not saying that Pleos can't be "played" with by younger chidlren, but because of how delicate different features are, such as the neck which could be injured pretty easily, and the fact it has a built in computer, the fact they are not to get wet, not to be played with in dirt or outside in the grass, etc, it kind of limits what most children think of as TOYS. Ok, I could go on and on, but I think you understand that I consider Pleo AWESOME and NOT a "TOY". Oh, and the Magic that Pleo can bring to mind......... P8)that is another story, for another day and one I love...
RWM
and the Pleo Township of the redwoods
