Hasta La Gadget!

The last time Steve Jobs got on an earnings call, it was to reassure investors that he was in good health. So what made him spend an hour taking questions today? Here’s what Jobs said, and what it means. More »

Steve Jobs unexpectedly dials in to Apple’s earnings call, discrediting the size and usability of 7-inch tablets set to arrive from iPad competitors.

Originally posted at Circuit Breaker

Pleo, the lovable, green robotic dinosaur, is getting a second lease on life. After going through a bankruptcy that nearly killed it, the dinosaur is set to be reborn with a new skin and upgraded features.

The revamped Pleo will be called Pleo RB and will come in new colors such as purple and blue with slight variations across all models.

“We’re going to change color on the production line and eye color, so two Pleos coming off the line at the same time will look different,” Derek Dotson, CEO of Innvo Labs told the BobThePleo forum.

Each Pleo will now be seeded with a “personality” on the assembly line so off the shelf some Pleos will learn faster, while others get happier faster, says Dotson.

“It will be not only how you treat it that will affect it’s personality, but it is actually born with certain characteristics,” he says.

The new Pleos will have a battery life of up to two hours and an RFID-based “sense of smell.”

Pleo’s comeback will be mark a new chapter in the robotic dinosaur’s rocky history. Pleo launched in January 2007 for about $350. It’s range of motion and ability to respond to human interaction made it a favorite among robot and toy enthusiasts. In two years, Pleo maker Ugobe sold about 100,000 Pleos.

But in April last year, Ugobe filed for liquidation. While that signaled the end for the road for Pleo, a Hong Kong-based company Jetta stepped in to buy the intellectual property rights and other assets for the Pleo. Jetta spun out a company called Innvo Labs, which is now in charge of the Pleo.

The new Pleos are expected to be available later this month but there’s still no word on how much they will cost. It is also not clear if Pleo RB will be sold in the U.S. as Dotson says so far they have tied up distribution for the Asia market only.

Check out the video to see what the reborn Pleo looks like:

See Also:

• Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Maker Goes Bankrupt
• Pleo Robotic Dinosaur Attempts a Comeback
• Dinosaur Abuse: Pleo Tortured on Video
• Ugobe Dinosaurs Battle for Survival
• Dinosaur Abuse: Pleo Tortured on Video

Photo: Pleo (Steve Rhodes/Flickr)

There are plenty of things to worry about in this modern world–disease, natural disasters, a crumpling economy, bed bugs. It’s hard to imagine that the inability to try on bowties is toward the top of anybody’s list. If, however, you’re among a select group truly concerned with iconoclastic neck wear, then boy have we got the iPhone app for you.

OoOTie has a brand new app for the iPhone and Android OSes that lets users try on a variety of bowtie styles in the setting of your choice. Just select a tie and hold it up to your neck.

Says the company, “For an interactive experience, ask your friend, your bartender, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your mom/dad, or even a total stranger what they think. Don’t be offended if they don’t answer right away. The first glimpse of an OoOTie has been known to render people speechless.”

The app is a free download. The bowties start at $15. There’s also an iPad version of the app–can a version for dickies be too far behind?

In Apple’s earnings call Monday, CEO Steve Jobs derided some upcoming tablets for their lack of size.

Presumably referring to Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Tab and Research In Motion’s PlayBook — two 7-inch tablets hitting stores soon — Jobs said these devices were too small for a pleasant touchscreen experience.

“7-inch tablets are tweeners: too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad,” said Jobs, adding that competing manufacturers were struggling to meet the price point of the iPad, which starts at $500. Both Samsung and RIM have not announced pricing on their tablets.

“These are among the reasons that the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA — dead on arrival,” Jobs said during the earnings call.

With his aggressive statements, Jobs is clearly attempting to mark the tablet space as Apple’s territory. For several years, scores of tablet PCs have come and gone after failing to fulfill more than a niche. Though the iPad is not the first tablet to hit the market, it’s the first slate-based computer to succeed as a mainstream, general-purpose device.

The iPad has its numbers to back it: During its earnings call, Apple said it shipped 4.2 million iPads during the fourth fiscal quarter. At this selling rate, Bernstein Research noted that iPad adoption rates are the fastest in electronics product history.

Jobs’ comments on 7-inch tablets pour cold water on rumors claiming that Apple was preparing to release a 7-inch iPad to compete with rivals. In response to the rumor, Apple watcher Jim Dalrymple explained that Apple had already made a 7-inch iPad at the same time as its available 9.7-inch model, and opted for the latter.

“Why did Apple choose to go with the larger model instead?” Dalrymple wrote. “Only Steve Jobs knows that for sure.”

Jobs appears to have answered that question during Monday’s earnings call. But take his word with a grain of salt — Jobs has been known to denigrate a product category, only to unveil a similar product later.

See Also:

• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• LG Cancels Plans for Android Tablet by Year-End
• iPad Could See 50 Tablet Rivals This Year
• Attack of the Pads: Tablets Take On Apple

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com