Gadget Lab Podcast #72: Hard Times for Robots
Posted in: hdtv, iPhone, laptop, Panasonic, recession, Robots, Today's Chili
This week’s Gadget Lab podcast kicks off with a sad note about writer Brian Chen’s drowned iPhone, and his pathetic attempt to resurrect it by sprinkling rice on it. Then we jump right into a discussion of the consumer robotics industry, which is running into some hard times: Ugobe, the company that made the Pleo robot dinosaur, is going out of business. Even iRobot and WowWee have canceled plans for upcoming robot toys, as it appears U.S. consumers just aren’t interested in these expensive gizmos.
After that, we discuss Stanford University’s iPhone development class — it’s available for free through iTunes — and we review a THX-certified plasma TV from Panasonic, as well as a roundup of four inexpensive 15-inch laptops.
This week’s podcast features Danny Dumas, Brian Chen and editorial assistant Maren Jinnett, with audio engineering by Fernando Cardoso.
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