Roboni - I Programmable Gaming Robot

Cool toy, I picked up two of these for my kids for Christmas.Unfortunately , I found out after the fact the reason the price is down and you can get it so cheep, is that the company appears to be out of business. You can't download updates or do any of the online interactive activities it talks about. The web site and support groups are gone, so know what you are getting when you buy this toy.You won't be getting any support from the company, the programs that come with it are just basic ment to give you an intro before you go on-line and download their updates. Sorry those aren't there.Hopefully this review saves you some time and trouble.

Roboni- i was recommended to me by a friend that had purchased one and then a second for her younger son. I bought one for my 12 year old.From unpacking to start up took less than 10 min. I installed the software (running on Vista) and went through the normal process. We are all technology junkies in my household, so this is so down our alley. The robot immediately caught our attention, he (the robot, my son named him) was immediately running around the house - on its own as well, if you ignore the chap. Leaving the base station switched on also gives him a new character! We did buy the recommended re-chargable batteries, and I suggest getting good ones, this robot eats power. The first night Roboni- i took the test for over 1 hour and 38 minutes before I had to remove him. My son is inquisitive and a natural problem solver, and has sat working with Roboni-i everyday since. We are getting into the programming aspects of the robot -so cool and user-friendly. Have been able to programme variety of robot responses so far - I personally like his "shiver" a happy movement! It's not the noise of the robot that bothers me, but my son constantly calling me to come see what Roboni- i can do. He loves it! The down side is that my younger son wants one too. My older son has now taken it round to friends trying to get them to buy one so that he has competition. Well let's hope.I really like the repeat play experience. There are some seven games included allowing my kid to play on his own for now - Colors - simply gathering specific colors as illustrate on the remote controller and depositing them at a loading dock in limited time. Good for coordination and memory development. Space Pods game allows multiplayer gaming which can be played according to the rules or your own. There are no rules printed, you have to access the software to get ti the tutorials. At the moment we play against time in like a soccer game fashion. For the price, computer learning experience and fun aspect it has hours, days and months of use ahead. We have only scratched the tip of the ice-berg, and so much more to learn. This robot truly has an extended life ahead. When I considered the price, it was in line with gaming prices for things such as Wii and PSP, in fact cheaper once you start adding all the game cards required for these games from time to time. Roboni-i is really a whole lot of stuff in one - a RC toy combined with lots of repeat play games and exposure to programming by plugging it into your PC. Can't wait for online world to go live as well.I strongly recommend the following:1. Purchase the highest quality rechargable batteries (expensive, but much cheaper in the long run.)2. Read up on Roboni i. Check out the video clips and media material online. This will give you a good insight.Strenghts:1. Lots of variety and clearly sustainable interest potential2. So much value in computer learning experience and accessories3. As far as robotic toys go, if one may refer to Roboni i as a toy, it stands in a class of it's own based on the super software and gameing diversityWeaknesses:1. Definitely adds to the fun if a friend has one. I guess as this robot gains more exposure more children will have one, making the interactive experience so much better. It strikes me as having one of the first few cell phones around. Difficult to phone people who did not have one.2. Eats batteries.3. Noisy if you do not turn the volume down (in the Command Center).I recommended it for the inquisitive, and active mind with imagination.

I bought it as a gift for my nephew. Way too difficult to figure out. A waste of money in my opinion.

This was a good buy for a couple of Robonis at $60 per unit, obviously a fire sale.The makers of these gadgets appear to be out of business which means that it's not possible to get any updates or to participate in any online activities. This is the bad news. The not so bad news is that the robots are quite excellent and, if you get yourself a pair, you can make a couple of pre-teen to early-teen kids happy, intellectually stimulated and occupied.I am not going to be over-long reviewing a discontinued product given that the Amazon page has a lot of details so I am only going to highlight what I believe it's worth knowing before making a buying decision.- As far a 'toy' robotic hardware, these ones are tops. Their technology is surprisingly advanced. They come with lots of sensors, they move very well, are easy to control and can talk to each other.- It is possible to develop your own games and they can be fun if you have A PAIR of these to play with.- If you consider buying one of these, consider buying ONE DOZEN rechargeable AA batteries and a charger for EACH of the robots you buy or you will be spending a lot of money on batteries (not included).- Like I said already, the company appears to be gone. THERE IS NO SUPPORT whatsoever beyond maybe returning a defective unit. I doubt that anyone is going to honor any warranties.- As robots go today, these can be A LOT of fun and, when the out-of-the-box fun wears off you can work on making your own. My kids, for example, are programming them to battle each other, without much human control.With the above in mind, and knowing what I know now, I would still buy a pair if the price somewhere around $60-70. The 3 star (it's Okay) mean that I'm not unhappy with the purchase but that I'd be a lot happier if this was a supported product.