Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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91 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I really wanted to like it, March 20, 2006
Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars
I wanted a robotic pet for our busy family, so I bought the original RoboSapien when it first came out. Though we had a lot of fun with it, it lacked autonomy (the ability to do things on its own). Robopet promised that, so I bought that next for my family. It looked promising!
At first, it was immensely fun. It seemed to deliver on its promises. It could roll over, sit up and beg, and scampered about as it explored its environment without running into anything. However, I was disappointed with the fact that it had trouble on a threshhold (the raised part where one floor type changes to another floor type), and could easily get itself stuck in a corner with only one or two obsticals. Oddly, uneven and soft surfaces posed a great challenge; one would assume that a walking robot with four legs ought to be able to walk on anything, but robopet needed a hard, flat surface. Also, I questioned the durability of this 'bot.
Now, I'm not sure if it's something that happened when it fell 6" to the floor after backing away from a wall, or if it was a defect, but mine started locking up whenever I used it in edge detection mode. Nothing takes the fun out faster than when this 'bot freezes in some odd pose and becomes completely unresponsive until it's reset; this after only a couple of minutes of play.
I did some research on my problem, and discovered other durability and quality issues. Apparently, the gears inside are made out of cheap plastic and are prone to stripping. The legs aren't very strong at all and they are also prone to breaking. This wouldn't be that big of a deal if spare parts were readily available, cheap, and easy to replace, but this is not the case.
I'm sorry, but a robotic pet needs to be reasonably durable. If it walks, then it needs to be able to walk on grass, carpet, gravel...and finally, it ought to be able to tell you when it's "Hungry" (low battery power) at the very least. If you want to get into the world of robotics, I suggest one of the many good kits, and if you're in the market for a cheap robotic pet, wait a little longer. Robopet does come close, but we're not quite there yet.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a great toy!, March 17, 2006
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
This does everything it's supposed to--lots of cool tricks, no trouble walking on carpets or hard floors, etc. It's not too noisy (just noisy enough to entertain kids), and the programming is very clever. My 10 year old has the patience to read the directions; my 6 year old just pushes buttons and enjoys himself. My kids think it's "awesome!" I'm glad the price was reduced, but it's definitely worth $70 (including shipping).
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Fun Than the 1st generation RoboSapien , December 31, 2005
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
Grandpa got another robot for our boys. Well this time they had played with it longer and had more fun than with the RoboSapien they got last time. I guess the RoboSapien was still a bit too complex for them and they just liked the demo mode. But this RoboPet is truly fun to play with. BTW even my wife's Grandma loved it soo much she ordered one as she can not have a pet at the place she lives now. You might find this would work as social robot for elderly as well. One thought about the price, I would wait until the price drops at or below $50. The current price now is too much for what it is IMHO.
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