The AP no likey the Sony Rolly

We've always been skeptical of Rolly's purpose, but Associated Press business writer Rachel Metz isn't pulling any punches when it comes to reviewing Sony's MP3-playing dance-bot. She calls it a mere conversation-starter "if your dancing hamster has run off", notes that the $400 toy lacks a headphone jack, and scoffs at the 2GB of storage. She also offers that while she gets the notion of the Rolly as a programmable bot with its "Rolly Choreography" software, she had a hard time justifying the time it took to just get through one song (30 minutes of tweaking for 20 seconds of bot action). We're not about to defend the Rolly's place in life, but let's be fair: Rolly isn't meant to solve problems: it's meant to confuse AP writers, scare cats, and get hacked to all oblivion.

[Via BoingBoing]

[iEye @ May 30th 2008 9:26AM]

Does it sync with iTunes?

FAIL!

[Pochi @ May 30th 2008 9:48AM]

You use iTunes?

Also fail.

[Dom @ May 30th 2008 10:06AM]

If Apple had made this product, the title would be "Apple amazes again with groundbreaking technology" or something similar.

[Brian @ May 30th 2008 10:25AM]

@Dom - So true, so true...

[CraigJ @ May 30th 2008 11:01AM]

Dude, knock it off. If that was sarcasm on your part it was lame, if you meant it it was lamer. Personally I like iTunes and I've been using it since 2003, but it's not everyones choice. I also really like my Apple products but comments like this that give the impression of arrogant smugness that just isn't needed.

[oz0ne @ May 30th 2008 11:21AM]

Remember guys, this IS the person who had this to say yesterday, without a trace of sarcasm:

"iPhone, its all you need...
Buy Apple iPhone
Obey!"

So... Troll much, dude?

[chezzo @ May 30th 2008 1:17PM]

I am neither an Apple lover or hater, I just use iTunes and find it fine for what I need it for, but accept that there are just as good or better alternatives out there (along with much worse ones). I'm not a huge fan of DRM, but I usually don't buy from iTunes Store anyway, and when I do I go for iTunes Plus.
Why get so angry about music library software?
*prepares to be flamed*

[Pochi @ May 30th 2008 3:04PM]

@chezzo

"...but accept that there are just as good or better alternatives out there."

So, why don't you use a "better" one?

[derspiess42 @ May 30th 2008 9:29AM]

Duh.

[roflercopterer @ May 30th 2008 10:33AM]

"Duh."

QFT

[NineT9 @ May 30th 2008 2:15PM]

ha, your simlpe 'duh' comment says so much :D

The Rolly... Its a product youll know you want before you buy it.

If you dont want it...because you dont see the point in spending $400 on a silly jukebox with 2gb of memory for a simple laugh with friends, your not going to buy it

If you do want it... its because you dont mind spending $400 on a good laugh with some friends, knowing the storage is small. You know youll like it cuz its cute, or for whatever reason you have

silly ppl

it comes down to this, you like it or dont. simple. if u dont, then move along, nothing to see here, if u do, then sweet, take it have fun, enjoy

[ReggieXuk @ May 30th 2008 9:30AM]

It should be programmed to gather information while merely looking like a stupid dancing robot.

[giuliop @ May 30th 2008 9:32AM]

Nope, it's meant to reinforce the impression of Sony's dual personality: great products and potential on one side, clueless crap on the other.

[Mile @ May 30th 2008 9:42AM]

Why is there a pic of a vacuum cleaner on this post?

[Tony @ May 30th 2008 2:51PM]

Did anyone else have to scroll up to check after reading this comment?

[Josh L @ May 30th 2008 10:01AM]

I can't remember the last time I cared what the AP thought of... Well, anything.

Probably because I've never cared. Hrrrm.

[crazypenguin @ May 30th 2008 10:02AM]

i was really interested in this thing, but the prolem was that i can't use it, since i have a mac. once again SONY screws me over because i haven't given into MICROSOFT. i use a ps3 because 1. i trust sony 2. i hate microsoft (not really fanboyism, more like anti-product that always scews me over)

[Rob @ May 30th 2008 10:13AM]

Sounds like a reason to thank Apple and Sony for saving you from throwing away your money... If you really really want to throw away money, buy a new PC so you can use one of these. There's always an option.

[roach @ May 30th 2008 10:13AM]

do you still have your mini-disc player and all those discs you bought?

[Jason Smith @ May 30th 2008 10:22AM]

When you choose a platform that is strongly in the minority, you can't expect niche products to cater to you. Sony is unlikely to sell enough of these to turn a profit in the first place, spending more time/money to increase their potential audience by a few percentage points doesn't make sense.

That's like Zune/Archos/Zen users complaining about not having the same support as the iPod (docks, cases, integration support, etc). You get to pick what you prefer using, but you have to suck it up and take the negatives too.

[phoomp @ May 30th 2008 10:25AM]

I've been screwed over by Apple more than by Microsoft.

[ayan4m1 @ May 30th 2008 7:14PM]

You said "once again SONY screws me over," but also that you have a PS3 because you trust them?! Pick a position...

And screw that in any case. I don't think anyone buys a Mac expecting it to work with... well, anything, really.

[chefgon_ign @ May 30th 2008 10:02AM]

This would be a pretty cool novelty for $20. But for the same price as a low-end laptop? Who are they kidding?

[EssSay @ May 30th 2008 10:04AM]

Jeremy Clarkson (TV Personality) wrote a genius review of the Rolly in last Saturdays issue of The Sun (British News Paper) he described it as "a white egg which rolls around the table playing what my daughter refers to as 'music'."

See if you guys can find it online or something, its pure genius, he shares his views on this along with his iPhone, and then voices that all devices designed to make our life easier, are actuall making it worse!

Clarkson for prime minister!

[thatkidmattt @ May 30th 2008 10:29AM]

And he knows a thing or two about cars...

Imagine that, someone that says they know something about something - and they actually do. Engadget posters could do well to take a lesson.

Just don't take lessons from Clarkson about dental care.

[Mohsin @ May 30th 2008 10:54AM]

Here you go found the article:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/clarkson/article652539.ece

[CraigJ @ May 30th 2008 11:32AM]

I like watching Top Gear, but I 'd have to say that article is one huge troll post. Some examples:

GPS doesn't send 42-ton trucks into ornamental ponds, idiot drivers do. Hows the GPS to know it's inside a 52 ton truck and not a SmartCar?

The iPhone connects to the interweb just fine.

And I gave myself an ice cold enema the other day trying to use a computerised bog - I have no idea what the hell this means.

The bottom line from my point of view is that idiots are idiots, and technology can only go so far to make up for genetic deficiencies...

If you are driving a truck for a living and you follow the GPS into a pond, perhaps you should seek employment as a custodial engineer, and if you can't properly use an iPhone, perhaps a phone with a rotary dial connected to the wall with a wire would be a better choice for you.

[EssSay @ May 30th 2008 11:36AM]

Thats the column, comedy genius, notable points:

Blueteeth, Connecting via air, and interweb on his iPhone.

Lets be honest, he would do a better job than Gordon Brown or George Bush!

[chezzo @ May 30th 2008 1:22PM]

@ CraigJ
"bog" is slang for toilet

[Wwhat @ May 30th 2008 8:16PM]

Only an american would be daft enough to let clarkson run anything.

[OtherReader @ May 30th 2008 10:05AM]

It is useless, but still a pretty cool, if not very expensive, little robot.

[JET @ May 30th 2008 10:10AM]

Wow, they really didn't get it, did they? It is a PROGRAMMABLE ROBOT, not a freakin' iPod. They wrote a review of a programmable robot after spending less than half an hour programming it? They mentioned the ability to download choreographed routines from other users but didn't try it? I swear I have never used this phrase in my entire life, but AP = EPIC FAIL!

JET

[thethirdmoose @ May 30th 2008 10:22AM]

You just lost your epic virginity.q

[gt2378b @ May 30th 2008 2:50PM]

Doofus it is a $400 TOY not a PROGRAMMABLE ROBOT.

Well I guess it's both. But don't act like it's got some awesome hidden power the lady missed out on.

[Eric @ May 30th 2008 8:13PM]

@GT

It sucks $400 from the buyer's wallet. That's pretty impressive to me.

[CosterMonger @ May 30th 2008 10:13AM]

they canned Aibo for this

sony R&D: "what robots do people like?"
sony PR: "R2D2"
sony R&D: "OK, we'll make a robot the cost of a PS3"
sony PR: "could you also make it dance, and roll around, because people like to dance, and kid like to roll around"
sony R&D: "OK, that's going to eat most of the budget up, is that OK?"
sony PR: "sure"
---
sony R&D: "OK team, I need something that looks like a garbage can and rolls around and dances"

a very similar project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaOGcrtUrxU

We need robots for two purposes: to vacuum and to get us drinks from the fridge, if you can make one do both: then you're set.

[bolezhinkov @ May 30th 2008 11:42AM]

women arent robots!!!!

[CosterMonger @ May 30th 2008 5:40PM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-hXcdOO3ks

[RyanTV @ May 30th 2008 10:56AM]

"it's meant to confuse AP writers, scare cats, and get hacked to all oblivion."

and make you completely gay in the process.

[greatslack @ May 30th 2008 11:49AM]

It's so cute, how can you pick on it? Seriously though, the price is way too high. I'll pick one of these up when they hit the clearance aisle.

[nathan.wong @ May 30th 2008 1:06PM]

I saw this at the Sony store and to tell you the truth it's a lot smaller than I had anticipated (about as big (maybe a little bigger) as a styrofome coffee cup) and had me saying to myself, "uh...so. What's the big deal?"

[DssTrainer @ May 30th 2008 1:19PM]

$400?! Sony's charging that much for this little thing? I thought it was just another stupid $20 kid toy that nobody would buy... now it just went down a few pegs.

[ash @ May 30th 2008 1:46PM]

I gotta say, an associate at the Sony Store demoed this for me and it was a lot cooler than I had originally thought. It was smaller too. The speakers were loud and sounded not too shabby. For $400 though, the only way I, or any reasonable person would get it, would be some sort of birthday/graduation gift.

[BlowURmindBowel @ May 30th 2008 1:49PM]

When I first saw the video of this thing actually dancing, I was all over it. I wanted one bad just for the sheer WTF avant garde pesudo-artishness of it.

But $400? No thanks, I'm still saving for a PS3 so by the time I buy one of those this little think will be less than a footnote in the recent history of pointless robotics...

BTW Why must everything be a goddamn PC/Mac argument? They both suck! If you touch my Amiga I will dig out your spleen with a rusty spoon!

[gt2378b @ May 30th 2008 2:25PM]

AP is culturally insensitive!

Rolly is the perfect gift for the Ganguro who has everything!

[michas_pi @ May 30th 2008 3:48PM]

What the hell does this thing do again?

[fumoffu @ May 30th 2008 7:46PM]

As Usual.. its always negative when it comes to the rolly..
BTW.. you guys should take note that this is not just an mp3 player..
It includes "Rolly Choreograhy" software which will enable the user to PROGRAM the Rolly to dance the way you want it..
Rolly is not just an mp3 player...
This is for people with above knowledge understanding its purpose...

so for readers here that doesnt know how to use Drag&Drop, install a software, pair a bluetooth device and read help files and manuals.. better not to buy this thing.. we hate people calling us returning and complaining this masterpiece because they are simply S2pid and doesnt know what they are doing ...LoL

[Will @ May 31st 2008 5:35PM]

So it's an incredibly boring MP3 player?

[Cassini @ Jun 4th 2008 5:23AM]

So someone didn't like the Rolly. Real shocker. In less than a few months, no one will care about or remember this thing.

[giuliop @ Jun 9th 2008 12:27PM]

Nope, it's meant to reinforce the impression of Sony's dual personality: great products and potential on one side, clueless crap on the other.