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Violet starts shipping Nano:ztags in the US
Like the Rolly, it's hard to say exactly why having an RFID-enabled Nano:ztag in your life will make sleeping, eating and breathing each day any easier. In fact, the jury's still out on whether these things are simply novel or primed to take over where the Tamagotchi left off. Starting now, Violet is offering a rainbow's worth of its micro Rabbit devices here in the US, with prices ranging from $6.90 to $12.90 depending on color. Now, if only you could figure out how to integrate RFID into your life, you'd be set.
Violet brings Mir:ror to the States, let the RFID superfluity begin!
While initially enthused at the prospect of RFID tagging our objects for swipability by a home-based RFID reader -- like Violet's new Mir:ror -- we eventually came the realization that we would never use it for anything, ever. Still, perhaps that's just us: Mir:or, which retails for $59, packs two Nano:ztags (the little bunnies with a tag inside) and three Ztamp:s (adhesive tags), allowing you to specify computer functions to trigger when the Mir:ror is approached by one of those RFID tags. A classic usage scenario involves placing your keys on the Mir:ror, with the device letting your computer know if your keys are resting there or not -- something potentially achieved by looking at the Mir:ror itself, if you're into spoilers, but hopefully hackers can put this to better use. Violet also offers tagged children's books, and a set of 12 extra Ztamp:s, for $8 and $20, respectively. Demo video is after the break.
Video: Nabaztag reads bedtime stories better than daddy
The Nabaztag WiFi rabbit learned a new trick at CeBIT: reading RFID tagged children's books. Violet already loosed a book in France at Christmas and now plans to launch its first English language book in the UK within the month. Right, that's one less parental responsibility for you. It's also cooking up "ztamps" which are RFID stickers you can attach to anything you like. When each unique sticker is held to Nabaztag's nose, it responds with a predefined action like playing music, sending an email, reading off the latest headlines, etc. Really, it's not as crazy as it sounds. Check the video after the break -- now that they've fixed last year's service issues caused to overwhelming demand, parents might want to give this critter a second look.
