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Energized Bunny: Nabaztag with wi-fi connection

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  • Energized Bunny: Nabaztag with wi-fi connection

    TIME
    June 5 2005

    Energized Bunny
    Can a new computer gadget pull the rabbit out of the hat for wi-fi?

    By GRANT ROSENBERG

    Sunday, Jun. 05, 2005

    What's the 21st century's pet rock? A jumbo Tamagotchi pet? Nah.
    French tech company Violet (www.violet.net) has created Nabaztag, a
    plastic, 23-cm-tall (with ears up) white rabbit with a constant wi-fi
    connection. The device provides access to other Internet users and
    vital daily information like traffic reports and the weather.

    Programmed by its owner, Nabaztag (rabbit in Armenian) relays the
    information in a slightly cartoonish female voice, and flashes
    colored lights on her tummy when new e-mails arrive. The wi-fi
    rabbit, which also plays MP3s and MIDI files and dances a jig, flags
    these quotidian needs in order to reduce time spent in front of the
    computer.

    "Nabaztag is a way to stay connected without burnout," explains
    Violet co-founder Olivier Mével. Its creators wanted a noncomputer
    form for their invention, and a bunny fit the bill. "We wanted
    something that was cute, modest and not intimidating,"says Mével.
    Retailing for $120, Nabaztag is scheduled for launch in France at the
    end of June, and the firm is planning for a global release next year.


    Will the rabbit catch on? The folks at Violet know whose foot to rub.

    http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901050613-1067924,00.html

    --Boundary_(ID_GcCsDTWDSJVuW5LRXxIIxQ)--
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