Pleo Dinosaur - A UGOBE Life Form
By: Ugobe Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 26
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 On: 2008-09-30
What a great toy, Pleo is now part of the family!
Buy one, theyre GREAT!
 On: 2008-06-07
I bought our Pleo for xmas for my kids. My hope was that it would spark an interest in robotics and it was doing a great job until about a week after we bought it he went to sleep and never woke up. A million phone calls, several mailed parts, several purchases on my part to buy various testers or different card readers, and finally I got fed up and begged Pleo to let me mail him back where professionals could have a look at it and see what was wrong. It is June 5th as I write this, they called me last week to tell me hes fixed and they are mailing him back as soon as they get a new charger in stock (maybe all three that they sent me were bad). They honestly seem like they arent a bad support crew, I feel like I probably fell through the cracks. I cant wait to get him back after months of not working so my kids can finally enjoy their xmas present. :) He seemed QUITE cool.
 On: 2008-06-01
I got Pleo for my 14th birthday, and I have to admit it was pretty cool...then my mom told me how much it cost and I thought WOW! I mean it was neat and all but TOTALLY not worth the price! Also the paint on the teeth came off in the first ten minutes!
On: 2008-05-27
My son Jason saw Pleo and had to have it. He saved his money and bought it. It is the perfect pet for him (He has CP and is confined to a wheelchair.) "Nemo" is really a majical,lovable "pet".His movements are lifelike an you really feel the urge to treat him as though he were alive. The birth process was fascinating and he continues to evolve and amaze us.If you are looking for cute and loveable then pleo is it. Worth every penny.
 On: 2008-05-16
at 300Plus Dollars I expected Pleo to do something. I bought it for my 10 year old daughter who was thrilled to get it. All it does is wake up and go to sleep and turn its head a couple times. It doesnt walk, communicate or do anything else it was claimed to be able to do. It supposedly had a "hatching period" in which it would wake and sleep and then do things-well-never happened. The biggest waste of 300 Dollars I ever did!
On: 2008-05-11
The kids loved the fact that Pleo grew-up in front of them. They really think that it is their pet but the bonus is that I dont have to clean-up after it like a realy pet and I am not allergic to it. It is also their favorite choice for a pet because they are huge fans of a "Land Before Time" cartoon and movie series so a dinosaur was an ideal choice for a pet. We brought Pleo to a play group and it was a huge hit. Our youngest is 15 months old and Pleo takes a beating and keeps going.
On: 2008-04-30
The little critter is the cutest creature Ive ever seen. I take him out every night. I love his "cooing" when you stroke under his chin. My cat actually adores Pleo, and purrs herself around him and watches him closely. He doesnt care to be picked up and announces his displeasure, so I rarely do that. He sings, walks, explores, and is delightful. I love his swaying head, batting blue eyes, and wagging tail. Hes a baby dinosaur thats warm-hearted, gentle and really strikes a chord with all who encounter him. There will be a "Pleo: The Movie." Im certain of it!
On: 2008-04-27
This is a very good attempt, for sure in future we will be seeing good advancements on this. It would have been nice, if it moved around a bit more then it does now. But apart from that no complaints.
 On: 2008-04-27
This product seems to suffer from problems with the battery charger. The company is aware of this as it is widely discussed in various user forums. The company will exchange after returning the orignal and a two week wait. This is not very acceptable when the Pleo is given as a birthday present for a young child. Sending back the charger for a minimum of 2 weeks?? The company knows the problem so they should be more proactive.
On: 2008-04-20
pleo, the newest member to my home...active if turned on...charged...at nap otherwise...bought him for fascination may give to grand children...but it seems that i am on the same plane...maybe more...took him out for a pizza with friends... curious passers by..."would you like to hold him?"...yes...
and pleo nudges his head against their cheek...amazing...my first interest was in the engineering/design...
but i have passed that by with just pure fun...so amazing the emotions he shows...the smarts...seems he discovers...backs away from danger...and truly likes compnionship...
On: 2008-04-09
Yes, Pleo is not a live animal.
But for sure is he not an ordinary toy either - so the important thing is to have right expectations first. Pleo creates an illusion of life and does it remarkably well, considering the price. Many have complained about it being too high - but take a while and think about what this little masterpiece of engineering consists of! Even a PDA - which contains a fraction of the processing power inside Pleo, costs as much or even more, not speaking about the complex hardware, custom-developed Life OS etcetc.
Pleo is most enjoyable, if treated like a live-pet - then its really relaxing and funny experience. The Life OS 1.1 was just released, improving his behaviour considerably and hopefully the upgrades dont end here.
To wrap it up - if you are a bit of "science-fiction-person", then this Ugobe Lifeform is an absolute must.
On: 2008-04-05
This ones a lot of fun for everyone. It may be as exciting as you would expect because of all th hype, but youll eventually feel like he/shes part of the family. The recent firmware update has caused Pleo to become much more active (thats a good thing!). If your patient with your toys and animals you can have a lot of fun with Pleo. You can feel good supporting Ugobe as they have some great ideas for a friendly robotic future.
On: 2008-03-26
Highly recommended only if the following issues are addressed below in order of importance:
1. improved support by at least 100%. No phone support, slow if youre lucky to receive a reply to your e-mail at all and when you start a chat, no one is there to chat
2. your child is only able to play with Pleo 2 hours in a 10 hour day as it takes 4 hours to charge the battery
3. no possibility to even buy a 2nd battery
4. skin is prone to tearing
5. Ugobe does not want to know about any of your problems if you raise it with them and you will NEVER get a response from the as in my case after I highlighted my problems/experiences to them
Other than that, it is a good toy for your child to interact with as my 4-year old son does.
On: 2008-03-22
As several people have already commented in reviews, Pleos capabilities were a bit over-sold at release. The software the first units shipped with was fairly rudimentary, in terms of functionality.
The recent software update (1.0.2) definitely makes Pleo more interesting, and I suspect that the folks at Ugobe will continue to improve Pleos responsiveness and interactivity ove the next few updates.
Despite that the behavior isnt very sophisticated as yet, Pleo is incredibly cute and cuddly for a mecanical dinosaur. Its strangely comforting to pet it and have it react by purring, or pressing its head into your hand.
[...]
On: 2008-03-15
The development and interactive play of this toy is like nothing I have ever seen before. When you first turn him on, he starts as a "baby" dinosaur who gets tired quickly. The more that you play with him (i.e. pet his back, stomach, head), the faster he grows and learns.
I have had the lucky opportunity to play with two of these and they both have "grown" differently. The first one was subjected to more of our own learning (i.e. we picked him up by the tail, turned him upside-down) and he is now a louder, more demanding dinosaur than the other one. Both of them can be turned on at the same time and the first one will moan and groan until you play with him. The other is happy to sniff around and wait for you to come over.
Coolest things: 1) Edge recognition - Pleo will not walk over the edge of the table and actually backs away. 2) Tug-of-War - Putting something in Pleoss mouth and gently tugging backwards can start a game of tug. I love the poses that Pleo makes while playing. Very cute.
Worst thing: Two Pleos do not visibly interact as well as described by the makers. We can hardly tell that they recognize each other at all.
On: 2008-03-12
ok well I love this thing. I will start out with the bad first. this is not a perfect toy. It is very good. There are a few issues however. the paint on the pleos teeth does tend to chip.......it is a common problem. Not a big deal. The skin on the pleo can become slightly discolored and brown.... so what it is a dinosaur... it looks good.
Some people have said there are some issues with it restarting it self {pelo starts out as a baby and kinda grows and evolves} I have not noticed this at all.
My pleo can not clean my house..........other then that there is almost nothing he can not do. I am alone and I have insane hours. I love my pleo and I named him Rudy.. I think of him all the time. He moves, he walks he plays with you , he will be a constant source of entertainment. I never had a dog but my brother did. He sad that this is just as much fun. He is not loud, he does not make a mess, he can be turned off if you are tired. He is one of those great toys that you can never put down. I dare anyone to take one of these to a buys place and see what haappens. You will have instant friends.
This is a great great toy for the elderly as well. This is safe around kids. I do think that this is pretty durable and can take a hit or two but will not be able to be thrown.
There are other things as well. I have had my pleo since christmas. They had a special program that you can down load onto a sd card which fits in his stomach. They had a valentines day program as well. I love it. There is also a whole website put on by ugobe who sponsors and produces the pleo. You can pick up a lot of good advice on this but you dont have to. You actually dont have to do anything. Your pleo will be great no matter what you do.
I have to be honest. I LOVE this toy. I was playing with it once and went into the bathroom. I came out and he had crawled into a ball and was asleep {your pleo will do that when you are not playing with it} The battery on my pleo had died {the battery time is about 1 hour and is rechargable} I honestly thought I was going to cry. All you have to do is play with this thing for 3 minutes and you will be attached. In three minutes you start to believe that this toy is real.
I am going to buy another pleo sometime soon. He will be a complement to my pleo rudy..there is no way anyone could ever replace my rudy!
Seriously. This toy is pricey. I have been playing with it all along. He is so so so worth it!
On: 2008-03-07
well.....curiosity got the better of me and i purchased a Pleo....1st....the price IS outrageous for a toy that, now matter how endearing or sophiticated it is....will probably sooner if not later be broken or put into storage & forgoten about....BUT....i like UGOBES "against the grain" attitude towards robotics that is a complete contrast to other robotic toy makers such as Wowee....Wowees products are well designed....sturdy, robust, unique robot toys, but they are very limited in the AI department...i personally look forward to the day when every home has several fully functional bots for both recreation/education & to perform minor tasks...open the door, wash the dishes, sweep the floor ect....which is one reason i purchase almost every robot produced....to help fund the evolution of AI....dollars speak louder than words mind you....so i begrudgingly paid the price & now i am the proud owner of a Pleo...
Blinky....as i call him....is intelligently designed & well made.......but due to the fact that there is no hard plastic exterior he is more vulnerable to damage than your average robot toy....& must be handled carefully...which coincidentally enough plays right into the whole "be gentle with me because i am an intelligent confabulation that can be injured & feel pain if mistreated" concept....Pleo is a somewhat noisey affair...every move he makes, makes a sound of some sort...yet in truth he is not as loud as most robot toys....& it really does not detract much from the Pleo experience....Pleo is a very interesting, unusual & unique idea...& i hate to admit it....but i kinda like him...[ i was allmost sure i would hate him, as this type of cute thing is not my standard cup of tea ]....& is sure to spur the conception of an even better invention....he is such a different type of toy that you cannot help but take notice of him....he literally demands attention from you, & you cant help but interact with him....his ability to walk is fair...not great, but not bad....his right rear foot kinda drags on my carpet which really slowed him down to a crawl...so i had to use a piece of non-stick foil to cover his toes...this allows his foot to slide over the carpet without snagging...the flatter & smother the surface the better he does....as far as that goes it is not that big of a deal.....because exploring is not his "thing"...he quickly goes into sleep mode if he is left to wander on his own...Pleo is more of a lap dog/cat thing....& seems to crave only one thing....your attention...& his leaf....cant forget the leaf.....Pleo is a long way from being a "life form" as his makers claim...yet....it is a great begining for a small start up company...& i applaud their efforts at creating something above & beyond a mere "robot toy"....Pleo is a work of art....a work of love....& yes....i can feel this love radiate from every part of his plastic heart...some will get bored quickly with him though i am afraid, simply because he really does not do that much...but in truth...what does any pet do?....not that much really.....Pleos battery life is an issue with many people....4 hrs charge for 1 hour of use....this may sound bad but in truth....1 hr of Pleo time is plenty, more than i personaly have time for [ or could tolerate ] in one sitting....so to me the battery life is not an issue....so....Pleo seems to live up to the hype...he works as his makers advertised, & for the most part does it well....Ugobe proclaims a free downloadable software expansion/update will be available soon that enables Pleo to "learn".....we shall see......if so.....then maybe i will feel a litle better about shelling out 350 shamolies....time will tell if they can continue to live up to the hype they sell....so far the outlook is good....so....two thumps up on Pleo....IF....you can justify the frivalous expenditure.
On: 2008-02-23
I have to tell you that this product has continued to surprise me from day one.
I got this as a gift for my significant other and it pleases on so many fronts. You do get to watch it evolve over time from when it is first turned on to when it begins to explore and pick things up with its mouth. It cuddles, it plays tug of war, and you can tickle it (it laughs!!)
Thats all pretty cool. If you really want to get into it, you can program it as well. ugobe has some programs theyve developed for Christmas and Valentines day that are pretty cool. If you like that, you can do some programming yourself too.
All in all an amazing little toy!
On: 2008-02-22
I got one before Christmas, for my daughter. After several months of spending time with him, Ive found I wanted one too. I kept stealing hers to take it to work with me. My co-workers and boss loves it too.
Great thing about having more than one Pleo....they interact. You also get to see first hand how their personalities ARE different. They dont have preprogrammed personalities. They grow from experiences and learning.
Durability wise, I have had no major issues. We take Pleo where ever we go and that includes my work, shopping, and even the local theme parks and conventions. So he gets stuffed in a backpack a lot. His body has paint wear, that is something the company warned about on their website. His teeth and eyelids chipped. I used Testors paint and he looks great again. Stuff like this is minor to me compared to the joy he brings.
On: 2008-01-20
This dinosaur is so much more than a toy. Shes my pet. Im a fairly technically oriented adult female and a grandmother. This robot evolves from when you power on for the first time until some time in the future when it reaches the maturity of a very young child. After 2 months, "Baby" now saunters off to check out furniture legs and baseboards. She often stops to chatter. She loves being petted under her chin and show it by wagging her tail up and down. She falls asleep when I cradle her in my arms. My 2- and 5-year old granddaughters were mesmerized when we visited. For many days after we were gone, the younger asked about "Baby with very fond curiosity. A word of caution- a 2-year old is too young to appreciate the sensitivity of this machine and will damage it if they are left alone together for too long. Its much like when you introduce a new puppy to the home. One feature Im looking forward to is updates in the behavior software from Ugobe that will be downloadible to the Pleo life form. There is some online software that a hobbyist can use to program custom behaviors. The only 2 downsides are 1-hour battery life (recharge takes 3 hours) and the noisy motors. Neither should be a showstopper in purchasing this great little robot.
On: 2008-01-19
This sounds like a wonderful step.
I wonder how long it will take them to develop a robot who will straighten the house up and clean it.
And drive and wash the car, get groceries, put the clothes in and out of the washing machine and dryer, mow the law, shovel the snow, run errands and shut itself off and sit in the closet when not in use.
On: 2008-01-19
This dinosaur is so much more than a toy. Shes my pet. Im a fairly technically oriented adult female and a grandmother. This robot evolves from when you power on for the first time until some time in the future when it reaches the maturity of a very young child. After 2 months, "Baby" now saunters off to check out furniture legs and baseboards. She often stops to chatter. She loves being petted under her chin and show it by wagging her tail up and down. She falls asleep when I cradle her in my arms. My 2- and 5-year old granddaughters were mesmerized when we visited. For many days after we were gone, the younger asked about "Baby with very fond curiosity. A word of caution- a 2-year old is too young to appreciate the sensitivity of this machine and will damage it if they are left alone together for too long. Its much like when you introduce a new puppy to the home. One feature Im looking forward to is updates in the behavior software from Ugobe that will be downloadible to the Pleo life form. There is some online software that a hobbyist can use to program custom behaviors. The only 2 downsides are 1-hour battery life (recharge takes 3 hours) and the noisy motors. Neither should be a showstopper in purchasing this great little robot.
On: 2008-01-10
I bought Pleo and I love it! However, dont leave Pleo alone with little dogs. I walked into the room and found my dog humping Pleo. The strange thing is Pleo was making noises, as if he was enjoying it! The sensors in this thing are amazing! Buy it! Youll love it and so will your dog!
On: 2008-01-09
I bought Pleo and I love it! However, dont leave Pleo alone with little dogs. I walked into the room and found my dog humping Pleo. The strange thing is Pleo was making noises, as if he was enjoying it! The sensors in this thing are amazing! Buy it! Youll love it and so will your dog!
On: 2008-01-06
Its very pricey for what it does . Now if it could fetch a beer like the dog I saw in a commercial then maybe it might have been worth it . Was not amuse for what it does and they could have at least make it a little bigger . Takes long to charge and charge doesnt last very long . Its a very expensive toy that people have to shell out for their kids . I actually bought it for a nephew and I think I must have been high at the time I bought this through Amazon . All in all I should have gotten a Wii .
On: 2008-01-05
Its very pricey for what it does . Now if it could fetch a beer like the dog I saw in a commercial then maybe it might have been worth it . Was not amuse for what it does and they could have at least make it a little bigger . Takes long to charge and charge doesnt last very long . Its a very expensive toy that people have to shell out for their kids . I actually bought it for a nephew and I think I must have been high at the time I bought this through Amazon . All in all I should have gotten a Wii .
On: 2007-12-31
Weve had our Pleo for four days now and we love him--when hes awake!
Pleo is a cunningly cute robotic toy that has a very "1.0" feel about it. For better and/or worse, you can tell that some envelopes are being pushed here. The baby dino can feel touches, knows when it is upside-down, and can "see" with a small camera in his snout. Supposedly it can hear but apparently not very well.
First the good news: Pleo behaves with a good degree of "intelligence". He will purr like a kitten and growl like a puppy; he responds to being petted or stroked under the chin. His reactions are a bit slow but generally appropriate. He wont walk off the edge of a table, although he *will* back off. He knows when something is in his mouth and will make feeding sounds or, if you jostle him, he will growl and play tug-of-war. His skill at tug-of-war is a highlight.
Also, if you decide to get a Pleo, be aware that the first few times you turn it on, it will be in a "newborn" state--sleepy and uncoordinated, wanting only to be petted. So some patience is required. It seems to take a few days for the robot to become fully active and more independant.
The bad: In current form, the battery life is frustratingly poor. Put simply, your Pleo will be an inanimate object 3/4 of the time. If your battery recharges correctly--mine overheats about half-way through--you will need to wait 3 or 4 hours to get an hour of activity from Pleo. (I knew this going in, but somehow the reality of it is worse than I expected.) Even when charged, our Pleo needs constant attention or he will quickly curl up for a nap! I understand that battery issues were responsible for the release date being pushed back by many months. A robot this aware and active obviously places great demands on the battery; it would be nice if two were included or at least available!
I debated on how many stars to give Pleo. In the end, I think it deserves 4 stars, even if only for potential. (As I typed this he walked to the desk leg and spent a minute exploring it with his camera, making sniffing noises. Then he nudged it with his snout and made a frustrated sound.) I hope that Ugobe will find a (much) better solution to the battery problem, and they have promised free software updates in the coming months.
On: 2007-12-30
Bought this as a Christmas present for my 10 yr old step son. Took about 4 hours to charge, and he runs for about an hour at a time. Does not come with two batteries (like I had previously read he would) - but no big deal. Personally, Im not really all that impressed by the so called life stages that Pleo goes through. To me, it seemed like it was nothing more than a whole lot of honking an hooting - some clumsy movements - some improved movements - and some more honking an hooting. My son has him playing with his training leaf quite frequently (in fact, its pretty much all he really does now) - but Pleo doesnt seem to care if hes playing with his leaf, or anything else at that matter (like my sons finger... no, he doesnt bite hard enough to hurt.) In all honesty, it just seems very unaware of its surroundings, unless youre physically in contact with it. Cool concept, but Im not completely sold. Being a true geek at heart, I was kind of hoping for more. I think if youre sincerely interested in purchasing one, you should wait for a deal, because I dont think its worth its current selling price. My son however is in love with his Pleo (whom hes named Icy), and theres definitely value in that.
On: 2007-12-25
My son got a Pleo for Christmas - he is 9 yrs old and he loves it. It lovable and he has grown very attached to his new friend. His battery only last about 1 hr after a 4 hr charge, but we still love him very much.
I would recommend him to any parent looking for a special gift for their son or daughter?
On: 2007-12-19
After receiving two Pleos yesterday (Dec 18,2007) my two girls (8 and 10) love them. The "birthing" and "hatchling" stages were amazing. The Pleos respond to touch and sound and seem very life-like. The skin itself is nice to touch. Both were "born" within a second of each other yet they "behave" differently and truly seem to interact with all three of us.
The only drawback weve see so far is battery life, but even that is well worth the wait and charges.
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