It's Here! The Holiday Buyer's Guide 2004

Man's Best Friend

Everyone Loves A Dog That Doesn't Do the Doo

Would you like a dog without the hassle of buying food and cleaning poop? The next generation Aibo has a sleeker look and some interesting tricks. If you can afford it, the Aibo is a cool pet that attracts a great deal of attention (especially from women!)

The new Aibo has 22 joints and a pressure sensitive back and head, so it can sense you petting it and tickling its neck. The on/off switch is on the back of the neck and is very satisfying to push when the robot dog goes on a rampage. I call it the Commander Data kill switch, as the dog immediately goes slack and crumples to the ground when you push the switch.

Aibo charges himself by sitting down in a charging station, which has a black-and-white pattern that the robot recognizes. Special action cards can make the Aibo do tricks and dance (yes - it dances). Simply hold the card up to Aibo's face and the camera will recognize the pattern and perform the programmed action.

The new Aibo does some cool tricks with the included pink bone and ball. When you put either toy in front of the Aibo, he will become "happy" and start wagging his tail. He will try to pick up the bone with his mouth. During the puppy stage, he isn't very accurate and will often miss the bone or drop it.

Watching the robot dog play with the pink ball is something else. At first, he just knocks it around with his head and feet. Later, as the dog matures, he will roll the ball onto its back, let it fall and kick it in mid-air. Leave it up to Sony to program in these cool tricks.

The new Aibo has built-in 802.11 Wifi. You set the SSID and WEP key on the Sony MemoryStick, and pop it into the bottom of the Aibo. With special Sony software, you can control Aibo remotely, and even snap pictures with his face-mounted webcam.

The Aibo ERS-7M2 comes in either black or white for a cool $1,900. You can order it from the Sony Aibo website , or purchase it at the nearest Sony store.