Pleo is back

Those missing the green pal should get relieved – it’s back. Not-so-well-known company Jetta Company Limited bought some Ugobe intellectual property including Pleo and plans to bring it back to the market soon. If you think Jetta is a no-namer that’s not quite true. Despite Ugobe is much better marketed brand it was actually Jetta, not Ugobe who was owning the plants and producing Pleo. I talked to Jetta guys on CES-09 and they claimed that they also produce toy robots of many other brands. In fact they manufacture almost all kinds of robots you can find on amazon or other major retailers. The website doesn’t provide many details about the company and its partners but if the guys will do things right we might be seeing a new star being born in the sky of famous brands.

Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation is coming (well, to some places it already came), so I published couple new robots from the previous Terminator movies. Enjoy:

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A few comments about “Pleo gets controlled with nunchuck”

This site got some attention from major internet resources such as engadget and hackaday (thanks guys!), so no wonder it went down for awhile. I tuned it a little, so hopefully it will withstand this wave of visitors (thanks guys!). If it seems too slow for you please come back later this week – there will be fewer visitors and more resources allocated just for you. For now let me answer a few comments about the Pleo hack:
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Updated information on Pleo hacking

More information on Pleo hacking had been published including the new video on how to control Pleo using Wii Nunchuck. The new hack allows you to make Pleo move its head or tail just by moving your own hand. The signal from Wii Nunchuck is being decoded and transmitted in range of up to 5 miles using a small piece of electronics that fits Altoids tin box. Enjoy!

Pleo extincted :(

This is really sad news, but it looks like Pleo’s maker UGOBE seized its existence. The website is down, phones are not answering and rumors are really bad. Starting December 08 many people noticed numerous problems with Ugobe’s website. A few months later they shut down their office in California and shrank the company size down to only 20 people. As of March 31 none of the Ugobe domains are accessible. I’m sorry to say about that, but it looks like Pleo extincted. I feel very sad about that.
UPDATE: as of April 18th, 2009 Ugobe’s website is fast and furious meaning that company keeps struggling. They still have no news since June 2008, not open jobs positions and no other attributes of successful company, but the fact they still exist is a great news!
UPDATED UPDATE: as of April 20th, 2009 Ugobe has laid off all its employees and filed for bankruptcy 🙁