Product Description

WowWee Rovio Wi-Fi Enabled Robotic Webcam. A revolution in home exploration and telepresence, ROVIO is a Wi-Fi enabled robotic webcam that easily moves in any direction and can be controlled remotely. View and interact with ROVIOs environment through its streaming video and audio from its built in camera. Use ROVIO to check on your family while away from home, watch over your house while away on vacation, or look over your pets during your lunch time. In the office, enjoy movement enabled web conferences with colleagues, using ROVIO anywhere. Direct ROVIOs movements, neck mounted camera and audio from your own living room or anywhere in the world, via the Internet, using any web accessible device such as a cell phone, video game console or PC. Use the menu to set and select way points, with one click you can tell ROVIO to navigate itself to the chosen point, without having to control each step yourself. With built in LED lights to help you guide ROVIO through dark hallways, you will always know what is going on at home or at the office. No need to worry about ROVIO running low on power while you are gone, with self docking capabilities, send ROVIO back to base to recharge with the touch of a button on your browser, wherever you are. When it is done charging, it is ready to take on its next tour. System requirements: PC compatible computer with a minimum Pentium 4 processor or equivaletn running the following: Windows XP/ Windows Vista, 256 MB of RAM, DirectX 9.0 or higher, Video card equiped with OpenGL compliancy, USB connectivity, Wireless access point device connected to your PC (ex: router), High-speed internet connection (if playing against opponents over the internet), Internet Explorer 6 or higher.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8836 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Wow Wee
• Model: Rovio
• Released on: 2008-10-15
• Dimensions: 13.50" h x 6.50" w x 12.00" l, 7.36 pounds

Features

• Wi-Fi enabled robotic webcam/ led illumination/1 x speaker/1 x built in microphone
• Detects your computer settings for you and guides you though the process
• Interactive audio and video streams from ROVIO to the PC
• Control from web accessible devices
• With stored location points ROVIO can navigate itself around the home

From the Manufacturer
WowWee Rovio Wi-Fi Enabled Robotic Webcam. A revolution in home exploration and telepresence, ROVIO is a Wi-Fi enabled robotic webcam that easily moves in any direction and can be controlled remotely. View and interact with ROVIOs environment through its streaming video and audio from its built in camera. Use ROVIO to check on your family while away from home, watch over your house while away on vacation, or look over your pets during your lunch time. In the office, enjoy movement enabled web conferences with colleagues, using ROVIO anywhere. Direct ROVIOs movements, neck mounted camera and audio from your own living room or anywhere in the world, via the Internet, using any web accessible device such as a cell phone, video game console or PC. Use the menu to set and select way points, with one click you can tell ROVIO to navigate itself to the chosen point, without having to control each step yourself. With built in LED lights to help you guide ROVIO through dark hallways, you will always know what is going on at home or at the office. No need to worry about ROVIO running low on power while you are gone, with self docking capabilities, send ROVIO back to base to recharge with the touch of a button on your browser, wherever you are. When it is done charging, it is ready to take on its next tour.

Customer Reviews

Rovio Born Premature
As a previous reviewer said, I really, really want to love my Rovio. It has great potential, but these first units are awful. WowWee should not have succumbed to pressure to release it before it's ready. I can't recommend anybody buy one at this time, for the following reasons:

1. The robot won't play back paths with any accuracy. I've given mine clear paths with no obstacles, and it still manages to run into chairs and the TV. And that's with the NAV signal showing strong. Maybe if you had your own empty gym, it'd work great, but if you live in a real house with furniture, the robot won't navigate reliably.

2. The robot usually runs out of battery power before it manages to dock, so the self-recharging feature is a bust.

3. Audio doesn't work (in or out) on any browser but Internet Explorer.

4. The camera positioning options are poor (low, a little lower, and let's-stare-at-the-ceiling are your only choices).

5. The battery life is poor too. Maybe an hour if you're lucky, and since it won't make it back to the recharger, Rovio will die and be useless from remote.

6. The headlight is absolutely laughable. The camera can't be used at all in low-light conditions.

7. While there's almost no forward illumination, Rovio will annoy you with the pulsating blue LEDs on top.

8. My dock died after less than two weeks of ownership.

I'm sure I could think of more reasons to wait for a new version before buying, but those are just the ones that I immediately recall as unacceptable. This product simply doesn't work.

Bye bye, Rovio. You're going back to Amazon.

Meh...
I want to like Rovio.. I really do... But I still haven't decided if I'm keeping mine...

I've got docking issues with mine - not sure if it's just this unit, but it keeps trying to dock too far to the left (sometimes it succeeds - every other time it doesn't.. and when it does work, it takes forever to dock.)

The webcam on this is ok for well lit rooms, but is *really* poor for dark rooms - and the headlight is a joke - it's really dim. For being what it is, Wowwee should have concentrated on a better webcam/better light.

The navigation works ok, as long as it doesn't move it while trying to dock to it (which it always does - despite being against the wall..)

As a toy, it gets a solid 5 stars from me (althogh I think it's overpriced - they should have priced it ~$200 or so..)

But as a remote controlled webcam sentry robot (in my case, to be used in spying on our pets), it gets 3 stars...

-mark
(PS - it has problems with the 1/2" ledge between our kitchen and living room..)

NEEDS LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS
It is true that it is a mobile webcam. Web interface is really good. I checked with IPhone but the browser crashed 2 out of three time on IPhone. I have not checked the two way Audio yet so I can not comment on it.
For this high price the webcam pic quality is really bad and way too dark. The only way you can see the picture clearly if the area or room has very good lighting like 2-3 tube lights in a very small room otherwise you are out of luck to see anything in larger room with 1-2 lights in it.
Front LED which suppose to help to see in poorly lighted area is useless, it shows the tiny part of object if it is very close (like few cm)to that object.
I saw one hack to install more LED in it to increase the visibility but it is not for everyone you need to have very good knowldge of electronics which I dont.
In this price you can buy three entry level Axis IP cameras and get very good pic quality in very low light ( I have two of them and I am surprised by the quality of those cameras)
I dont recommend buying this for such high price unless they reduce price around $150.
The other review here, is very misleading most probably written by their own people.
Very disappointed with the product.