iDog is cute, but not mind-blowing

By Jessica Williams


Yet another accessory for your iPod is available nationwide for as little as 20 dollars. The iDog, a small robotic dog made by Hasbro, can connect to your iPod and dance along to your favorite tunes. His face features a screen with multi-colored, flashing lights that flash in time with the beat in different patterns. The iDog comes in a variety of colors from lime green to hot pink. It is even available in patterns such as “butterfly” or with a face decorated to look like any one of the four members of the 80s metal band, KISS. Accessories for this little dog are available for about 10 dollars, and include knit scarves, hats, vests and even totes to carry your iDog in.

While this toy is cute, its usefulness and entertainment factor are seriously lacking. The dog is supposed to “dance” along with the beat of your songs, but all the movement it seems to make is a slight tilt of the head and raising of the ears. Since the iDog actually plays your music like a tiny boom-box, it has a speaker. The sound quality is not fantastic and could be compared to a car radio playing a station that is experiencing a bit of static. Rather than a dancing robotic dog, the iDog is like a miniature light show, since that seems to be the only consistent feature of the product.
While this gadget may not be exciting to the tech-savvy iPod carriers who expect a miniature sound system, the iDog could be a great gift for kids who just got their first mp3 player. It could also be useful as an inexpensive, portable speaker. While the iDog isn’t as exciting as expected, it’s not a total waste of money.