May 2008 - Posts

• Video: 2001 Space Odyssey, Starting English Rolly!

  Enjoy! (if you can't see the video, which is probably my fault, click here)    Posted May 28 2008, 07:43 PM by Auri with no comments Filed under: video, 2001 space odyssey, English Rolly

• First Impressions of US (English) Rolly

  Ok, I received my Black Rolly today... the SEP-30BT... so here are my impressions so far after charging it: Overall I'm impressed - it's a black Rolly with good storage space and English software. Way cool. The songs that come with it are different than the Japanese Rolly. It comes with more songs than sound effects. The first song from the Japanese Rolly, the one with the woman singing, is gone. So is the sound animals sound effects track. The new songs include the 2001 Space Odyssey song - pretty cool, as well as Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend, and Earth, Wind & Fire's Boogie Wonderland. The 2001 rendition is cool when the Rolly studders its ears... The other two songs are pretty entertaining dance pieces. The Music is a Language song from the original Rolly is still there... way cool. The packaging is different than the Japanese Rolly. Instead of coming in an easy to flip-top box, it comes with a more complicated box. It also doesn't have the really neat fabric on the inside. See my photos below. The Motion Editor + Soundstage software combo from the Japanese Rolly has been replaced with the Rolly Choreographer software. You can choose to install Choreographer for either USA or Canada, but not both. I'm not sure what the difference is. By the way, the name of the singer for Music's a Language is Mr. Ray, and it's on his Start Dreaming album from 2001. You should find it in the Kids section of a music store.. I couldn't download it on Zune - bummer! In addition to instaling Rolly Choreographer, the installer throws in OpenMG Secure Module and OpenMG Limited Patch. I don't know what these do... They're related to Sony's copy protection technologies and are not an optional install. As long as it doesn't mess up my CDs like the Sony BMG copy protected CD rootkit fiasco from years ago... I know some people are paranoid about this stuff, so you can find out more info about OpenMG here. It's understandable that Sony would want copy protection, but I don't understand why this is necessary if the device plays MP3s, which are "open." Note that the OpenMG software takes almost 10 (!!!) whole minutes to install. I don't know what it's installing, but that's a long time. The entire software installation took about 20 minutes. I don't recall the Japanese version installing OpenMG... Does anyone recall if it does/did? After installing the software it wanted me to restart, so fyi before you install :) The Black Rolly is WAYYYY cool looking. I need to change its ears to Red, though ;)   The full size versions of the photos can be found in the Photo Gallery.    More info is coming after my system comes back up since I can't keep posts open in between restarts <grin>...   Posted May 28 2008, 06:22 PM by Auri with 44 comment(s) Filed under: english, rolly, usa, first impressions, Canadian

• Pic of my Rolly with Blue Ears

  I modded my Japanese Rolly today. It now has BLUE ears! Those interchangeable ears are way cool :) Check it out:  Posted May 26 2008, 08:49 PM by Auri with no comments Filed under: accessories, sony style, blue ears

• Yes, Rolly CAN keep dancing after a song

  I'm trying to figure out how to do this... A problem many of us Rolly fans have had is the Rolly stops dancing after one song. Well, at the Sony Style store today, THEIR Rolly wouldn't stop dancing! They wouldn't let me see it to figure out the config file and told me it was their "special software". Anyway, I know it's just a config file setting, and it's time to play around, because the continuous dancing is a big deal! Has anyone else had theirs continuously dance?    Posted May 26 2008, 06:11 PM by Auri with no comments Filed under: sony style, config file, continuous dancing

• Rolly Accessories Available at Sony Style Stores

  I visited a Sony Style store at the Fashion Mall here in Indianapolis... Way cool accessories for the Rolly abound. Here's what they had for sale: Replacement Ears in Silver, Red, and Blue Carrying Pouch - They only had Black, but I know I've seen White ones in Japan. They told me the pouches only come in black - but that's not true! I'll watch out for the other color(s). Charging Base - Available in both Black and White. I bought a Black one. I've uploaded the photos to the photo gallery. Below are the ears. It's easy to snap them on and off... Just put the ears in a closed position over the speaker and push down a bit towards the base. Don't touch the speaker with your finger!!! Note that you have to be logged in to see the photos! If you don't have an account yet, get one! It's free!  Best, -Auri   Posted May 26 2008, 06:06 PM by Auri with 1 comment(s) Filed under: accessories, sony style

• Link to buy the Rolly

  I didn't post the link to Rolly on the Sony Style store a couple days ago... whoops! Click here to buy a Rolly directly from Sony!  Posted May 23 2008, 10:39 AM by Auri with 1 comment(s) Filed under: purchase, buy, sony style

• Rolly Hits U.S. Store Shelves! It's Here! Finally!

  I've already ordered a black one! I can't wait to try the software! Thanks, Rolly Team! Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/20/sony-rolly-finally-brings-the-party-stateside/ Everybody's favorite dancing robot of questionable utility from Sony is finally making its way across that big wet thing that divides the fair lands of Japan and USA. The Rolly, in case you missed it, is tiny little wheeled bot that can blast some tunes out of its built-in speakers, move its cute little appendages to the music and spin around for that full-on dancing robot experience. The bot comes with pre-choreographed songs ("Also Sprach Zarathustra," Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" and Earth Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland" -- all particular favorites of the Engadget staff), or you can use the choreography software to generate a dance for own tunes, or even program the dance yourself. The 2GB bot comes in black or white, and is available now online or in Sony Style stores for $400.   Posted May 22 2008, 10:05 AM by Auri with no comments Filed under: rolly, black, white, united states, availability