Totoya Creatures also turns your iPad into an interactive monster
Remember the Ubooly? It seems that it isn’t as unique as it first seemed, as another company already has a product that works in very similar ways. Two, actually. Totoya Creatures’ YetYet and Robotto stuffed animal iPad cases house an iPad which is then used to display the face of the creature, as well as a smaller hole through to another part of the screen where some controls are. Unlike the Ubooly this product isn’t just out, but has been out for months. It’s also only $80, which is quite the bargain compared to Ubooly’s ridiculous $200 price for the iPad version – four times as much as the iPhone version and even $25 more than they charge you for the iPhone version with an included iPod touch!
Unfortunately the YetYet and Robotto do seem cheaper in other respects than just the price. This is of course subjective, but both those designs would probably have scared me as a kid. I remember stuffed animals as being cute and cuddly, like the Ubooly, not robots and what appears to be a Teletubby with devil horns and a scuba mask (I think it’s supposed to be a Yeti). Then again my favorite stuffed animal as a kid was an elephant with the worst taste in clothing I’ve seen to this date. His name was Frode, and died in the washing machine…only his head survived. Oh, poor Frode.
Anyways, on a more objective note though, the Ubooly not only actually speaks, but also accepts voice commands. Both the video and feature list of the two Totoya creatures make them out to be more like R2D2, making cute beeps and buzzes but not actually saying a word.
Point being that there’s definitely room for the Ubooly in the market despite the YetYet and Robotto being available. Until the Ubooly team changes that horrible price for the iPad version though I think many parents will still go with Totoya, as $80 is just such a more reasonable price for a stuffed animal with a slot for an iPad than $200 is. Considering that only 4 out of 118 Kickstarter backers went for the iPad version, I think the people have already spoken on that one.
[Totoya Creatures]
