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Dear Pleo Fans,
GREAT NEWS! Pleo is in production this month! For those of you who have pre-ordered Pleo from the UGOBE store, your 30-day shipment notification will arrive before Thanksgiving. Anyone who has pre-ordered Pleo from any US retailer will receive their baby dino before December 25th. You can look forward to the squeals of delight from family and friends, the “what-the-heck?” response from your pets, and all the fun of getting to know Pleo yourself. Also in December, enhancements to Pleoworld.com will enable you to connect and share experiences with other owners and download a surprise “mode” for Pleo!
We'll update you in a few weeks - as soon as we know more about when we can ship. If you have any questions, take a look at the FAQs below. And make sure to stop by PleoWorld.com to see our new webisodes and participate in forum discussions.
We also want to tell you some things about your Pleo:
Pleo’s skin is delicate and as you pet him, his paint develops a wear pattern. Perfecting the skin has been one of the most challenging aspects of developing Pleo, and we continue researching ways to make the paint adhere with the best possible results. Because our warranty does not cover regular wear and tear of skin, we wanted to give you a sense of what the wear may look like and offer you pointers on how to minimize wear. Here at UGOBE we simply let the wear happen – and pet him and love him all day long.
Now for an update on Pleo’s software. The architecture of the Life OS software provides for Pleo to evolve and learn – an exciting breakthrough that holds much promise for the future of robotic life forms. Pleo interacts with you fully – moving organically, expressing emotion, autonomously exploring and responding to the world around him. However, the software that will be in Pleo when he ships this year allows for only subtle shaping of personality and temperament. For example, based on how much you interact with Pleo, he will be more sociable --- inclined to stay put and wait for more petting. If you consistently leave him be, he will prefer to walk away and explore his environment. However, this does not achieve our goal of “Pleo learning and developing a unique personality based largely upon how he is raised.” Free software updates on Pleoworld.com next year will enable this previously announced feature. As the development team says, “It’s already in the code!” With efforts this fall being focused on supporting the external charging battery model, the development team needs more time to bring Pleo’s capabilities to fruition. As with any new technology platform, the ability to expand capabilities through software upgrades is part of the promise and excitement.
Pleo is a magical product, and we are so excited to finally be sharing him with you. Nonetheless, we want you to make an informed decision about your purchase. Those of you who are the first owners of Pleo will be integral to UGOBE’s future work. Your experience and insights will help shape our software development in 2008 and we are glad you are on this journey with us.
Thank you as always for your continued enthusiasm and support! Pleo is on his way!
Sincerely,
The UGOBE Team
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