Daniel Terdiman is Waking up Pleo — and falling in love with the animatronic dinosaur:
This is a very odd beast. On the one hand, it’s impossible to forget that Pleo is a machine, since every time she moves, you can hear the motors whirring. But then you sort of forget that she’s not an animal. Several times already, people have come to check Pleo out, a fair bit of skepticism in their demeanor, and a minute later, they were scritching her and cooing at her the way one does with a pet.And it’s at that moment that you recognize Ugobe’s marketing plan and the wisdom behind charging $350 for a toy. The company insists Pleo is not a toy, but let’s be honest. Pleo is a toy, albeit an expensive one, and one that is probably not appropriate for little children. For those who are allergic to cats or dogs, or who don’t want the hassle of taking care of a real-life pet, but who want more than a Tamagotchi, however, I can see Pleo becoming the stand-in pet around the house.