(Please note that this entry is about products commercial in nature)
"Walking along the Beach on a calm still night I suddenly hear a cacophony of electronic sounds behind me. I turn, startled for a minute, then realize that it is just my faithful R2D2 home droid that is following us out for a stroll. We meander our way up to the big naturally whitewashed rocks right off the beach and pause, setting down the picnic basket. I push a couple of buttons on R2D2 and soon we settle back to watch a movie that the droid is broadcasting on the rocks, enjoying our private theater on the Beach."
R2D2 is probably one of the most famous droids in history, and so it is well fit that we now have a pair of actually useful droids for sale by the Star Wars Shop. The first is a remotely controlled unit that can broadcast Digital DVDs, play video consoles, plug in your Ipod input and more. The output size of the projection is 260 inches at 16 ft, so it makes for a big screen experience. A lot of attention is spent in the details, for example even the remote for this droid is shaped like a scale model of the Millennium Falcon. The features from the product website are below, and more information on the Digital Video Projector, which is definitely not cheap at $2995. can be found at R2-D2 Digital Audio and Video Projector
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Picture by DLP from Texas Instruments
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Project to ceilings and walls up to a 260-inch picture
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Resolution: 1024×768
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Contrast Ratio: 1800:1
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Lumens: 1500
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Built-in CD/DVD player. Also plays MP3/MP4 video
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iPod docking station, memory card and USB slots
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Built-in 20 watt stereo speaker system
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FM wireless audio out (channels 1 through 7)
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Full-function: forward, reverse turn 360 degrees and recline
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Millennium Falcon remote control with removable stand
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Head turns using Millennium Falcon remote control
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Plays the most popular R2-D2 sound effects
The second R2D2 droid device of interest, again straight from the Star Wars shop, is the R2D2 Wireless Webcam. With this little guy you can remotely drive him around your home/office/man cave and keep check on things. It incorporates safety features such as edge detection so that you will not have to worry about crashing him from a remote location. More information from the website on the $369 R2D2 Wireless Webcam Droid is below and it can be found at R2-D2 Wireless Webcam
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Access R2-D2 Webcam from anywhere in the world using Skype software
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Full-function: Forward, reverse, turn 360 degrees. Lens has a 62-degree vertical adjustment
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Record and playback digital movies (video only) and snapshots
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2.0 zoom lens with 628×582 pixel resolution
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Lightsaber style IP phone with stand. Has original movie sound effects and controls movement of R2-D2
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Lightsaber VoIP/USB Phone allows you to make calls using Skype software
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Control the R2-D2 webcam from anywhere in the world!
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14-day battery life in standby mode
While certainly gimmicky in a lot of respects, there is some real functionality that a user can get from the units. Now if the Star Wars Shop offers a landspeeder in the near future they have my attention – that is one vehicle that I know works well on the sand.
