Normally custom programming for a robot can be a real pain, requiring that you make any changes on a computer, then connect the bot to the computer and download. This gets repeated a lot. As you can imagine it takes some time. But the Robovie-PC from Vstone sets out to change that because the robot is the computer.

This guy sports a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, dual USB ports, VGA connector, and of course Wi-Fi, along with a 1.3 megapixel camera. Programming advanced functions should be much easier since the robot is the computer, capable of running Windows or Linux. This innovation doesn’t come cheap as the 15-inch tall bot will cost about $4,500.

We’ve seen plenty of spy cameras, but this one takes the form of something more commonplace that many of us have clipped to our persons. A fake iPod shuffle. The “Mini MP3 Cam DVR” as it’s called is an old shuffle lookalike with a 1.3-megapixel video camera, a TF slot and a rechargeable battery.

Once you turn it on, this small spy cam begins recording 640 x 480 20fps AVI video or taking JPEG shots. You can retrieve them via USB. No one will suspect that you are spying on them.

These Hello Kitty Mimobots look absolutely terrifying when there are several together. They travel in packs you see, seeking out your USB port so that they can feed on your files like cute feline vampires in overalls. They are evil and I’m scared. These are in celebration of Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary.

Sanrio and mimoco got together one stormy night and brainstormed over what kind of creepy thing they could do next. This is their Frankenstein creation. A 2 GB flash drive sells for $25, while the 4 GB version sells for $35 and there’s an 8 GB version that sells for $50.

We’ve been hearing about Rebit and their backup solutions from as far back as October of 2007, and our time to try out one of these devices was far overdue. For this review we got a chance to review a portable backup solution from Rebit which boasts a “ridiculously simple backup” process, and they did not disappoint.

SETUP
Setting up the backup system was about as easy as it could be. We simply unpacked the small, slim portable drive and USB cable and plugged it in to our computer. After a couple of automatically prompted approvals in our Windows Vista system the thing just started doing its job of backing up all the files on the hard drive of our computer. The entire process from opening the box until it started working was under 3 minutes. The drive has a dual-headed USB cord so a separate power supply is not necessary if a single USB port does supply enough power, but in our case a single USB 2.0 connection was all it took to power the device and transfer data.

Philips has introduced its latest addition to its LCD monitor line with the Brilliance 225P1ES. This 22 inch widescreen monitor includes the PowerSensor feature which detects when the user is not in front of the screen and lowers the contrast and brightness until the user returns.

According to Philips, while in power-savings mode, the LCD’s consumption will drop by 70%. Some other features include a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels, a 5ms response time, 250 cd/m2 brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, built-in two 1.5W speakers, plus D-Sub, DVI and USB connectors.

Asus’ latest Eee Box EB1501 has just been announced and is ready to join the many other Eee Boxes that they always announce. But it’s not just the same-old nettop with similar specifications. They made sure that the EB1501 would stand out from the rest.

For one thing, the EB1501 includes a slot-loading DVD burner. We don’t know if it will be shipped with the drive built-in or if it comes with an external USB disc drive. The EB1501 is powered by a Dual Core Atom 330 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card and runs the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system.

Hot on the heels of Sony’s new digital photo frame/printer, comes this iMo Foto Frame Printer. Yep, it’s an 8″, 800 x 600 digital photo frame and printer all mangled lovingly together.

It’s a stand-alone device and doesn’t require a computer connection, but it sports a USB input and accepts CF/SD/MS/MMC and xD memory cards. It may not be the most attractive thing in the world, but it prints 6 x 4 glossy prints at 300 dpi. The cartridge is replaceable and holds enough paper and ink for 36 prints.

The UBoard is basically a glass shelf with 3 USB ports built in. Depending on how you have your desk and office set up, this is actually a pretty handy thing. It’s like having some spare USB ports built into your office itself.

It’s compatible with Window Vista and Mac OS 10. The package consists of the glass top, the frame and a Cup & Memo Holder. You’re safe to place monitors or other objects that weigh under 15kg on the unit.

Check out this new projector from Epson. Isn’t it dreamio? Epson thinks so, if the name is any indication. The Epson Dreamio EH-DM30 comes with a built-in DVD player and houses 10W x 2ch speakers. It’s capable of throwing 720p images with a maximum 1,280 x 800 resolution.

Some other specs include a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 2,500 lumens brightness and HDMI. The built-in DVD player can handle JPEG, MP3, WMA and DivX/DivX Ultra file formats as well. You can plug your USB flash drive in directly to enjoy your images big.

Wireless USB is a great bit of tech that allows us to cut some of the wires from our computer to peripherals like scanners and printers. Typically, wireless USB devices need to be within line of site of your computer and in the same room to work. Cables To Go has announced a new Wireless USB Superbooster Extender that will boost the transmission range up to 150 feet.

The Superbooster can provide connectivity for devices like scanners and printers up to 150 feet away from your computer and you don’t need line of site. That means that you can access devices in other rooms or even on other floors.

LaCie’s Sound2 USB speakers almost look too good. What are they hiding? Are they overcompensating for something? Hmmm. You don’t usually think LaCie when you think audio, but these look so nice we are willing to believe that they must sound good too. We hope.

The Sound2 laptop speakers are USB-powered, with the audio coming from Cabasse, a French audio company. They were designed by Neil Poulton and will cost you $100. Like Fox Mulder, we “want to believe” that these beauties sound good at that price.

Here’s an HTPC remote that should please everyone. It will control Windows, Linux and Mac platforms via wireless RF signals, with a USB receiver. But that isn’t all it does. This remote will also work with your Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Wii.

It also has a large touchpad. That’s a lot of control in a small form factor. It’s available in black and white and will only run you $45 including shipping.

DoubleSight Displays has introduced three new Smart USB monitors. They are available in 7 or 9 inch models, and are mostly identical in design, except that the DS-90UC model has a detachable webcam and the two 9-inch displays have 1,024 x 600 resolution, while the 7 inch display has 800 x 480.

The 9 inch model costs only $20 more than its smaller counterpart, $140 vs. $120, making the choice easy. The webcam-equipped version will cost you $160. A tiny monitor can come in pretty handy for things like Photoshop or email.

QNAP Systems has released the QNAP NMP-1000 networked media player that originally debuted in March at CeBIT 2009. Now it is making it’s way to the masses. The device supports BitTorrent Server, FTP Server, remote web browser access, and is DLNA compliant.

The QNAP NMP-1000 can also function as an external USB or eSATA drive for your PC. The device supports most multimedia file formats including XVID, H.264, H.263, WMV9, VC1, AVI, MPEG/MPG, MKV, FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, PCM, AC3, and OGG.

I have a few external optical drives in my office that I use when I am working on my netbook. The things are a few years old and are not at all thin. The big drives also require power adapters while newer drives can be totally powered by the USB port. Sony has announced a new slim CD/DVD burner today called the DRX-S70U-W that is very thin.

The thin drive can burn DVD+/- R media at up to 8X speeds. The drive can also record to dual layer optical media at up to 6X speeds. Plain ol’ CD-R/RW discs can be burned at a speedy 24x.