There was the immobile singing Poo-chi by Tiger Electronics, a company that also made the i-Cybie, which could lift its leg and roll over. The $99 Fisher-Price Rocket the Wonder Dog, which was operated via infrared headset, could burp and scratch itself. There was also Tekno by Manley Toy Quest, Big Scratch and Lil' Scratch by Trendmasters, Puppy Magic by Toy Biz and more.

Many people who had both real dogs and fake dogs decided to see what would happen when the two worlds collided.

If I had a fake dog... you know, the idea seems so preposterous to me that I can't even go there. My real dog is looking at me as I sit here on my shiny computer which is flanked by my shiny iPod and phone. "Aren't you glad I don't require electricity to operate?" he is saying with his eyes. "Don't you want to take me to the park and escape the backlit cyber world you are immersed in so many hours a day?" Why yes, Amos, I do. Now stop dragging your butt.

If these cyber versions were meant to appeal to real wannabe dog owners, I think they should've made them look a little more doglike. Would it have been so hard to slap some fake fur on these things? I'm thinking they could've gone with some Muppet fur—shaggy blue, maybe. Or Elmo red. Who wants a pet that looks like Robocop. Also: my real dog earns his keep by licking clean the dinner plates and jumping in the laps of cute guys at the park. The cyber curs had no such uses. If I'm going to shell out that kind of money for a non-breathing pet, I'd at least like if it could second as a vacuum.

Nevertheless, many robotic dog owners thought it'd be very original and clever and hilarious to introduce their real pet to their fake pet, as evidenced by the following videos...

German Shepherd doesn't let Aibo touch its meat

Sparky gets in some hot two-on-one action with a Doberman and a Chihuahua

Dog asks the Poo-Chi why it isn't wearing any clothes

A cat watches an impertinent iCybie take a pee

This particular school of cinema reached its nadir with robo-dog snuff films

Anna Jane Grossman will be with us for the next few weeks, documenting life in the early aughts, and how it differs from today. The author of Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Abrams Image) and the creator of ObsoleteTheBook.com, she has also written for dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Salon.com, the Associated Press, Elle and the Huffington Post, as well as Gizmodo. She has a complicated relationship with technology, but she does have an eponymous website: AnnaJane.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnaJane.

From first viewed to last viewed:

• Mr. Clock Radio by Geewiz Entertainment ($99.99), is primarily an alarm clock radio. However, it does have a line-in jack, making it usable as a personal speaker set. It also has some three-hundred different wake-up message (half are aggressive, half are charming), and a fun/pointless "fortune telling" mode. The price is a little steep for the basic tech it implements, (flashing lights, portable speakers and pre-recorded messages), but we can't help loving the guy for his fantastic witticisms. [Geewiz Entertainment]

• Comprehensive Robot Kit by Bioloid ($869.00), one of the most complete and versatile robotics kits we saw on display at CES '08. The Comprehensive Robot Kit is really a a super-glorified Lego kit. It comes with various robotic bits'n'bobs, including IrDA receivers for dual robot communication, microphones for sound detection, luminosity detectors, piezo-electric speakers, essential battery packs and a full software suite for programmable characteristics in your robot's behavior, all via your PC. At this price, the kit is strictly an educational tool or for serious enthusiasts. [Bioloid Comprehensive Kit]

• Wrex the Dawg by WowWee ($TBA), has three emotional modes (happy, sad and angry), 14-motors for movement and a remote control for general locomotion. Expected to ship this Spring; if Wrex's quirky styling does not have reaching for your wallet, perhaps his mechanized wagging tail will? [WowWee]

• Tribot by WowWee ($99.99), is the robot that will replace the much loved Robosapien. The Tribot comes pre-loaded with a series of games that rely on the user to position the bot in various different orientations, it has three wheels that allow it to have a wide range of movements, a motion sensing controller that allows for Wii-esque navigation and it will hit the shops this summer. [WowWee]

• iRobiQ by Yujin Robot has been doing the rounds since CES 2007. It is a home information service that is able to display the news, weather, cooking recipes, photos, videos and sing some karaoke if you get bored. All this information goodness is displayed on a 7-inch LCD screen, but the iRobiQ also accepts voice commands for various jobs, like sending images to a cellphone, ordering a room to be cleaned by pairing with a Roomba type device and even read books that are stored on its central server. The iRobiQ, at present, has no US distributor, so do not expect it to ship anytime soon. [Yujin Robot; Korean link, via Tech Digest]

• E1 by Roboware ($1,500), recognizes set voice commands via a Bluetooth headset, connects to your network to transmit pictures captured via the on board camera, which it can also display on its tiny LCD screen and boasts bi-pedal motion, generated by a ton of different joints. At present, it is not ready for shipping, as the engineers are working out the bugs in the system. The final model will come with a full software suite, as well as an online developers community that will be launched along side the bot. Roboware hopes to ship the E1 by March, and envisions a truly malleable robot that can be completely defined by its users. [Company website is not live at present]

• Zeno by David Hanson (concept stage); we have covered Zeno an awful lot here at Giz, but the creepy bot was displaying his moves at CES '08, still in prototype stages. Zeno did not look so horrific in the real "frubber," but he still made us a little unsettled. Zeno will be able to talk, recognize faces and detect specific sounds, as well as be user upgradeable via an online community, with which Zeno can remain wirelessly connected thanks to the inbuilt support for Wi-Fi connectivity. [Hanson Robotics]

• FemiSapien by WowWee ($TBA), the FemiSapien is coined as Robosapien's girlfriend, and when the two interact, hilarious girlfriend/boyfriend rifts take place. The Femisapien is able to control Robosapien, but not visa versa. The female bot will be able to dance, move, sing and carry out a range of movement like her out-dated boyfriend. We are not sure the robot god approves of them living in sin, but we did not see them romp. However, if Robosapien carries on acting like this (VERY NSFW), we are sure robot god will be most displeased. Expect the FemiSapien to ship this summer. [Robots Rule]

That's the best of the robots we uncovered at CES '08. It looks like it is going to be a great year for fans of this genere of toys, but Sony, if you are reading, we wouldn't mind Aibo joining in the festivities at some point. Until then folks, there should be more than enough here to tide you over.

The Wi-Fi capable AIBO PS will be completely controllable through a PSP or PS3. Plus, when in security mode, the AIBO PS will be able to awaken itself when sensing sound or motion and ping your email. Your PSP could then interface with its camera and stream the signal real time. Oh, the little guy will be able to climb stairs with the best of em.

Stuff puts the probability rating at around 53%. So whether it's pure speculation or from a hot tipster, we don't know. But none of it sounds all that crazy to us. [kotaku]

"The engineers behind the Aibo are doing the PS3. We are talking about making something like the new Aibo."

I ask if it will connect to the PS3. Because that's what I really want: A robotic dog for my PS3.

"I don't know. Connection is not hard. I'm sure some engineer could do that."

[Impress through GoogleTranslate and RoboSquare]

There's the AIBO pen, where it can draw things on a pad with its mouth, a scooter, so it can ride around like a fat Silicon Valley yuppie, a turtle shell for...turtling, and a travel system so you can carry it around on your chest like a proud father—which means the mother is also some kind of robotic dog...let's not go there.

You can see all these objects from the AIBO playroom on display during the "Intensive Science" exhibition in Paris at the La Maison Rouge October 6th and 7th. Save all your pointing and laughing energy until then. – Jason Chen

Frogs, scooter, clothes and helmet for AIBO [We Make Money Not Art]

We saw a video of this robot puppy a few months back that was accompanied with little other information, but now we find out this robo-pooch picks up where Aibo left off with similar capabilities. For instance, it can sense when you pat him on the back or head because of those touch sensors located there, and understands a hundred of your commands, too.

Train Genibo to walk over to you and recite phone numbers or your schedule, or you can train him to tell you to go to hell if you want to. Or just enlist your kids to do those things for you for free. No pricing or in availability information was revealed yet. – Charlie White

Cute pet robot 'Genibo' [AVing.net]

These look like they would be pretty fun for kids, and Japanese studies have seen that robotic dogs have garnered smiles from patients suffering from Alzheimers. We just hope this one doesn't do "two hour yipping sessions", or else we're going to hear a lot of "ROBO PUPPY MISTREATMENT ALERT!"

Genibo: A New Robot Pup Rises [PC Magazine]

Nature and marketeers abhor a vacuum, and so the hole left by the demise of Sony's robot dog Aibo will soon be filled with another, more ambitious design. Jindo—Hindi for "alive"—has specifications that are both impressive and head-scratching. The Korean developer of Jindo, Eungsang Park, has given it a Navigator Screen that will let you watch DMB TV and check your email and access web pages. The tail is the joystick, making for some awkward positioning when playing games. Even more awkward is the fact that the DVD insert is directly below the tail. I also can't help but wonder how the dog is held when in use as a cell phone. Also notable on the diagram are the items simply labeled "in" and "button." Clearly the design is still a little rough.

Jindo [GizmoWatch]

Tea Vui Huang's Aibo Memories [TeaVuiHuang]

Though not exactly at the top of its game recently, a surge of activity in the LCD market has given the company a second breath of life, so it will be interesting to see what this means for us as consumers in the coming year.

Sony recently pulled their QRIO and AIBO robot lines as well as their high-end electronis brand experiment, Qualia.

Sony in talks to spin off 4 non-core units: source [Reuters]

Well, it's true, folks. Not only has the Aibo been nixed from Sony's future, but it looks like QRIO, our robot with the third eye is also bidding a fond farewell. Here's the statement straight from the source:

Sony as a whole will be focusing on three core business domains: electronics, games and entertainment, with an emphasis on profitability and strategic growth opportunities. In light of this focus, it has been decided to discontinue the AIBO business. Sony is not planning any new research and development specifically for AIBO or QRIO products, but R&D for the elemental technologies (visual recognition, sound recognition, etc.) will continue for research on Artificial Intelligence. The knowledge and technology Sony has gained in robotics may possibly be applied to future Sony products.

We're also hearing some noise about the high-end QUALIA line being on its way out, too, although that might be a bastardization of QRIO.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Now maybe we'll get some cheaper LCD panels!

So long my odd, robotic friend, I'll miss you. Luckily the existing breeds of Aibo age 1 year for every 7 human years, and will be alive after the nuclear holocaust to fight the cockroaches for control of the planet.

AIBO = Game Over. Sony ceases the production [Akihabara News]

Aibo ERS-7M3 [Akihabara News]

Robot dog—man's best friend or no-fat nag? [Yahoo!]

iDog - Listens to Music, Dances with Rhythm, Sings Songs [Universal Models]
Product Page [Sega Toys]