Furby is back, more Internet-connected than ever and too cute to resist
Just when you thought Furby couldn't get any cuter and smarter, it has.
Roughly four years after Furby underwent a modern reinvention to re-emerge with LED eyes and app-connectivity -- and a cuddly Furbacca version -- Hasbro has announced the Furby Connect, an even more adorable hamster-owl robot.
New to the Furby Connect are full-color LED eyes capable of even greater expressions, more advanced Bluetooth LE connectivity with smartphones and tablets, and a new LED antenna on its head that doubles as a joystick.
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When the original Furby launched in the late '90s, the TV commercials gave me nightmares. I was among the first group of press to check out and review the redesigned Furby in 2012. It was less creepy than the original, but I still didn't want to keep it in my home.
Furby Connect, however, is too kawaii to resist.
The first thing you'll notice on Furby Connect are its color LED eyes and larger ears. There's more articulation to the twitch of its ears and jiggle of its body when it sings and dances or gets its belly rubbed.
The 2012 Furby introduced app connectivity, allowing you to do simple things like fling different kinds of food from a mobile device into its mouth. Furby Connect takes this a step further; it can also lay digital eggs and poop out things (all kinds of things) into a digital toilet when you place the toy over a paired device's screen.
The app, available for iOS and Android devices, also lets two Furby Connects talk to each other. If you've ever played with two Furbies simultaneously, you'll know what to expect. They're chatty and bursting with energy.
In addition to mini-games, the Furby app now comes with kid-friendly videos and music curated by Hasbro. It can sing and dance along to the entertainment.
But Furby Connect is more than just additional app content. It's not as intelligent (or as useful) as Amazon's Alexa, the assistant built into the Echo, but still, Hasbro's made Furby aware of what's happening in the world.
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Furby Connect is even more connected to the Internet. For example, updates pushed through the app's service (you won't need to update the app itself on a weekly basis), tell Furby Connect what songs are trending -- at least, after they're curated by Hasbro in partnership with Jukin Media and KIDZ BOP and deemed safe for kids. It also knows which viral videos are popping, and even provides commentary on them. In one demo, Furby Connect cheered on a grandma playing the drums.
The LED antenna on Furby Connect's head doubles as a joystick controller. While it's possible the antenna joystick may be used for controlling mini-games in the future, Hasbro isn't including that feature at launch for the app's built-in mini-games.
One of the most annoying things about Furbies has always been that they're nearly impossible to shut up. You have to silence them by removing the batteries or wait for them to give up and hibernate.
Hasbro's solved that pesky problem with an eye mask. Snap the mask onto Furby and it mutes itself and turns off all of its wireless radios. As Kris Paulson, Hasbro's director of design and development integrated play, told me, the mask makes it a lot quieter when transporting Furby Connect around in a suitcase.
It's hard to believe Furby turns 18 this year. It's rare for a toy to get reinvented over and over and retain so much charm. From what I saw, the Connect looks like it's the best Furby yet.
Furby Connect is now available for pre-order in two colors (pink and teal), exclusively on Amazon. More colors (purple, coral and light blue) will be released in fall 2016. The price tag is $99.99. Not cheap, but when have intelligent robot toys ever been cheap?
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Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
