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When it comes to easy-to-use and even easier-to-program universal remote, Harmony products always rank high. Logitech Harmony One is a worthy successor to last year’s 880 model, improving upon virtually all aspects.

One look at the remote and you’ll realize the button placement is more intuitive than ever before. Gone are the tiny buttons next to the screen, and instead there is a full color touchscreen (220 by 176 pixels). The screen makes using the remote even easier and even more customizable. Some of the odd shape buttons (like “A”, “B” and “C” buttons on cable box) look just like they do on the unit remote, making them easier to spot on the screen. Another great use of the screen is to customize favorite channels when you’re watching the TV. By downloading and configuring your remote to display channel logos, just press the logo and you’ll be taken to that channel. TV station logos for virtually all channels in the world can be downloaded here.

What hasn’t changed is the software. As always, Harmony One requires you to set up the device online, which means if you don’t have an internet connection, you can’t set up the remote. On the flipside, you don’t have to read through rows and rows of device codes and trying each one to find what your devices respond to. Instead, just type in the brand and the model number, Harmony website will figure out what codes to use.

Harmony One still uses activities which is another way to describe macro. Default configuration will work for most users, but the option is available for you to tweak to your heart’s content (such as delay between button presses, order of devices power on…). For example, press “Watch TV” activity and, based on your programmed devices, the remote will automatically turn the TV on, set it to the proper input, turn the cable box or other audio devices on, and even set it to the favorite default channel.

In the end, Harmony One is a worthy successor to last year’s model, and it improves upon the Harmony 1000 which also featured a touchscreen. Harmony One is better looking, with better button placement, more comfortable to hold, and features a better screen. Even the recharging dock is improved with customizable LED brightness. Chances are, you have multiple devices in your home theater setup, and Harmony One will make controlling them much easier.

The original “Evolution of Dance” video by Judson Laipply all the way back in 2006 was a sensation as he was able to feature many diverse dance stylings in a compact non-stop 6 minute routine. Now the makers of MechRC robot has programmed its upcoming robot to do the routine (and arguably better than the real human in some of the moves). Watch the original video after the jump and compare:

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First talked about on August 31, Sony’s Rolly SEP-10BT Sound Entertainment Player is set for its Japanese debut on September 28, 2007. It can play back MP3, ATRAC and AAC files stored on its 1GB internal memory, or use Bluetooth. As it plays the music, it can either dance to it on its own, or execute a user-programmed choreography that can even be shared with other Rolly users…

A mini portable jukebox that can roll around executing choreography sounds like fun. The problem: its price will be 40,000 yens which is about $350 USD… definitely too much for a dumb robot� with a single-purpose. At that price, it’s probably a better idea to purchase a Roomba and watch it clean your room while listening to music from your stereo /� computer / iPod / anything.

Sony is set to unveil its latest robotic creation named Rolly. It’s rumoured to be a robot Walkman (a what?) as it features an intriguing choreography system allowing it to dance, move about, and change lights according to the music being played. Sounds like a feature my Aibo has had for a long time now…

Not that many details are known about this robot, but according to the leaked commercial, it’s very small as it is the size of your palm. Whenever it does come out, I’ll definitely have to get it and create a head-to-head dancing competition video with my Aibo!

You know we’ve reached an apex of robotic development when the cuddly robots we develop can re-enact the human artform of commercials… watch as 3 Pleo dinobots party like it’s 1999.

Newest robotic puppy trying to outdo now-defunct Aibo is BJ, a robotic dog running on Linux. The dog is fully programmable (which Aibo wasn’t) and it’ll cost $4,900 when it’s released. Is BJ named after that pet-food store? or blowjob? For the unfortunately-named BJ, its ridiculously high price-tag will guarantee its failure, and its ugly looks don’t help either.

Pleo, the latest robot vying for your attention, promises many things such as an unique robot that evolves differently depending on the environment and interaction with the owner. Now this friendly and cuddly dinosaur has a price tag and a release date! It’s set to ship on October 15, 2007 and you can preorder it right now for $349.

Visit PleoWorld for more stats, pics and videos (just be warned that you’ll hear lots and lots of cute robot moans) or go to ugobe store and put down your money for your very own Camarasaurus!

Ugobe’s cute little green robot dinosaur has seen numerous delays but signs are pointing to its commercial release! They just unveiled its packaging… and announced that its battery will be replaceable. Hopefully one day soon, I’ll be able to compare how intelligent (and cute) this robot is compared to my Sparky!