Okay Geek Farm
Karotz WiFi smart rabbit review
Andrew Kalies
Have you ever wanted a personal desk assistant that can update you on the weather, the latest news, and even your Twitter feed? That’s exactly what the successor to the venerable Nabaztag smart rabbit, the Karotz, is aiming to be. Let’s find out if it’s worth the price.
Features
- Compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
- Features a 400MHz Arm 9 processor w/ 64MB RAM and 256MB of flash memory.
- Integrated webcam, microphone, speakers, RFID reader, WiFi antenna, USB 1.1 port, Mini-USB port, volume control, and one main LED.
- Supports English, Spanish, French, and German languages.
- Marketplace currently includes over 400 “appz”.
Our Impressions
Inside the box is pretty straightforward. Slide the cover off the box, open it, and inside you’ll find the manual and a two-piece styrofoam box that snugly houses the Karotz, the USB and power cables, two RFID nanos, and finally all of it’s international power adapters.
Design
Right out of the box, the Karotz is a lot bigger than you would think. For a good size comparison, see the image below. The body is made of a glossy, white plastic that feels pretty durable, although I wouldn’t recommend dropping it from any considerable height. On the front are two eyes and a nose (no real use, just there for show), a large multi-color LED below that, and a small webcam at the bottom that I also presume acts as it’s belly button. The multi-color LED changes color based on what the Karotz is doing, for example solid red means it’s starting up, solid orange means voice-recognition is activated, and flashing cyan means a message is waiting.
On top you’ve got the two magnetic ears, which move when you are interacting with the Karotz. (More on that in applications.) Also on top is a small push button, which is what you hold down when you want to say a command to it. Around back is a good size speaker, a volume wheel, and the USB/micro-USB ports. Underneath, you’ll find the hole for the power cord to go into and a small dial for positioning the webcam. And yes, it does look like a rabbit.
Installation and Setup
There are two ways to setup the Karotz. The first way is to go to the Karotz website, input your WiFi information, and then download a file containing all of the information onto a flash drive that you insert into Karotz’s USB port. The second way is to plug the Karotz directly into your PC using the bundled USB to micro-USB cable and run the Karotz Configuration program (also available on the Karotz website). Both ways are pretty straightforward, but we chose the PC installation route. Once your computer recognizes the Karotz, you just have to input your WiFi SSID and password into the configuration program and it’ll connect. That’s it!
*Note: For users using Windows 7 64bit, as I am, it may be worth noting that the Karotz may not work properly with your computer unless you do some digging around in the Control Panel. After browsing the Karotz forums for two hours, I was able to download an old Acer USB driver from the Microsoft Catalog and install it under the Control Panel as legacy hardware. That finally allowed the Karotz to connect to my computer. There are multiple ways that will work, I’m told, since it’s a pretty widespread issue, so your best bet is to try the forums if you’re having issues. This is a minor annoyance for me, but it may deter some users.
Applications (aka Karotz Appz)
Here’s where the Karotz actually comes to life. Once you’ve got it configured with your WiFi connection, you must log on to the Karotz website, where you’ll then be able to name your rabbit (we named ours Preston, because why not) and access the application store. However, most of the apps are free, so you won’t be spending much money (if any at all) to get your rabbit up and reading you information. To get an app, you simply select it, click download, and it’s automatically sent to the Karotz. Then from your PC you can configure the app with things such as permissions to allow it to pull your information. Using it’s hardware, Karotz can take advantage of these appz to speak to you, see you, listen to you, and obey you.
I chose to test several appz, including Weather, Tai-Chi, Twitter, New York Times, Kotaku, and My Webcam. Weather works very well, after putting in my zip code and simply saying “Weather” the Karotz promptly informed me of the current conditions and well as the outlook for the day. New York Times and Kotaku, both RSS-related appz, work pretty much the same. You say, for example, “Kotaku”, and it’ll read the latest headlines from Kotaku. You can also specify the amount of headlines read. The Twitter app also worked great, allowing the Karotz to not only read my tweets, but also tweet directly to Twitter as well using the integrated mic. The Tai-Chi app doesn’t really have a meaningful purpose, although it is neat and gives your rabbit something to do while sitting idly on your desk. The rabbit will play zen-like music while slowly moving it’s ears around. It’s a nice touch. The My Webcam app allows you to attach the Karotz to your computer to act as a webcam via USB to micro-USB cable. You install the app and then open a Java-based webpage on the Karotz website and you can see what it sees. Then, if you wish, you can have it email you pictures of what it sees. However, in my testing I was unable to get a picture to appear. After trying several different browsers, I determined it could possibly be related to the issues I had during the installation (see above), so that’s definitely not a good thing. Overall though, the appz were pretty good.
Speech, Dictation, and Pronunciation
Most of these appz are based on the Karotz reading information to you, and doing this can be hit and miss. The voice the Karotz uses is a very robot-like woman’s voice, and while it doesn’t sound very natural, for the most part it gets the job done. Depending on how the text is spelled in whatever feed the Karotz is reading from, it can have an effect on it as well. For example, if it’s reading a news feed direct from the New York Times that is grammatically correct, it reads it just fine with one or two studders here and there. However, if it’s reading my Twitter direct messages from some of my friends who abbreviate lots of things, then the Karotz struggled. Namely, when it tried to pronounce words like “lol” and “M$”, it came out as “laal” and “Mmm”. A small annoyance, but I don’t expect it to read everything perfectly (especially since it’s not proper English to begin with).
RFID
Another major application of the Karotz is it’s ability to interact with and read RFID chips. For example, you can pass an RFID chip near the Karotz and it will read whatever is on it, for example a storybook. From the online Karotz store, you can purchase RFID-equipped “Nanoztags” (smaller plastic rabbit figures) or “Flatnanoz” (flat Rabbit-shaped plastic) to use with your Karotz for this purpose for $9.99 and $5.99, respectively. I had the opportunity to test two Flatnanoz that came with the Karotz, and can safely say that they work pretty good. Using RFID technology, you pass one of the Flatnanoz over the Karotz’s nose, which it then will tell you to go online and configure it. Once on the website, it should appear automatically and then you simply select an app that you want it to launch when swiped, and tell it to associate with that particular nano. Pretty simple.
Mobile Integration
Furthermore, you can control the Karotz with your Android or iOS device via an official app that allows you to command Karotz to send messages, take pictures, play music, and more from your device. I was not able to test this due to my lack of a smartphone, though.
There are many other appz that you can use with Karotz, namely the many radio station appz and even some alarm appz that I didn’t touch on in this review, so there is obviously a lot you can do with this rabbit.
Expanding Karotz
Out of the box, the Karotz is a bit limited. Thankfully though, the Karotz online store offers several accessories to compliment the rabbit. For example, a 4GB USB tail that you plug into the Karotz’s USB port that can store music and other files, a battery pack to allow your Karotz to become mobile, and even personalized ears and skins to make the Karotz truly yours. However, these accessories range anywhere from $10 to $20, and to get the added experience it feels like you’d be paying a lot more than $129 when all is said and done.
Overall
The bottom line is that the Karotz is a niche product. It’s a nice toy that overall serves it’s purpose well and for the most part is pretty reliable. However, it’s app marketplace isn’t amazing and the $129 price tag is a bit high. If you’ve got some money to blow though and are looking for a cute, plastic desk assistant that reads you the current weather when you wake up, this is probably one of the best choices out there.
Pro’s
- Does what it’s meant to do well.
- RFID tech is a nice touch.
- Supports all 3 major operating systems, and has an Android/iOS app.
Con’s
- A bit expensive for what it is (a niche product).
- App selection isn’t great.
- Doesn’t always play nice with Windows 7 64bit.
Where to buy
ThinkGeek — MSRP: $129.99
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