Remember the Wi-Fi Nabaztag rabbit from last Christmas? A plastic bunny with whirling ears and blinky lights? For some folks it's an object of affection, but Mark Kaelin over at TechRepublic can't stand the thing. He took one apart piece by piece.
(CNET.co.uk's sister site TechRepublic runs a regular series called 'Cracking Open' in which they take a look inside a variety of gadgets. CNET.co.uk is publishing this excerpt.)
Credit: CNET Networks
The basic idea of this cute little device is that it flashes lights, wiggles its ears and talks to you when you receive an email. It costs around $150 (£75).
The Nabaztag spends about 90 per cent of its time doing nothing. The other 10 per cent it looks like this.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
The first and easiest thing to remove are the ears. They are attached via magnets to the rest of the body.
In an effort to keep us away from the inside of the device, the
Nabaztag engineers used security screws which have a triangle head.
This is a common security screw on electronic devices.
Here we have a first look at the inside. There are a lot of electronic doo-dads crammed into a small space.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
The Nabaztag uses standard LEDs to make its light show, but it increases the volume of the light emitted with plastic cones.
Here's a close look at the LEDs and the cones that enhance the light.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
A closeup of some of the silicon chips on the main Nabaztag circuit board. Notice the goop on some of the soldered connections.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
While definitely not top-of-the-line, this single speaker does put out enough sound to be annoying to your co-workers, family and/or flatmate.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
The ears are controlled separately so they can move independently.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
The Nabaztag does not seem to make a big deal about the power coming in. The transformer is at the wall plug, but there are no huge capacitors or much other protective circuitry.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
One of the mysteries about the Nabaztag is revealed. The Wi-Fi feature is provided by a standard PCMCIA Wireless LAN card.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
Much of the Nabaztag electronics are there to support the PCMCIA WLAN card.
The card included with the Nabaztag seems pretty ordinary. I wonder if it could handle a MIMO card?
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
Well, we have more information now. The Nabaztag is using direct-sequence spread spectrum technology.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
Not exactly direct drive, the movement of the ears is driven by two electric motors and this intricate gear system.
Note what is essentially a floating gear that sits between the drive shaft of the motor and the gear system that moves each ear. This mechanism was not easy to put back together in working order.
TechRepublic's Mark Kaelin wrote these captions.
Credit: CNET Networks
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