Sony Rolls Out the Rolly

Music’s always been known to make people get up and move, but now, thanks to Sony, it’ll make music players move too. Their new Rolly, an egg-shaped MP3-playing device that fits in the palm of your hand, is ready to entertain you. As it plays music, the Rolly “dances” – spinning and rolling along to the beat. Sure it might be strange if it’s in your pocket at the time, but on a dance-floor (-esque table), it will be the star of the party.

As a shining, flashing, spinning example of what happens when technology combines with music and entertainment, the Rolly is quite probably the most unique music device in years. The unit features two speakers at opposite ends of its egg-shaped body allowing everyone in the area to enjoy its music. And, in a neat acoustic trick, the unit uses the surface it “dances” on to increase the amplify its sound by increasing reverberations.

Turning the unit on illuminates the built-in LEDs, which are capable of displaying approximately 700 different colors. The Rolly also contains robotic parts that include two small “arms,” one on each end of the unit, which flap open and close and rotate on the robotic shoulders. And of course, it’s got two wheels that allow it to roll and spin to the beat. With no cables to connect, the Rolly can easily slide, glide and gyrate on any flat, smooth surface.

The Rolly comes with five songs, three of which – “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), Avril Lavigne's “Girlfriend” and Earth Wind and Fire's disco classic “Boogie Wonderland” – come with preprogrammed dance moves.

So you can open the box, turn it on, and be entertained, but if you want the unit to dance to your favorite tunes you’ll need to tap into the choreographer in you and program a routine. The included software allows the Rolly to automatically analyze music to create a routine, or you can create your own from scratch. The software will then simulate how the device will move so that you can change it as you wish before transferring it to the Rolly. With 2GB of internal flash memory, it can store over 500 MP3s, and the battery is capable of playing music for up to 5 hours or dancing for up to 4 hours on a single charge. Retailing for $400 MSRP and coming in black or white, the Sony Rolly is available in Sony Style stores everywhere. So roll on in and get your groove on.