seanhowell's Full Review: Hasbro iDog Speaker System
I had the rare opportunity to test both Sega and Hasbro iDogs side by side recently, this is the comparison.
The Hasbro is only available in White (Black too, from Feb 06). The 'Japan' version of the iDog is available in Pink and Blue; I'll refer to these as the Sega version (the black and white ones are the Hasbro versions).
Sega iDog - 70 different personalities
Hasbro i-Dog - 3 personailites
Sega iDog - Play events Music, Record & Pet modes
Hasbro i-Dog - Pet mode only
Sega iDog - Controls Volume control
Hasbro i-Dog - N/A
Sega iDog - Memory Personaility back up
Hasbro i-Dog - N/A
Sega iDog - Power Auto power off
Hasbro i-Dog - N/A
Size and Construction
Both iDogs are the same size (about the size of your fist) and look the same at a glance. You would be forgiven for thinking these are badged versions of the same thing; these are engineered entirely diffrently however. Without gettinmg the covers off entirely, the differences in design do make their way to the average user as follows; The Sega takes 3xAAA batteries loaded in the belly front to back, the Hasbro takes 2x AA batteries loaded left to right in one of the hind legs. The Sega features two additional buttons on the top of the head. The audio input is in a slightly different location. Sounds made by the two are entirely different, the Hasbro appears to have more dog-like sounds whereas the Sega is all about melodic tunes and beeps.
The Hasbro is a better feeling product, more finished, solid. By comparison, the Sega looks and feels 'cheap'.
Speaker Sound
The sound quality on either dof is not HiFi of course - these are half inch speakers, but the differnce between the products was significant. The Hasbo was clear - you could listen to it comfortably all day; the Sega was distorted, scratchy.
Servo Motors
The servos that control the head and ear movement are LOUD on the Sega, when dancing to the audio from an external source (thus presented at the dog's speaker), the servos drown out the speaker almost completly. The servos on he Hasbro are audible, but nowhere near the noise of the Sega, and the Hasbro speaker is still capable of eclipsing it's servo noise. Servo motor noise is by far the worst thing about the Sega.
Additional Features
The Sega has a few additional personality features, but really nothing too advanced, the event mode is a bit confusing - essentially it means after it sits there for a while, it'll play its own tune, then go back to pet-mode. It will record your voice for 4 seconds but only parrot it back using its tune generator, so obviously its not ledgeible. You won't use these features.
All round, if you were attracted to the iDog because it looks cute and dances to the music, the features aren't the real issue then - buy the Hasbro. If you got stuck like me and had to get Pink and Blue, well you have no choice but at least you're informed now.
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