Sony Rolly

The basics

Bluetooth audio streaming, up to five hours music playback, 2GB of built-in memory, and shuffle play (switch songs just by shaking the Rolly) are just some of the features in Sony's dancing MP3 player. Its 104x65x65mm body also belies the fact that there's a soft dome speaker and digital amplifier packed in there. As does the 300g weight.

The good

This unbelievably endearing hunk of music-playing plastic has more personality than any of Sony’s previous gadgets. It’ll suck up tunes onto its 1GB of internal memory, or stream songs from a Bluetooth-equipped mobile or music player, before blasting them through its built in speakers, and delivering a spot of interpretative dance to boot. Yes. It’s a dancing robot-cum-MP3-player. But so much more than that. It makes music fun in a way that’s completely unmatched by the MP3 playing, or robotic competition. And then there’s the software. Hook Rolly up to a PC, and you can choreograph moves to tracks too. Buy a few, and it’s possible to synchronise them, like an electronic Swan Lake.

The bad

It’s a robot. It’s a music player. But it’s not the best at being either. Incessant tinkerers will soon tire of the software’s limitations, and those looking for a music box will find its memory too small, and speakers too weedy.

The bottom line

It’s a toy with tons of charm, but as a serious purchase is almost impossible to justify. Splash out, if you’ve got money to burn, but we guarantee Rolly’s cuteness will wear off, and you’ll soon consign him to a heartbreaking future on a dusty shelf.