One of these for everybody one the board and maybe people will be happy. Of course, it's fair to say it will just start more compeition about who uses what song to make what mix....
What an IZ Is Is Hard to Say, but It's Easy to Say What It Isn't: Quiet By MICHEL MARRIOTT
<img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/09/14/technology/15zizzle.jpg" alt=" - " />
How to explain what iZ is? It's a crab-eyed, three-legged robotic thing that its makers hope will catch on as a kind of pet rock that actually rocks.
The heart - and belly - of iZ is a two-inch speaker that plays audio piped in through a standard jack at the back. When music is playing, iZ responds with synchronized colored lights inside its trumpetlike mouth. Its eyes bounce in their sockets, and it throws in burps and gurgles that may or may not be music commentary.
When the music is unplugged, iZ becomes an electronic instrument of sorts, for mixing and remixing built-in digital tracks. A belly button controls tempo, volume and seven beat tracks. Twisting its ears selects sounds and mixes them.
IZ, which will cost $40 when it is released this month, is made to appeal to "children and college students and beyond," said Marc Rosenberg, chief marketing officer for iZ's maker, Zizzle. Some of the company's executives were behind the wildly popular Furby. Will iZ join that odd character in the toy craze hall of fame? Find out this holiday season.
MICHEL MARRIOTT
