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Tovbot, a startup that wants a future full of personal robotic assistants, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Shimi, which is auditioning to be your own personal robotic DJ.

The robot -- created by roboticists from Georgia Tech, MIT, and IDC -- takes advantage of smartphone technology to play music and pick songs based on your taste or mood.

It's essentially a cute, shiny dancing robot that performs a Pandora-like service and costs $199 (unless you help fund it through Kickstarter -- it's going for as low as $129 there).

"We want it to be your little musical companion," co-founder Gil Weinberg said at TechCrunch Disrupt today during the conference's startup battlefield segment. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- When Twitter cut off the connection to LinkedIn in July, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman said he assumed there would be a backlash.

Instead, the reaction was the opposite.

LinkedIn feeds "got much better," said LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who was interviewed by Michael Arrington at Techcrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. "...because it was so, 'I'm having a latte, at a 49ers game,' ...where LinkedIn is primarily about business."

Twitter, which has been cutting off some third-developers, shut out LinkedIn so that that people's tweets no longer show up on their LinkedIn … Read more

What a week for Panasonic. Of all the products CNET reviewed this week, the company scored the best ratings for both the most expensive gadget and the cheapest. There must be some sort of award for that. (Actually, there isn't, but there should be.)

The Panasonic TC-P65VT50 (affectionately known around these parts as the "VT50") is a 65-inch plasma TV that nabbed the hardest-won praise of all: A glowing review from our own David Katzmaier. Katzmaier gets right to the point in his review, explaining that the whole line of TVs in the VT50's series have &… Read more

Griffin has had a lot of success promoting its Helo TC app-controlled toy helicopter with an entertaining YouTube video. Now the company has released an amusing sequel to kick off the availability of its $59.99 Helo TC Assault, which fires nonlethal RedEye missiles from two spring-loaded launchers built into the mini copter's fuselage.

Like several other products that have started to use touch-based smartphone apps for remotely controlling ground and water vehicles as well as flying craft, the Helo TC assault is compatible with iOS and Android smartphones along with the iPod Touch. You download a free app, then clip on and connect the included "flight deck" accessory to your device and you're ready to start flying. … Read more

First off, congratulations to Andrew S. of Champaign, Ill., for winning last week's freebie, a copy of Nuance Dragon Dictate 2.5 for Mac.

Now for this week's prize, which is all about app-controlled fun. For starters, you'll get two cute little TankBots remote-controlled toy robots, which you maneuver with your iOS or Android device and a corresponding free app.

The DeskPets device uses its built-in accelerometer as a steering mechanism, allowing you to drive the TankBot around, navigating mazes, avoiding obstacles, chasing pets, and scaring houseguests.

You'll also score a Griffin Helo TC, a remote-controlled helicopter flown via iOS and Android devices and a free app that transforms the multitouch display into flight controls. The Touch-to-Fly mode uses the multitouch display to control Helo TC's throttle and joystick, while the Tilt-to-Fly lets users tilt the iOS device to move the helicopter forward, backward, and side to side (but hopefully not straight into your forehead). … Read more

LAS VEGAS--In the past, Panasonic's GT variants have been almost as good as the flagships they supported, and at much more affordable prices. We anticipate that this trend will continue with the new GT50.

The GT50 will come in four sizes from 50 inches to 65 inches and ships with an "Infinite Black Pro" panel. The full-HD 3D panel features 2D-to-3D conversion and a new louver filter designed to provide better contrast in lit environments.

With the exception of the Z1, design wasn't a key consideration for Panasonic plasmas until last year, with the "metallic … Read more

Last year, it was neck-and-neck between Panasonic's VT30 and Samsung's D8000/7000 as to the best television of the year...at least until those upstarts from Sharp spoiled plasma's party.

Currently the VT30 still stands as the best TV Panasonic has ever produced, and even if there's only a tiny improvement, the new TC-PVT50 series looks ready to take on that title.

The flagship VT50 will come in two screen sizes, the 55-inch TC-P55VT50, and the 65-inch TC-P65VT50 and features all of Panasonic's current know-how with an Infinite Black Ultra Panel and new louver filter. … Read more

In 2011, Panasonic's ST30 was our favorite TV priced at less than $1,000 and perhaps the best value of any TV we've ever reviewed, demonstrating top-of-its-class performance for the money.

But all good things must come to an end, and the ST30 is moving aside for the ST50.

The ST50 sits in the middle of Panasonic's 2012 range with four sizes starting at 50 inches and includes most of the goodies found in the more-expensive GT50 and VT50 televisions. It's the least-expensive to boast the "Infinite Black Pro" panel, which, if last year … Read more

For the last couple of years Panasonic's best plasma has been the most highly anticipated TV review on CNET, and 2011 is no exception. The top-of-the-line Panasonic TV-PVT30 series is the most clicked-upon TV on our site and my most asked-for review on Twitter, and despite its coming in No. 2 in our to-review poll to the flagship Sony, we're confident that no other TV commands the same expectations.

In nearly every way the TV-PVT30 lives up to those expectations. If Panasonic's claim about its black-level stability holds true, allowing it to outdo the 2010 models after … Read more