'Wall-E' for sale now, as MP3 player

(Credit: Sharper Image)

Bot-fans are anticipating the debut of Disney's "Wall-E" toys at the next Maker Faire, but you can get a jump on at least one gadget related to the latest Pixar epic right now.

An animated MP3 player that takes the form of the robot--whose name stands for "Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth Class"--is available for order from the Sharper Image. (Maybe it hasn't gotten much notice because of the chain's uncertain future.)

It's not the $190 "Ultimate Wall-E" full robot, but the 8-inch-tall "iDance Wall-E" does claim to talk and dance to the music while its eyes light up. Plugging into an iPod or other MP3 player, it sounds like another version of the "i-Dog," "i-Cy," and i-Everything Else. And at $25, maybe you can save some money and fool your kid into thinking it's the big Wall-E--for a couple of minutes, anyway.

[melanig]

This looks awesome! If I hadn't just bought a Cybook (they're on sale for $369 at BooksOnBoard! http://www.booksonboard.com/) I would buy the Ultimate Wall-E (not as useful but definitely cooler). BUT since I've exceeded my gadget budget for this month already, the iDance looks very cool. And cheap.