Do you remember Bow-Lingual, the Japanese dog translator that was honored by time magazine as one of the best inventions of 2002?  The Age has written a review of the English version, which will be released in Europe later this year at a price of about $111.  Guess What?  It sucks:

“Repeating yourself doesn’t help,” said Finn, somewhat cryptically, after I had fitted a small transmitter onto his collar. I pressed my hand-held receiver again. Woof: “I wish you made sense!”

Recording bark samples in Japanese homes, Dr Suzuki took video footage of the dog’s behaviour and the context of what the dog was, er, saying.

Finn, eight years old, seemed sceptical as I encouraged him to say more.

His right ear pricked up, indicating something along the lines of: “What the hell are you doing?” The Bow-Lingual begged to differ. “I’m strong, are you?” Finn was asking.

Out in the park, Finn was full of beans, but the new game of making him bark and then laughing at what he had “said” had worn rather thin. “I’m feeling a little odd,” he said, as I threw him a stick.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.  If the invention was really as marvelous as claimed, don’t you think it’s international release would have been sooner?  Seeing it on the shelves of recycle shops and in the bargain bin of toy/electronic shops doesn’t help it’s image either.

I could have made a ‘lost in translation’ pun in this update, but that would have been lame, don’t you think?

[Read the rest of the article here.]