Hammacher Schlemmer's tablet-controlled 'Emotive Robotic Avatar' captures your heart, nest egg

Yeah, it's almost time for the holidays, and smart busy-bodies are already checking items off their shopping lists. For that special someone, consider the most outrageously overpriced plastic toy we've ever seen. $65,000 buys you this "Emotive Robotic Avatar" from Hammacher Schlemmer, a little servo-actuated guy that can wave its arms around and go from looking happy (above) to evil (below). It's all controlled by a tablet PC with a 30 foot range that receives a real-time video feed, as we
saw when we checked this guy out at the Toy Fair earlier this year, back when he was called Quasai. As shown in the video after the break, the "operator" can even speak through the robot, which will pitch shift his or her voice, a trick sure to give your children nightmares. If that doesn't work, just tell 'em you blew their college fund to buy the thing and they'll have to get work study jobs. That ought to send the shivers up their spines.

[Thanks, Evan]