Have you used Roomba ? I have been using one for the past two years. It took me about six years to buy one. I wasn’t convinced that this little machine will do the chores. Finally a guy I know at work who is a true consultant (travels a lot) , told me that he couldn’t live with out it. He used to program the thing before leaving on a week long project work. By the time he comes back on the weekend his house is vacuumed. Honestly speaking it won’t be a replacement for your Hover or Dyson. But if you want an everyday light vacuum for your house / room / dorm , this is wonderful. My only issue has been the parts and reliability. The thing is now getting loose and lost couple of screws. I was thinking of buying a newer model but resisted because of the price / value thing. I was hoping for some other company jumping in the market. Now I am delighted to see good old SAMMY doing it. Seriously , if you can get the thing for 150 – 200 dollar range , its a worth buy for folks with big houses to small dorm rooms.

Via Engadget

Roomba has ruled the roost when it comes to domestic chores for a long time — too long. It’s getting some serious competition from Samsung, which is finally going to unleash one of its robovacs onto the rest of the world. Well, to Europe anyway. The Navibot is set to spread its wings across the EU in March, having been apparently warmly received in limited Italian tests last year. The bot captures 30fps video of your abode, documenting your feng shui and charting the most efficient course around your coffee table and the display case that houses your TMNT collection. It’s even sophisticated enough to pick up where it left off should it run out of juice mid-stride, after returning home for a recharge, but that kind of smarts will cost you: €399 for the basic model with a single virtual wall, and €499 for a slightly posher version with touch-sensitive buttons and a second virtual wall. There’s no word on an American release just yet, meaning Roomba’s home turf is safe — for now.