In the 70-odd years since the advent of talkies, how big a movie star you are has been measured by how many lines of dialogue you get. Presumably these need to be uttered in a language known to at least some members of humanity. R2D2, the robot droid of Star Wars legend, defied that convention to grab more than his share of the billing while emitting lots of sounds but not a syllable of it intelligible to anybody who was not a script writer. Proof of his enduring appeal is to be had in the latest gadgets rendered in his image.
Toy maker Nikko has come out with a video projector and DVD player in one package that looks just like, no drum roll needed, the pint-sized robot with the liking for blue and silver. In the spirit of all things from another galaxy the remote control unit looks like a miniature Millennium Falcon, the spaceship that also grabbed its share of the limelight without the need for vocal cords. The whole R2D2 unit weighs in at 8 kg and measures 34x33x52 cm and costs 388,000 yen. The device includes an iPod dock and a memory card reader. The projector, which shines forth from the top of R2D2's metallic skull ala his debut in the original "Star Wars", is a DLP with XGA resolution, 1500 lumens and a contrast ratio of 1800:1.
Taking the emulation act a step further Nikko has also produced an R2D2 USB-operated Web camera that again bears a striking resemblance to the droid. And in a final out-of-this-galaxy touch, the company has brought out a Skype phone that is shaped like a Star Wars light saber. More information on the company's galaxy of Star Wars gadgets is available at: www.nikko-group.com/japan/main.html and may the force of fandom be with you.