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Dead Zebra will carry the coveted Android figure that sold out on Google's shop
New 3D bugdroid 'The Bot' gets an official collectible, available next month
If you missed your window to grab that new Bugdroid Bot collectible that briefly popped up on Google's official merch shop, you're in luck: prolific Android collectibles peddler Dead Zebra has listed the figure as coming soon. It's the first Dead Zebra figure to reflect the little green guy's 2023 redesign, and while there's no specific release date yet, it should be available for purchase starting next month.
The official Android mascot, casually known as bugdroid, has been with us since 2007 - and like all of us, it’s gone through changes over the past 15 years. It’s no longer a flat image, it’s more three dimensional, and its green hue has altered throughout its history.
Even Dead Zebra's Android figurines have dark mode now
Also in standard green, if that's how you roll
Are you really an Android fan if you don't have at least one of Dead Zebra's figurines? The company has made countless limited-edition models of Google's mascot decked out in various themes, celebrating everything from Christmas and Chinese New Year to Oktoberfest and, uh, French cooking. If you've been hoping for a plain model you can keep on your desk year-round, an upgraded version of the standard Mini collectible Bugdroid is now available — and it even comes in dark mode.
Google bends over backwards to teach how to make an origami Bugdroid
Break out your leftover wrapping paper
Android's mascot throughout its whole history has been everyone's favorite green robot, unofficially dubbed the Bugdroid. Google might have stopped creating fun mascot statues to commemorate new OS releases, but the Android team has started off 2021 with a tutorial video for creating an origami Bugdroid.
Oktoberfest begins tomorrow! Or tonight if you're coming off work. Or yesterday. Hey, we don't judge. But we also don't encourage the drowning of your sorrows for the fact that the Android mascot has been reduced to a mere figurehead of what it used to be. No! You can appreciate the entire bugdroid with a whole figure to celebrate the Oktoberfest season! Dead Zebra has a new Android minifigure and an ornamental stein to boot.
In its usual fashion, Google has unveiled the statue that commemorates Android 10's release. Now that the sweet, dessert-themed names have been dropped, what do we have left to draw upon for statue-inspiring art? According to Google, a disembodied Android head and the number "10," pretty much what we were promised.
After a sit-down with members of Android's brand design team in the company's new Mountain View office last month, the headline of this post was essentially what I came away with. Android's visual branding is changing as part of the release of Android 10, but that's in and of itself only a tiny part of Android, and it's really not changing a lot.
If you love to collect vinyl Bugdroid figurines — just because they're so damn cute — you'll want to make some time tomorrow morning to reserve a limited edition design from Dead Zebra. From 8 a.m. Pacific tomorrow, you can grab a special Android Mini figure to celebrate the dog days of summer.
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- Sales of the new special-edition figures have gotten underway, right on schedule. You can pick up each of the four Minis for $12 a piece, or snag the four-pack for $44, a $4 discount over buying them individually.
Andrew Bell's Dead Zebra releases tons of cute little Bugdroid figures for holidays and other special occasions. Android turned 10 in September, and you'd better believe there are a handful of commemorative Android Minis coming soon.
Android 9 Pie was officially released earlier today, but there was one thing missing from the announcement: the statue. You see, Google creates a statue to put on display at its Mountain View campus for each new Android dessert version. Lately, the statues had been getting pretty stale, though the Oreo one showed some improvement. The statue for Android 9 Pie, however, marks the return to boring bugdroids.
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- Pre-orders for this pastel-draped set are now open. The trio can be yours for a scant $24. Like we mentioned before, shipping isn't set to commence until early next week, just ahead of the Easter holiday.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Bugdroid: he's the official mascot for Android and a common depiction in Dead Zebra's Android Mini figurines. The company has just pushed its latest special edition set for spring to its site, revealing pre-order availability for tomorrow (March 20th) at 11AM Eastern time and I can't keep up this facade anymore THEY'RE LIKE TINY ANDROID PEEPS IN A BOX, OH MY GOD.
Google's last couple of Android statues have been thoroughly underwhelming. David was so incensed by the lack of effort that went into 'Bugdroid holding a marshmallow' and 'Bugdroid surrounded by 3 bits of nougat' that he even wrote an article lamenting them. Someone at Google must have been reading because Android 8.0 Oreo's statue is the most impressive for some time: a moving robotic Super Oreo-themed Bugdroid, no less.
Remember when the fanciful dessert codenames for Android were an inside joke rather than an actual marketing push? Ever since version 4.4 "Kit-Kat" (and the tie-in promotional campaign with Nestle), it seems like Google has been making a sincere effort to make users as aware of the codename - which is now more of a slogan - as the release number itself. So when the French town of Montélimar asked Google if they were interested in some kind of promotional event for Android 7.0 "Nougat," the company jumped at the chance.
A manufacturer really has to go out of its way to make a portable speaker that isn't Bluetooth all that compelling. It's bad enough most of us still have to plug in our phones to charge—you still want me to plug something into the headphone jack and leave my phone lying there just to listen to music?
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- IT'S ALIVE! The listings for Android Isaac Newton, Nicola Tesla, and Marie Curie are active on the Dead Zebra store, along with the triple pack. It looks like all of them are in stock as of 7:20 PM Eastern on April 20th.
Dead Zebra's long-running line of themed Android figures is expanding by three next week. The latest figures use the now-iconic shape of the Android mascot, but bear cartoon likenesses of three of the biggest names in scientific history: Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, and Nikola Tesla. They'll go on sale in the Dead Zebra shop starting on Monday, April 20th at 11AM Eastern time (8AM Pacific). Each one will cost $10.
Do you need an accessory to show off your Android pride... you know, besides your Cruzerlite Nexus phone case, Bugdroid-eating-Apple vinyl sticker on the back of your car, hundreds of pins from the Big Android BBQ all over your messenger bag, and a Chromebook Pixel signed by Matias Duarte? Then Newegg's Woot-style flash deals site is happy to oblige. The online store is offering the GOgroove Pal Bot Android-shaped speaker for just thirteen bucks today and tomorrow.
More droids everywhere! If you're itching to androidify your life, then this cute little speaker will definitely help the process and won't cost you a lot. At $15, it is 79% off its normal price on Amazon and $5 less than the previous deals we previously spotted on Best Buy and Newegg.
Some characters have to be shoehorned into an endless runner, but for Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, the genre is a natural fit. Now Sega is offering a Nintendo-style promotion that's only available for Android. Here's your chance to take our lovable green Bugdroid out for a spin, as the developers have dropped it into the game and are daring players to see if machines really are better at everything.