We've heard this whole song and dance before, but apparently Hybrios are such an improvement over regular one-use batteries that the Worldwide Wildlife Fund recently let the company stick its logo on the packets -- and if there's anything that motivates us to buy things, it's a giant, environmentally-friendly panda.

ENGADGET: Hybrio batteries bridge gap between disposables and rechargables

Besides the usual back-and-forth we enjoy with WowWee's products, 'panda also reads bedtime stories (we hear that it's fond of Bearinstein Bears), interacts with a MiniMe version of itself, and of course, delivers mad bear hugs to love-starved tykes.

ENGADGET: WowWee: snakes, dragonflies, and bears -- oh my!

You can see birds in your backyard, you can go see a panda bear, even if it's only on TV, there are animals out there that people can appreciate, that they can sympathize with, and they can relate to.

CNN: Keeping watch over the 'megafishes'

After the mother panda's distress call Sunday, a veterinarian examined the cub and observed that it was not breathing and had no heartbeat, said Suzan Murray, the zoo's chief veterinarian.

CNN: Panda cub dies at Smithsonian's National Zoo