iRobot's New Products Could End Up Lonely and Unloved

Two new products by iRobot(IRBT Quote), a gutter-cleaning device and a virtual communications robot, are an attempt to expand the company's portfolio of consumer-targeted devices.

But the two offerings, with their limited appeal, may not do much for the company's crumbling stock.

On Thursday, iRobot introduced the Looj gutter-cleaning robot and the ConnectR virtual-visiting Robot to supplement its existing line of the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot and Scooba, an automated floor washing device. ...