Orbotix Sphero Techno Toy

It has been a little just over a year since the first smartphone-controlled cue ball named Sphero was released to the market. Since then, we have witnessed a couple of pre-production units sport their stuff. Apparently, more and more people are finding themselves intrigued with this gadget (or whatever you call it). So what is really with this $130 techno toy that makes it so interesting? 

Hardware, setup and battery life

Setting up this techno toy is fairly simple. In its plastic box, you will find a blue induction charging base, power cord and of course, the alabaster orb. To charge the ball, all you have to do is to plug the base in an outlet, set the 'Sphero' into its cradle and a blue LED light will indicate the flow of power for charging. It can take three hours to charge fully, and manufacturers claim that the ball can work for an hour of playtime on a single charge.

After charging, you can then shake Sphero to turn it on. It usually takes two to three shakes to pair it to your Android device through Bluetooth iOS using any of the toy's various apps.

There are basically five apps for Android and iOS owners to use for Sphero: the Sphero, SpheroDrive, Draw 'N Drive, SpheroCam and SpheroGolf. But manufacturers have promised that there are more apps to come.

The Sphero app is the main software that both facilitates firmware updates and duplicates functionality available in other apps. It includes built-in driving control, basic joystick, draw and drive capability and the 'Answer Me,' which is like a magic 8-ball feature where you can verbally ask question answerable by yes or no to Sphero. The ball also includes an inside LED, where you can change color of your ball.

In SpheroDrive, the app lets you choose from three control modes: the basic joystic, tilt and RC. In Joystick mode, you can move and drive the ball using the digital D-pad on your Android or iOS phone. With tilt, you can use the actual phone as your steering wheel to drive the ball. The RC mode gives you the different controls for the ball's speed and steering controls. You can also choose the speed of the ball from the three 'cautious, comfy and crazy' speed options.

The wrap up

At first look, Sphero can be a very intriguing techy toy. But most of the time, after minutes of playing with it, users tend to grow bored. Well, of course, there's only much time for anyone to watch a ball roll around at walking pace before looking elsewhere for different entertainment.

The toy can be a good tool for starting a conversation, as most folks haven't seen this techy toy yet. Also, it is quite interesting how additional apps can improve this toy in the future. With new apps, this techno toy might be worth the rather hefty pricetag but for now, it's a pricy item with limited attraction.