How can a plastic ball about the size of a baseball be a robot? How can it be safe enough to be used as a child's toy? And how can this simple round ball be a video game? Because Spehero 2.0 is amazingly adaptable. It's so much more than it look like from first glance. Sphero 2.0 may seem like just a simple plastic ball, but it's not.There are mechanisms inside it that make it sound like a small animal running around inside. When you pick it up you can feel the weight of the mechanisms moving around. It's these mechanisms used in conjunction with your iOS device that make it so versatile.
If you've ever driven a radio-controlled helicopter or car, you can imagine one of the first uses for the Sphero. This cylindrical plastic toy does everything those radio-controlled vehicles do. And it does it all with just your iOS device, wheter it be an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
We were all excited to open up the Sphero 2.0 box. Each of us found something about it that would be fun to us. I knew my 20-year-old son would find the most use for it. He's a major video gamer and is also a former engineering student with and interest in robotics. He is also an aspiring Physics teacher, so the inner-makings of this toy/robot/game were fascinating to him.
Because my son would find the most use for the Sphero, I wanted him to remain in control of it, so he used the bluetooth capabilities to pair it up to his iPhone 5c, instead having it paired up to my iPhone, iPad, or my daughter's iPod Touch.
Not that it was easy to give up control of this fun device. While I knew it was something more meant for my son than anyone else, I didn't want to give it up and was secretly using my mothering ways to exert control over it. I'll admit, I love electronic gadgets as much as the next person, so I was finding the Sphero just as cool as my kid were. He might want to keep it locked up. I might end up "borrowing" it ... often.
My son downloaded the app into his iPhone and was up and rolling - literally - with the Sphero 2.0 within literally minutes. I was trying to finish up dinner in the kitchen, yet the Sphero was running circle around me and everything else with the RC vehicle capabilities. It was all being controlled by the iPhone.
However, the Sphero was proving itself to be indestructible. Not that my son isn't a good driver, but this ball can really picking up speed and would sometimes ram into me, the dog, the furniture, or the bar stool legs.
The Sphero comes with a charging base, a stand, and two ramps. It take some coordination and practice to get the Sphero to go over the ramps. You have to create enough speed first and also have to be addressing the ramps at the right angle. But after you have mastered the ramps that come free in the box, you can create your own obstacles and ramps for the Sphero to race around and through.
Fear not. The Sphero is seemingly indestructible. It issues a noise when it runs into something, just to let you know it reached a barrier in case it was out of your eyesight, which does happen, as it has a tendency to take off on you. But it is always okay.
Even when it went down the stairs it was okay. I could hear it hit each stair - stairs, I'll add, that are also covered in Pergo laminated flooring - as it went down two flights. I completely flipped out thinking my son had just ruined this device that I needed to review and was in complete panic mode. But I shouldn't have been. The Sphero was absolutely fine. It dropped down two fights of laminated stairs, one step at a time, and was no worse for the wear at the bottom. My panic was unfounded.
The Sphero is also waterproof. That doesn't mean that if you accidentally spill some water on it that it should be okay. It means that you can totally immerse it in water and that it will be okay. Not only that, but it will swim in the water. You can use the RC vehicle capabilities to drive it around a bath tub, pool, hot tub, etc., and it will "swim." Those who have read my articles here in the magazine or our website know about my experiences with toilets and sinks and iPhones and know why i just couldn't take that chance.
Can you imagine a robot taking a bouncing ride down the stairs or being fully immersed in water? But that's exactly what it is. It may look like just a ball, but there's no doubt that it is every bit a robot with the way you can control it with not just the regular Sphero app, but also the additional apps that can be downloaded from the App Store.
You can download an app to turn your Sphero into somewhat of a Simon game, with ColorGrab. You earn points by grabbing the Sphero every time it flashes a certain color. You can play alone or against friends. There are also sports games such as Bowling and Golf. There's also an app that will allow you to turn your iOS device into what amounts to an Etch-a-Sketch by manipulating the Sphero in your hand. There's even an app to use your Sphero to help you DJ your next event!
But where the Sphero and its apps really shine are with augmented reality. There is a zombie fighter. With Sharky the Beaver the Sphero becomes a big-toothed wood loving animal walking around your home interacting with you.
But the fun play of Sphero isn't limited to the downloadable apps. If you are so inspired, you can also use it and a few programming apps, MacroLab and OrbBasic, to create your own functions and play for Sphero 2.0. Kids don't have to just sit on the couch to play video games. They can be challenged to create their fun.
You can personalize your Sphero more by adding a "Nubby Cover". These are rubber covers that go around your Sphero to add more protection as it bumps along through your home. Again, it's always okay when it hits somethings, but you won't need to worry about it getting scratched if it has a Nubby Cover.
Watching my son play with the Sphero, despite the fact that he's a 20-years-old adult, I can only imagine the thrill it would be for a parent to watch a younger child play. It's eductional, inspirational , and fun.
Just like a video game, Sphero can be hard to put down. But this is one electronic toy you won't mind if your kids play with it just five minutes more. You'll only mind if it encroaches on your time to play.
by Laura Tucker
