Orbotix, a company that makes fast- moving, robotic toys that you can control with your smartphone, has released Sphero 2.0, a better version of Sphero, which is a robotic ball that you can control with your smartphone.
Sphero 2.0 combines improved hardware and software to become speedier, more accurate to steer, and more responsive than its predecessor. It looks quite similar to the original design, but packs more in every punch.
You will find it delightful to drive Sphero even without any purpose. Within a couple of weeks of getting your hands on it, the fun of steering this sphere around your apartment will not wane, and it usually leaves one wondering about what goes on inside it. It does not lose its allure, and brings out the inner child in you when you drive Sphero into the feet of a co-worker, over a ramp, or down the hall and escape a cat in hot pursuit.
Sphero 2.0 is essentially a gaming device. The company has proved more than capable at reimagining how people will play with the little thing. Their catalogue has a list of Sphero-compatible apps that have more than 25 titles and each one shows you a way of making the ball even more fun than you had ever imagined it to be. There are apps that offer a ‘Sphero-ised’ version of a sport — like bowling or golf.
But the games don’t stop at the obvious. You can play with the Sphero with your friends who also have the ball. All you have to do is fire up the Sphero tag app and make people “it” by bumping their Spheros with yours. There are a number of games based on augmented reality like The Rolling Dead that superimposes zombies in your real world environment that come after your Sphero. You have to drive them away and kill them with fireballs. You can also play games while you hold the Sphero and use it as a controller.
The ball works on an RPG-like system by letting you earn points that will help you level up as you accomplish tasks like rolling a certain distance or jumping really far. You can unlock faster speed at higher levels. You can name your Sphero inside the app. The makers wanted people to feel a little more attached to their devices and not think of Sphero as one of the many that flood the market.
The ones mentioned above are only some of those available in the impressive collection of apps, and Orbotix focuses on turning out game after game. The robotic ball does not fail to enthral people, and many are easily won over. People always want things that are paradigm -shifting, and Sphero is exactly that kind of stuff.
If you already have the original Sphero, then you already know what it can do, and if you are happy with it, then Sphero 2.0 is not for you. But, if you did not buy the original Sphero, for whatever reason, then Sphero 2.0 is for you. It is what anyone would call “the height of cool”.
You can buy it for $129 at http://www.gosphero.com.
