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Engadget giveaway: win a Darkside Ollie courtesy of Sphero!
If you've been out of the loop for the past few years, you may have missed the original app-controlled Sphero robot, but late last year its action-centric sibling the Ollie, hit the ground running rolling. The Ollie can be controlled from up to 100FT away with an iOS or Android device and cruise at speeds of up to 14MPH. For those who prefer subdued stylings, Sphero even released a special edition: the Darkside Ollie. This high-tech (and hackable) toy can do off-road rambling and snake its way into nearby skate sessions to pay tribute to its namesake. Practiced users can have the Ollie doing an array of edgy tricks, all with a little help from the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. In the name of fun, Sphero has given us three of these obsidian speedsters for a trio of Engadget readers to enjoy this week. As always, simply head to the Rafflecopter widget below to get up to three chances at winning your very own taste of the Darkside. Winners: congratulations to Victor W. of La Jolla CA, John N. of St. Louis MO, and Matthew P. of Hillsboro, OR.
Engadget UK giveaway: win a Sphero 2.0 or Ollie bot courtesy of Orbotix
The best kind of presents to receive are often ones you have no legitimate need for; the gifts intended purely to put smiles on faces. And, having a little fun is exactly what this week's giveaway is all about. To get you in the Christmas spirit, our friends at Orbotix have been kind enough to supply no less than four of their speedy, app-controlled robots for us to send the way of big and small kids alike. We've got one of the company's Sphero 2.0 ball-bots to give away, as well as three of the newer Ollie bots, including an all-black and limited-edition Darkside model, meaning everyone has a whopping four chances to win. As is tradition, you can enter up to three times via the Rafflecopter widget below, though we'd advise a quick scan of the rules beforehand, if you wouldn't mind. Winning: congrats to David S. from Thames Ditton, Adam T. from Newcastle, Nihal C. from Warrington and Jon R. from Oldham.
Win an Ollie, Sphero 2.0 or Darkside Ollie from TUAW and Orbotix
Sphero and Ollie from Orbotix have been TUAW favorites for quite a while -- I mean, how can you not love fun and educational robots that are controlled and programmed from your favorite iOS device? Well, the good folks at Orbotix are making it easy for three lucky readers to pick up one of their products through a giveaway that will be running through 11 PM MST (10 PM PST) on November 30, 2014. How do you enter? Just click here, read the terms and conditions of the giveaway, fill out the simple form and click or tap that Submit button. One winner is going to get a Sphero 2.0 (above), the latest iteration of the app-controlled ball that does it all! Valued at US$149.99, Sphero zips around at up to 4.5 mph, glows in a rainbow of colors, can be controlled via a huge and growing variety of apps, and even programmed through SPRK. Want something with a bit more speed? One winner is going to get an Ollie (above) valued at $119.99. Ollie is the app-controlled robot driven by adrenaline and can speed around at up to 14 miles per hour! Built-in LEDs let you drive at night, and the Ollie app can give you the power to do insane tricks. The last prize is a Darkside Ollie (that's it in the photo above) valued at $149.99. Using Bluetooth LE for control up to 100 feet away, Darkside Ollie not only looks really cool, but comes with 2 nubby tires, 2 turbo tires, 2 prime hubs and 2 flux hubs. Like its sibling Ollie, Darkside Ollie can drive for over an hour on a full charge and can be programmed with MacroLab or OrbBasic on either your iPhone or iPad. Do we have you excited yet? Here's the link to the giveaway page again. Go and enter, and in the meantime, enjoy a few videos.
Ollie, the newest member of the Sphero family, can be yours today
It feels like CES 2014 took place an eternity ago. To be more specific, it's been roughly seven months since we were in Las Vegas for the madness that is the Consumer Electronics Show. So why are we telling you this? Well, because that's how long it has taken Sphero, formerly Orbotix, to bring its newest robot, Ollie, to market. But, as the saying goes, better late than never. As of today, Sphero's beginning to take orders for the $99 connected device on its website, while general availability at third-party retailers (such as the Apple Store) is set to be a few days later, on September 15th. Ollie, which was originally known as Sphero 2B, isn't meant to replace the original Sphero. Instead, the company wants to make it clear that Ollie is here to expand the family, not to replace its rather popular, first- or second-generation robotic spheres.
Happy accident: Sphero makes the move from toy to teaching
Orbotix, now simply known as Sphero, had the world in awe when it introduced its smartphone-controlled, ball-shaped toy back in 2010. Back then, we were still getting used to the concept of "connected" things. Today, nearly four years after making its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show, Sphero is one of the most popular peripherals around, on iOS and Android alike. But while the robotic ball may have started off as a knickknack for kids, or adults, to play with, it has recently started to break into another, more serious field: education. In an effort to boost that, Sphero launched an initiative called SPRK about five months ago, with the goal of letting schools adopt its product into education curriculum. Simply put, kids could not only learn about programming, but also have fun doing so.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Orbotix
Like cool vehicles you can control from your smartphone? Boy have we got the company for you. Orbotix celebrated CES 2014 with the release of a new kind of Sphero. The 2B has two treads, moves fast and is available at a lower price point than its older sibling. We'll be speaking with the company's co-founders. January 9, 2014 2:30:00 PM EST
Sphero's 2B smartphone-controlled toy is quick, easy to control and a lot of fun (hands-on)
We know, we know. Sometimes a poem just doesn't do it when it comes to a product announcement. Thankfully, Sphero's new budget 2B rolled into CES Unveiled just in time. The smartphone-controlled toy will retail for $100 when it drops in the fall -- that's $60 less than Sphero 2.0's current asking price. The company had a handful of models on the floor, and while all of them are prototypes, they worked remarkably well. We got the hang of it from the first moment we picked up the iOS app. It's responsive and handles a lot better than its predecessor right out of the box, no doubt owing to the slightly more traditional form factor -- that is, if you can use a word like "traditional" to refer to a device like this. Also, in spite of being a prototype, the 2B is pretty rugged, as we found ourselves playing Sphero bumper cars. The rep we spoke with told us that the final version will likely have IR built-in, so multiple 2Bs can interact -- and with the lower price point, it'll be that much easier for people to pick up a couple of devices for their home. The final version will also have more lighting effects built-in. Those nub tires you see are removable, by the way, so you can customize your device. The company was also showing off a 2B rocking smoother tires, which was even faster, with speeds of up to 14 feet a second, a fair bit zippier than the pricier Sphero 2.0. Nicole Lee contributed to this report.
The announcement of 2B, Prince of Sphero: Act 3, Scene 1
2B or not 2B: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler to spend $100 On a budget device, not technically a sphere, But more reminiscent of a monster truck; With two giant knobby wheels on either side Of an oblong polycarbonate body in black or white. O 'tis capable of traveling at up to 14 feet; Controlled by an iPhone or Android device Up inclines and o'er bumpy terrain But lo, it will not be available until the fall: Ay, there's the rub.
Weekly Roundup: Smartphone buyer's guide, Hyperloop, Windows 8.1 release date, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Tablet buyer's guide, Outlook goes down, Windows 8.1 launch date, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Sphero 2.0 rolls out at speeds 'slightly slower than a Lamborghini' (video)
A robotic ball you control with your phone? What's not to like? Well, we managed to find a few things when we took a look at the first generation back in 2011 -- that's what we do. Most of the criticisms of the original Sphero came down to pricing and the admittedly short list of things it could actually do at the time. Sure it was pretty great at driving feline friends completely nuts -- but that alone wasn't enough to justify the $130 price tag. Orbotix has made some improvements since then, and more importantly, the open API has given users a much fuller experience, with around 20 or so compatible titles currently available on the iPhone. This month, the company is refreshing the device itself, with the simply titled Sphero 2.0. The particularly astute among you will no doubt notice that nothing has really changed here from an aesthetic standpoint. Nope, it's the same white plastic ball with the cartoony Sphero mascot on one side and all of the fine print (FCC info, "Made in China," etc.) on the other, with a series of interlinking, barely visible lines across its surface. There have been some hardware changes to the toy, but everything's on the inside, namely brighter lights and faster speeds -- as the company insists in its press material, it's "only slightly slower than a Lamborghini." Of course, scale's important here.
April Fools' Day roundup: hamster beats, pirate's booty and Play-Doh printing
April Fools' Day is tough. Believe us. We know. It's 24 hours of fake news, bad jokes and Gangnam Style references. But not all of it is the internet equivalent to lining a toilet with plastic wrap. Sometimes, good stuff manages to slip through the proverbial cracks in the web. After the break, check out some of the holiday's highlights. If you dare.
CES Unveiled: Sphero reveals new apps to roll around in
The good folks at Orbotix, makers of the little roly-poly robot Sphero, were also in attendance at CES Unveiled last night, where they were showing off a number of new apps coming to add more functionality to the robotic ball. Sharky the Beaver was shown off a while ago, but it was on display last night as well, and it features the robot's complicated augmented reality system, where you can use the camera on your iOS device to spot Sphero, making it be displayed as something else (in this case, a cartoony beaver). Orbotix also told us about Nyan Cat Space Party, another app for the ball that's out right now, that allows users to control the famous Pop-Tart/cat hybrid with Sphero itself. And the last app we saw was an upcoming release called Zombie Rollers, where you can use the ball as a hand-held controller to roll a little character around to crush zombies. The game looked really fun, and Orbotix told us it should be available in January for free. We asked about sales figures for the little ball robot, but unfortunately, Orbotix didn't have any clear numbers to share, only telling us that there are "hundreds of thousands" of the balls out there in the world right now. And when we asked for other plans for the ball this year, the company's rep just explained that it's focusing on software development for the moment, both working on things like the augmented reality system for third-party developers to use in making games and apps, and working on its own mobile Sphero-enhanced software as well. So it seems like a catch-up year for Sphero -- now that the ball itself is out and available (you can buy it online for US$130, or find it at a number of big retailers like Target and even the Apple Store), the focus seems to be on building up the library of software you can use it with. That's good news for Sphero owners, and of course the more apps that become available, the more luck Orbotix will have in convincing new customers to get on a roll themselves.
Sphero's Augmented Reality Engine gets fully realized in Sharky the Beaver (video)
Been keeping up to date with the quirky robotic ball named Sphero? We've been wondering when its Augmented Reality Engine would finalize into a full-fledged app since we first witnessed it at E3 as a simple 2D tech demo. Well, today is the day that this Android and iOS-controlled ball makes its first official release steps into the world of AR -- the engine has grown up, powering Orbotix's latest free app, Sharky the Beaver. While the game itself is still admittedly silly and demo-like since we saw an early adaptation in August, there's no question that the AGR is now in a polished state. As a refresher, unlike other implementations that require a stationary marker, Sphero serves as one that can move around your area, while also relaying information about its position. The 3D character on screen rotates its directions as you spin Sphero, and, as you can see above, it even allows you to pick the ball up while it's being tracked. The frame-rate of tracking in the app itself looked very smooth, and it does an admirable job keeping track of the ball, even if it ends up off-screen. At that point, gameplay is limited to flicking cupcakes on the ground that Sharky goes to automatically, and there's no word on if and when we'll see the features shown off in the early version (namely, where the Sharky part of the name was actually a key element, as you chased people on-screen to get their cupcakes). All in all, we're more curious than anything to see what else the folks at Orbotix will come up with in the realm of AR -- for more in the meantime, check out our video hands-on after the break.
Sphero gets an improved, multifunction Drive app, we go hands-on
Just about a year ago we got to review Orbotix's Sphero, and while it was an amusing little remote control orb, its controls left a lot to be desired. A couple months ago, the company gave Sphero some new firmware that included the "Vector Drive" feature, which eliminated Sphero's meandering ways and gave it far more precise steering. Now, the company has improved its Drive app and combined it with the old Sphero and Cam apps. This new version of Drive has a tool that lets users aim the ball with a single finger -- a small, but welcome improvement over the old, fidgety two-finger method. Additionally, the app has a new Auto Heading function that keeps Sphero aware of the orientation of its controller to provide a much more intuitive driving experience. After giving it a go ourselves, we can attest that it's a marked improvement over the prior iterations of Drive. We no longer had to plan out Sphero's routes, and we could drive feeling confident that the ball would roll as directed. Check out how the refreshed controls work in our video after the break.
Sphero releases a new slate of games, more coming this year
Sphero is the little robot ball that you can control with your iOS device (or other mobile device), and the company behind the toy has announced that it's releasing a new series of games for Sphero. There are already a few out there, but this new lineup will include more titles with different types of gameplay, as well as a few sequels to previous games with better interactivity and smoother features. You can play Tag with your Sphero, or ColorGrab, which requires you to pick the ball up when it flashes a certain color. There's also an updated version of the Golf game, and a brand new controller app with more options to connect and more ways to use the cute little ball. Sphero's got an app catalog set up to show off the apps that work with the ball, and you can buy the device itself at Brookstone or an Apple Store near you (the MSRP is $129.99). Sphero says it's aiming to get up to 20 more apps out before the holiday season is over, so we'll expect to see even more titles available soon.
Sphero gets a firmware upgrade and new apps, we get another look at its Augmented Reality Engine (video)
You remember Sphero, right? Last we checked in with its creators from Orbotix at E3, the $130 robotic ball was getting ready to act as a 3D controller and the guide point for an Augmented Reality Engine. This week, along with the release of a firmware upgrade, a few new free apps have been released, including two that'll let you use that 3D controller functionality. Better yet, Orbotix has given us a sneak peek at the progress it's made on the AGR since we last checked it out. Join us past the break if you're curious to find out more.
How would you change the Orbotix Sphero?
Orbotix's novelty smartphone-controlled robotic cue ball is so fun, even The President has been snapped playing with one. It's a toy, and as such doesn't really serve a function beyond chasing your pets around the kitchen. When we reviewed it, we found that the steering was sluggish and frankly, the novelty wore off pretty quickly. But how about you out there? What have you spent your time doing with the thing, or has it sat untouched on a shelf for the past few months? We wanna know, and the moment for you to tell us is in the comments below.
Orbotix pits Sphero as an advanced 3D controller, details upcoming Augmented Reality Engine (hands-on)
During the wind down of E3, we were able to spend a few fleeting moments with the folks from Orbotix to talk about its latest batch of upcoming software for Sphero. If you're unfamiliar with the gizmo, it's essentially a Bluetooth-enabled robotic ball that can be controlled using your Android or iOS device. While Sphero is certainly a unique toy, we grew bored of it quickly -- it ended up best serving us as spendy dog toy during our review. The toy does have constant app development in its favor however, and the company insists that it will continue to offer free apps that open up the roller's capabilities. Head past the break where we'll detail two new advancements on the platform: augmented reality and advanced 3D control support.
Sphero adds first third-party app with Last Fish
Sphero is a little rolling ball robot that's controlled via iOS or other mobile devices. We last covered it when it was being previewed at CES, but it's been available for a while, either online or at a Brookstone store near you. But now the little ball has added a new trick to its repertoire: With a game called Last Fish, Sphero now works as a controller. I'm not completely clear on how it exactly works, but I think you can just roll Sphero around to control the luminescent onscreen fish, which seems like a really good idea. You're effectively translating a 2D screen into actual, 3D space. The game seems very artistic and well-done, if a little simple, but the added charm of using the Sphero device makes it worth checking out. We'll look forward to seeing the Sphero used in other ways in conjuction with third-party iOS apps.
