Sphero BB-8

[MartyS (Gromit)]

So, 5 days after Sphero started selling the BB-8 droid they put a new list of hardware requirements on their website, all kinds of stuff for Android that wasn't there before, and many times more than what is listed on the box.

So if you ordered one and plan to use an Android device you'll need to check again, maybe if enough people cancel their orders they will write an app that works with more hardware.  I got a Galaxy Tab A that met all the old requirements, now they say it needs a gyroscope and accellerometer, the Tab A only has an accellerometer.

I'm still debating to return mine to the store or not, I will probably upgrade my phone this winter so it might work then.  But then again maybe it won't and I'll be stuck with a $150 paper weight....

Shouldn't they have to meet the hardware requirements they put on the box the thing ships in?

[Pak-Man]

I would have assumed it came with its own control for those with less fortunate phones. That's kind of surprising...

[MartyS (Gromit)]

This morning Sphero took down all the comments on the "check if your device will work with the BB-8" help section of their website.  People were starting to complain about bait and switch after they posted all the extra hardware requirements.

Got mine boxed up, guess I don't have to rush bringing it back, seems Bed Bath & Beyond doesn't have a time limit on returns, at least I can't find one on their website anywhere, lots of ways to return stuff but no mention of a time limit.

So I'll give them a few more days to fix their Android support, I guess all apple devices have a gyroscope but very few Android ones do, so if they stick with needing a gyro I will never have a device that will work with it, even when I upgrade my phone it will not be to one of the very expensive ones that have a gyro.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Glad I held off returning it, they just released a new version of the app that works with my Galaxy Tab A.

Really cool little toy when you see it in action.

Couldn't help mixing my franchises:

That's no moon!  Nope, just a GIANT droid, ahhhhh!

[RVR II]

Glad I held off returning it, they just released a new version of the app that works with my Galaxy Tab A.

Really cool little toy when you see it in action.

Couldn't help mixing my franchises:

That's no moon!  Nope, just a GIANT droid, ahhhhh!

You should make a YouTube video of it

[Darth Geek]

Glad I held off returning it, they just released a new version of the app that works with my Galaxy Tab A.

Really cool little toy when you see it in action.

Couldn't help mixing my franchises:

That's no moon!  Nope, just a GIANT droid, ahhhhh!

You should make a YouTube video of it

Especially if you have pets to torment with it.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Hilarious, just got an email responding to the support ticket I send in on Tuesday, saying they don't support the Galaxy Tab A.
Seems the app development part of that company doesn't tell the support people what they are doing.....

There are plenty of videos out there with people doing cool stuff so I'm not going to compete with those, if I get good enough at control to drive it around the saucer of my Enterprise model maybe I'll try to take a video of that.  But I still haven't gotten a camera that does well indoors in standard room light.

[BathTub]

It looks like a cool toy, I know a few people eyeing at picking them up!

[RVR II]

There are plenty of videos out there with people doing cool stuff so I'm not going to compete with those, if I get good enough at control to drive it around the saucer of my Enterprise model maybe I'll try to take a video of that.  But I still haven't gotten a camera that does well indoors in standard room light.

Well I'd rather watch your video instead of others
Yeah rollin around the saucer section of 1701 would be excellent

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Not sure it has good enough control to navigate that small area, would be better if it had a real joystick rather than the app, moving your finger over a smooth surface gives you lousy feedback for fine control.

Well it has passed the "10 minutes and bored with it" margin by about 4X, so it is a cool toy.

It has some trouble on carpet, it can get stuck in a fairly shallow depression, took it into the laundry room and really let it go fast, 25 to 40 feet straight runs on a concrete floor.

From what I've read as Disney releases more info on how the droid acts in the film Sphero will add that into future firmware updates.  It does have some personality already, but not much.

The voice commands are interesting, there's some behaviors you can't get it to do by any of the button controls, like when you say "it's a trap" it panics and runs away at full speed until it hits something.