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Sphero 2: Next-gen robotic ball picks up the pace

2013-08-14
I'm David karna executive editor cnet.com and I'm gonna give you a quick look at the Orbotix Sphero 2.0 this is the successor to the original Spiro which came out in late 2011 and it looks identical to the original except it now goes faster and the LED lights inside it are brighter three times brighter this is one of those products you're gonna either think is really kind of clever or a little bit stupid that you control it with an app it's compatible with Android or iOS devices and they're over 25 apps out there that let you play with this whether it's by yourself or with others who own Sphero balls and there's some augmented reality games what's kind of interesting is the new Sphero does come with a couple of accessories it has a couple of ramps that are actually built into the packaging on the box there's also a few optional accessory there's a nub that goes around the ball it's kind of a silicon nub and that allows you to take it on surfaces whether it's smooth or preserve even in water the ball is waterproof in case you're wondering how this charges it's through inductive charging you get this little stand here you do plug it into the wall it takes about three hours to charge for one hour of drive time the ball does connect via bluetooth through your portable device but it is better range than your typical Bluetooth it is 30 meters instead of 30 feet and it does require a bit of a learning curve to really learn how to drive this and with the higher speed as you gain more experience you are rewarded with a higher top speed with this new ball so right out of the box you can't use it at its top speed so there it is the Sphero 2.0 there is a special edition Apple version which is translucent but both versions of the ball retail for a hundred and twenty-nine ninety-nine at David Carr know a thanks for watching
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