I don't know about your house, but here at iPhone J.D. World Headquarters, we are in full Star Wars mode. My kids (ages 8 and 10) and I have watched all six of the prior Star Wars movies over the last few weeks, the kids are wearing their Star Wars PJs every night, and we have our tickets reserved to see the new movie this Saturday afternoon. And while my wife is certainly not a fan like the rest of us, she has been amazingly Star Wars-tolerant recently. So this is the perfect week to talk about one of the most fun accessories that you can get for your iPhone: the $150 Sphero BB-8. (It also works with an iPad, but the controls are easier to use on the smaller iPhone screen.)
We've been using one at my house for about five weeks now. From everything that I have read, this is one of the hottest toys this holiday season, so there is a good chance that if this product interests you, you already have it — or Santa already has plans to bring it to your family. But if you are on the fence about whether this is a good toy, I can tell you that it has been great fun for me and my kids.
Hardware
BB-8 himself is an engineering marvel. The Sphero ball itself is sturdy and fast, having the ability to roll around in any direction. But it is the head that gives BB-8 all of his character, and it is amazing to me that no matter how fast the ball spins in any direction, the head manages to stay upright as he rolls around. ("He" may not be the correct pronoun to use, but "it" seems to impersonal for something this cute, and feel free to use "she" if that seems more right to you.)
Better yet, the head doesn't stay completely on top. It sort of leans back as he moves, which gives BB-8 even more personality, making he look like he is trying to keep up with his body.
BB-8 has lights inside of him that go on at various times.
When BB-8 runs in to a wall or other object with enough force, the head will fall off. But that's nothing to worry about, and to my kids that actually makes BB-8 more funny. Just place the head back on BB-8 and he is back in business.
BB-8 is rechargeable, and lasts about an hour. He comes with a base that plugs into USB; just sit him on the base to recharge him.
Here is the Sphero BB-8 next to a larger plush toy BB-8 that my daughter has recently been sleeping with every night:
There are countless videos on YouTube that show BB-8 in action. If you want to get a sense of what BB-8, check out some of them on the Sphero YouTube page. For example, here is BB-8 and the Marble:
Last night, my daughter controlled BB-8 while my son was using his remote control Landspeeder (a traditional remote control toy; no iPhone app for that one), and it was fun watching BB-8 and Luke Skywalker chase each other around and bump into each other. That may not be a scene in the new movie, but perhaps it should be because it was pretty entertaining at my house last night.
Software
You control BB-8 using a free app. When you start the app, it looks for the nearest BB-8 and then takes control of it.
This is a great feature because it means that you can have the BB-8 app installed on multiple devices. I can control our BB-8 using my iPhone, and then my son can use another device to control BB-8 if I'm using my iPhone and don't want to give it to him to play with.
There are four main parts of the BB-8 app. The first mode is the drive mode, and that is the one that my kids and I use most often — the mode in which you use the iPhone as a remote control for the BB-8.
In this mode, you swipe left and right on the right half of the screen (with the picture of BB-8) to control a small blue light inside of BB-8. You want to spin the body so that the blue light is facing towards you. Once you do that, you can use the left part of the screen (the big circle) to control him. Move your finger towards the top of the circle for him to move away from you, the bottom of the circle for him to come towards you, etc.
Considering how fast BB-8 spins around, I'm actually amazed how well these controls work. With some practice you can be pretty precise.
If you hold down the icon at the bottom right of the screen, you can make BB-8 move even faster — which means that you have less precise control, but it is fun to see him race across the floor.
Press the icon at the far right of the screen to bring up eight different programs to make BB-8 do specific things. For example, one button makes BB-8 perform a figure-8, ending up where he started.
The whole time that you are controlling BB-8, your iPhone makes BB-8 noises, which adds even more to the realism.
You can also control BB-8 using your voice. Say "OK BB-8" and the voice control page will open. From there, you can say a number of commands, such as "look around." Or, you can channel your inner Admiral Ackbar and say "It's a trap!" and BB-8 will run away to safety.
The second mode is Message mode. This one is pretty cool.
Remember the scene in Star Wars IV (A New Hope) in which R2-D2 replays a holographic movie of Princess Leia saying "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi you're my only hope"? Your BB-8 can also play holographic messages for you. Simply go to the Message mode, and then select the character that you want to give you a message.
Next, your iPhone will work like a camera. Point your iPhone screen towards your BB-8, and superimposed on the real world you will see and hear the holographic video.
You can also record a video of yourself, and then have BB-8 play that message in a simulated holograph.
The next mode is Patrol mode. In that mode, BB-8 can just explore on his own, without you needing to control him.
The final mode is Settings. This is where you turn voice recognition on/off, turn sounds on/off, etc.
Conclusion
The Sphero BB-8 gives you all of the fun of a remote control car, and then adds many more layers of fun on top of that because of all of the sophisticated things that you can do with it. Moreover, I suspect that my kids and I will enjoy this toy even more after we have seen the new Star Wars movie and we actually know something about the BB-8 character. I also appreciate the Sphero BB-8 as an amazingly cool piece of technology and engineering.
If you and your kids enjoy Star Wars, then I have no doubt that this is the droid you're looking for. And if you don't have kids and want to just play with the BB-8 by yourself, I won't judge. As I type this, it is late at night and the rest of my family is asleep, but my pal BB-8 and I are having great fun together.
May the force be with you.
Click here to get Sphero BB-8 on Amazon ($149.95)
