These are the droids your looking for!
It has been a long while since Sphero released their very innovative App-Enabled Droid BB-8 to the market. Many fans and gadget enthusiasts showed interest on this very high-tech gadget/toy. I remembered first seeing the BB-8 Sphero during the September 1 Force Day at SM MOA and it got all the Star Wars fans very much excited.
Now that the 8th episode of Star Wars is coming, it’s just right for Sphero to introduce some other droids to add to their App-Enabled Droid line up – joining BB-8 would be R2-D2 and BB-9E.
Today’s review will feature the very loveable droid R2-D2. This toy review is brought to us by Hubbyte Toy Store.
The box and packaging for the R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid is very simple and minimalist in design. You’ll get to see the droid upon opening the box.
At first you might think, “how do I open R2-D2?” – well you need to download a special app in your OS’ app store in able for you to operate the droid. You may download the app here: starwars.sphero.com
This app will act as your remote controller and screen for some of the features included in the droid which I’ll discuss as we go along the review.
The details and paint apps on this droid is very show accurate. Even how R2-D2 moves is very similar to how he was in the show. The small details around the entire droid is a plus point especially if you’re looking into accuracy compared to original sculpt/droid. The droid also features LED lights and integrated speakers. Like I said, the R2-D2 Sphero droid moves very similar to its original droid reference which gives the users an authentic feel of how R2-D2 really does its movements. Also, if you have the other droids with you, you can actually have a droid-to-droid interaction with BB-8 and BB-9E.
If you navigate through the app, you’ll be asked to connect the droid you have on hand – in this example, it would be R2-D2.
Then you’ll be asked to calibrate R2-D2 in preparation for his navigation. For better navigation, R2-D2 should be set away from you – meaning he should not be facing you so you can navigate him easily, once you try it, you’ll know what I mean.
After this process, you can check out the cool feature that this droid has. It can do the signature gestures and memorable sounds he has in the show, my favorite would be the electrocuted sound (scene similar to Star Wars IV, just before Ben Kenobi meets R2-D2 – once you click this, you’ll hear him scream and fall!
There’s also a feature where R2-D2 can navigate around the perimeter to monitor the surroundings. Another cool feature that is present on this droid would be the “draw R2’s path” feature, wherein you can actually draw the path where you want R2-D2 to go.
The coolest feature for me would be the AR (augmented reality) feature from R2-D2, you can actually navigate around the Millenium Falcon the spacecraft would depend on which droid you have.
Here are some of the AR screenshots that you can see when you try using the said feature. But before you try it out, you need to calibrate your phone for a better viewing experience.
To know more about the new droids from Sphero, you may watch the video below:
Now that you know its retail price, it’s not time to get your hands on these droid by ordering at Hubbyte Toy Store, you may visit their Facebook page to place your orders.
-jvr