Sphero BB-8 Review:Best Star Wars toy| Revealed

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsQoqpg4e9z5mLqW0E_Htum4-I5eitC7wCWOe9mrUJZw26uR2uIyLU6sUQ49Z2R6C2AYuvZrQzfRd_pRp4b9HLnsQxQ2UHPVd4H5Vg4CA8EKLthEzouoHB87tavasd7IV2gXLYS9baAEI/s1600/bb8.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPsQoqpg4e9z5mLqW0E_Htum4-I5eitC7wCWOe9mrUJZw26uR2uIyLU6sUQ49Z2R6C2AYuvZrQzfRd_pRp4b9HLnsQxQ2UHPVd4H5Vg4CA8EKLthEzouoHB87tavasd7IV2gXLYS9baAEI/s640/bb8.gif" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;">For the past 38</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;"> years there hasn’t been a robot more loved by fans than </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;">’ R2-D2. But that could all soon change when </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Force Awakens</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px;"> hits theaters, especially now that anyone can own a tiny working version of the movie’s BB-8 droid that can roll and balance all by itself.</span><br /> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> fans got their first glimpse of BB-8 in the original <a href="http://gizmodo.com/the-star-wars-the-force-awakens-teaser-trailer-in-8-gi-1664303089" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ade6; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Force Awakens</em>teaser</a>. And having only known droids in the <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> universe that could either walk, drive, or fly, they were immediately captivated by BB-8’s unique spherical design, and that neat floating head that magically never falls off.</div> <div class="js_ad-mobile-dynamic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It wasn’t until <a href="http://io9.com/everything-we-learned-about-star-wars-force-awakens-at-1698280402?utm_expid=66866090-48.Ej9760cOTJCPS_Bq4mjoww.0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fio9.com%2Feverything-we-learned-about-star-wars-force-awakens-at-1698280402%3Fcommerce_insets_disclosure%3Don" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ade6; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Star Wars Celebration</a>, back in April, when a sassy real-life version of BB-8 came rolling out on stage, that everyone realized that R2-D2 was about to face some stiff competition. For <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Force Awakens,</em> BB-8 was brought to life using on-set puppeteers and visual effects. But for real-life appearances, the film’s special effects team was actually able to build a fully-functional BB-8 that could be controlled remotely off-stage.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It was rumored that <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5840003/sphero-the-robotic-hamster-ball-is-about-to-make-your-cats-life-hell" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ade6; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sphero</a>, a company that’d been been making remote control robotic balls for years, was behind the real-life version of BB-8. <a href="http://www.starwars.com/news/droid-dreams-how-neal-scanlan-and-the-star-wars-the-force-awakens-team-brought-bb-8-to-life" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ade6; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">It wasn’t</a>, but that didn’t stop the toy world rumor-mill from also getting excited about Sphero possibly turning its existing robotic toy ball into a miniature version of BB-8. And good news for <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> fans—at least some of those rumors turned out to be true.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_X959ZzQnSsjWx9BLXic4gv0V_M29ThykoaZCLu2obQvUq6RZ52UQRlVacd5hG68a4RT4B36G2T8nGwsIjXM4FP1rkUHNNEXrtsFD0oFd4ZkMRxueWXlw71JM5_r3V7HWuvb5ogs9Y53/s1600/umSzUjp.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_X959ZzQnSsjWx9BLXic4gv0V_M29ThykoaZCLu2obQvUq6RZ52UQRlVacd5hG68a4RT4B36G2T8nGwsIjXM4FP1rkUHNNEXrtsFD0oFd4ZkMRxueWXlw71JM5_r3V7HWuvb5ogs9Y53/s640/umSzUjp.gif" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> <br /></div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> <strong style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">What Is It?</strong></h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s a tiny replica of <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars: The Force Awaken’s</em> BB-8 droid that can roll and balance all by itself, exactly like the robotic sidekick we’ve seen in all the teasers and trailers so far.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It goes without saying that most <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> toys require a healthy dose of imagination to bridge the gap between what kids are holding in their hands and what they see in the movies. Lightsabers with blades made of plastic tubes? What a rip-off. But aside from its diminutive size, Sphero’s miniature version BB-8 appears to perfectly replicate almost everything we’ve seen the new droid do, at least so far.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> When paired with an app running on your smartphone or tablet, BB-8 can autonomously explore your home, perform a series of pre-programmed movements, and even respond to voice commands. But at any time you can also grab a set of on-screen controls and send BB-8 rolling and exploring wherever you want.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> <strong style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Design</strong></h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Except for the addition of a tiny floating head that always remains atop his body, Sphero’s BB-8 is almost exactly the same product as the company’s robotic ball toy. At least in terms of appearance.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi4hxqVQA3BsQg2WLFhLfB4CyBfp0pELS-ew4_E__EvcuLhNjmYOWogDLm1gGs1TCKL-c2KHuO2EUhq9JZb22pZ1lrNkuvJ6bqni_30MG-fKkyzYn9m2XeZ7epa1x_aFiaXUVj5WAJ9zu/s1600/bb8+%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCi4hxqVQA3BsQg2WLFhLfB4CyBfp0pELS-ew4_E__EvcuLhNjmYOWogDLm1gGs1TCKL-c2KHuO2EUhq9JZb22pZ1lrNkuvJ6bqni_30MG-fKkyzYn9m2XeZ7epa1x_aFiaXUVj5WAJ9zu/s640/bb8+%25281%2529.gif" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> <br /></div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> BB-8’s body is a smooth plastic ball, about three inches in diameter, that’s wrapped in detailed graphics that so far appear to be very durable. While playing with him for a few days we’ll admit that BB-8 has had a few unfortunate run-ins with furniture and walls, but there’s not a scratch on him. We don’t know how well he’d hold up to blaster fire, but he should easily survive whatever perils are hiding in your home or office.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> On the inside, the internal self-righting mechanism that allows the Sphero ball to propel itself works similar to how someone inside one of those giant inflatable spheres can climb the walls to get it rolling. For BB-8, this has been upgraded with a vertical support to holds its head in place using a magnet.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--bxS9stio--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880572203302.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880572203302" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--bxS9stio--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880572203302.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> The magnet is more than strong enough to hold onto the head should BB-8 accidentally run into something, but it will occasionally pop-off if the tiny droid tries to roll under something where there’s not enough clearance.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s incredibly easy to re-attach it to his spherical body, though, and those tiny antennas you see sticking up on top are made from flexible plastic so there’s little risk of them snapping off in a collision. It’s about as kid-friendly as a $150 toy can be, as long as your kid doesn’t try to eat BB-8’s head.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KNANWAUk--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880662678822.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880662678822" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KNANWAUk--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880662678822.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Instead of a microUSB port on BB-8’s body which would mar its smooth finish and its ability to roll freely, the toy’s internal battery is topped up using an induction charger. You simply set BB-8 on an included base (which doubles as a lovely display stand so it doesn’t roll off your desk) and the toy will automatically start charging. It couldn’t be easier. And three hours of charging gets you about an hour of playtime.</div> <div class="has-media media-medium has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border lazy-image lazy-gif thawed" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="lazy-loaded cursor-pointer" data-anim-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BIJcZ2-5--/1414750880744107814.gif" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BIJcZ2-5--/1414750880744107814.gif" data-chomp-id="1414750880744107814" data-format="gif" data-mp4-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--JkiLlRs5--/1414750880744107814.mp4" data-webm-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--XTwuDFjJ--/1414750880744107814.webm" height="319" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BIJcZ2-5--/1414750880744107814.gif" style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle;" width="636" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s also important to note that Sphero’s BB-8 is an app-connected toy. If you don’t have a tablet or smartphone running Android or iOS that can download the free accompanying app, the most you can do with BB-8 is charge the little droid and trigger a few cute head movements while it’s on its base. Not exactly exciting, and certainly not worth $150 if you’re without a mobile device.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> As far as apps for toys go, though, Sphero’s BB-8 app is a wonderful thing. It’s as <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em>-branded as a <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> app can get (which is a good thing) and is saturated with graphics, animations, and sound effects all taken from the <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> universe.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> If you’re planning to buy Sphero’s BB-8 you’re probably already a big <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em>fan and will undoubtedly love all the little <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> touches. But the app is also incredibly well laid out, responsive, and surprisingly easy-to-use without having to sit through a long tutorial—although they are included the first time you use it. No complaints there.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Most of the software that accompanies an app-connected toy seems like an after-thought at best—they feel as if they were developed at the last minute with minimal testing because they can be easily fixed and updated well after the toy’s been released (although they rarely are). But it’s clear that Sphero has put just as much development and care into the BB-8 app as the company did with the toy itself. And that just adds to the overall enjoyment.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> <strong style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;">Using It</strong></h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> When BB-8 is fully charged (indicated by a series of charge status lights on the inductive base) all you have to do is make sure Bluetooth is activated on your mobile device, launch the app, and that the tiny droid is nearby. The connection between BB-8 and your mobile device happens automatically after just a few seconds, with no need to fiddle with pairing settings.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Once BB-8 is connected to your mobile device you have your choice of three different modes of play: Patrol, Drive, or Message.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--JbePciBC--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880816701734.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880816701734" data-format="jpg" height="387" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--JbePciBC--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880816701734.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Patrol is BB-8’s autonomous mode, and is akin to letting an excited but blind puppy run wild in your home. BB-8 doesn’t have any on-board sensors, so he’ll continuously crash into walls, feet, and furniture while he explores a space. But by keeping tabs on the toy’s speed and heading, the accompanying app allows BB-8 to learn the ins and outs of a space so he can eventually build a rudimentary map of a room allowing him to later avoid obstacles he’s already run into.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Kn7oUzne--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880880367398.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880880367398" data-format="jpg" height="506" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Kn7oUzne--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880880367398.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> When BB-8 is out exploring on his own, the app shows his current speed, how far he’s traveled, and the path he’s taken while he criss-crosses the floor. See that Stormtrooper icon? That’s where BB-8 ran into my foot, and identified it as an enemy and something to avoid in the future. The lack of collision sensors means that will be a common occurrence, but the tiny droid is at least smart enough to not get stuck. If he runs into an immovable object he’ll simply back off and head in another direction.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Collisions aren’t a problem, but falls might be. The lack of sensors, or any kind of insight into what dangers lie ahead, means BB-8 can easily accidentally roll down a flight of stairs, or off a table. And while the toy is made from durable plastic, it’s far from invincible. A fall onto concrete could easily dent, damage, or crack the plastic sphere, which would put an end to BB-8’s ability to roll. So an ounce of prevention when you’re using BB-8 in Patrol is worth about $150 of cure.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--eGxr9vFZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880924220966.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880924220966" data-format="jpg" height="398" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--eGxr9vFZ--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880924220966.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> As fun as it is to watch Sphero’s BB-8 roll around your home by himself and react with adorable head movements and sound effects when he hits something, the real fun of the toy is driving the droid yourself.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--2-wtSGce--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880967290662.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750880967290662" data-format="jpg" height="521" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--2-wtSGce--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750880967290662.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> In Drive mode there are two on-screen virtual joysticks that let you take control of BB-8, but driving a perfectly round sphere can be a little tricky at times because you’re not always sure which direction is forward. But like the original Sphero toy, there’s an easy way to keep track of where BB-8 is headed.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> The joystick on the left is used to drive BB-8 forward and back, or steer him left and right. But the joystick on the right is instead used to rotate his internal drive mechanism to ensure it’s always pointing in the direction you want before you send him rolling.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Olil325M--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881103624230.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750881103624230" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Olil325M--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881103624230.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> To know exactly which direction BB-8 is headed, a blue LED inside his spherical body glows as you adjust the orientation of his internal drive mechanism. As long as that blue dot is pointing in your direction, the left joystick will function as you expect it to, sending BB-8 rolling away from you as you slide your finger forward. Just think of the blue light as the tail light on a car.</div> <div class="has-media media-medium has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border lazy-image lazy-gif thawed" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="lazy-loaded cursor-pointer" data-anim-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--breEd0fQ--/1414750881195240998.gif" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--breEd0fQ--/1414750881195240998.gif" data-chomp-id="1414750881195240998" data-format="gif" data-mp4-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--3-a4fGnp--/1414750881195240998.mp4" data-webm-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--K5-zjope--/1414750881195240998.webm" height="339" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--breEd0fQ--/1414750881195240998.gif" style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle;" width="636" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Once you’ve mastered the orientation tricks, learning to drive BB-8 and steer him around obstacles will still take some practise, but it’s mostly because few of us have ever tried to drive a sphere before. The touchscreen controls in the app are perfectly responsive, but you’ll need some time to get used to them because at top speed BB-8 can move surprisingly fast.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> During your first few runs you will hit things, that’s a given. But you’ll quickly develop the reflexes and muscle memory needed to send the little droid scurrying around a room without hitting anything. And that’s when the toy becomes really satisfying and a heck of a lot of fun; when you’re able to make it roll around with lifelike movements as if it’s thinking for itself like a real droid would.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ysu3AgjA--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881452510502.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750881452510502" data-format="jpg" height="529" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ysu3AgjA--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881452510502.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> To further bring BB-8 to life and express his personality, in Drive mode you can trigger a series of pre-programmed animated responses and movements at the push of a button. The yes and no are particularly entertaining, and are definitely the perfect way to respond to co-workers whenever they ask you a question.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--YfeOIWxO--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881524905766.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750881524905766" data-format="jpg" height="398" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--YfeOIWxO--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881524905766.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> But what’s a droid without holographic message capabilities? How else could Princess Leia have convinced Obi-Wan Kenobi to help Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion?</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Given that that technology doesn’t really exist yet, Sphero has come up with a clever way to recreate it through the app using augmented reality. Once you’ve recorded a message using your smartphone or tablet’s front-facing camera (which will inevitably be “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope” the first time you use it) you simply point the device at the droid and your message will appear to be projected from its tiny head—but only when looking through your device’s screen.</div> <div class="has-media media-medium has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border lazy-image lazy-gif thawed" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="lazy-loaded cursor-pointer" data-anim-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--hRwMjHwX--/1414750881583891238.gif" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--hRwMjHwX--/1414750881583891238.gif" data-chomp-id="1414750881583891238" data-format="gif" data-mp4-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--deFXrobB--/1414750881583891238.mp4" data-webm-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qNTp5Fqq--/1414750881583891238.webm" height="335" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--hRwMjHwX--/1414750881583891238.gif" style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle;" width="636" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s doubtful you’ll use the Message mode more than a few times while you show off your new toy to friends. But kids will certainly get a kick out of the feature, and it’s another example of how Sphero has done a wonderful job making the accompanying BB-8 app a big part of the experience, and not just an accessory.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> Like</h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> When BB-8 rolled out on stage at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, every single Star Wars fan watching immediately thought the same thing: “I want one!” It didn’t take long for some impatient but talented fans to actually start<a href="http://toyland.gizmodo.com/an-exhaustive-guide-to-building-your-own-rolling-star-w-1709299669" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ade6; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: none;">building their own fully-functional BB-8s</a>, but now the rest of us can finally own one too.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--x92k6YGM--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881609505574.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750881609505574" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--x92k6YGM--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881609505574.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s hard to say for sure how accurate Sphero’s BB-8 is to the one starring in<em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Force Awakens</em> given none of us have actually seen the movie yet. But from the few glimpses we’ve had of BB-8 in action, it looks like Sphero has nailed the design and proportions with its miniature version of the droid. A lot of care and attention to detail has gone into its design, its manufacturing, and especially the app.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> If you’re a <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> fan, you’ll be hard-pressed not to crack a smile the first time you send BB-8 rolling across your floor. It moves and responds to obstacles with incredibly life-like reactions, motions, and sound effects. Since the first <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars </em>movie there has been an endless stream of R2-D2 toys that attempt to recreate the movements of that droid, but none have come as close to replicating R2-D2’s personality as Sphero has at replicating BB-8’s.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> It’s also just incredibly fun to play with. The reactions you’ll get from people will help you understand why other <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> fans spend thousands of dollars building their own remote control replicas of Artoo and other droids. And you’ll be glad you only had to spend $150.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> Dislike</h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Remember back to a time when we all used a computer mouse? And those ancient models that used a big rubber ball on the underside turning a series of wheels to track movement, not a fancy camera? Remember how often you had to keep cleaning those wheels so the mouse cursor wouldn’t jump around on-screen? You’ll be able to relive those days every time you have to stop and clean out the underside of BB-8’s head.</div> <div class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--RZQJA8dV--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881664510246.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750881664510246" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--RZQJA8dV--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750881664510246.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> BB-8’s spherical body is completely sealed so nothing—be it dust, dirt, or water—can ever get in. But his magnetic head uses a pair of rolling wheels that are really, really good at collecting lint and dirt. And everything that gets stuck to BB-8’s body will end up in there.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> The lack of sensors anywhere on the toy also means you’ll have to be really careful where you choose to play with BB-8, even when you’re at the controls. The toy moves very quickly on smooth, hard surfaces, and if you’re not careful you can easily drive it off something like a desk. If it lands on carpeting it will probably be OK, but if it lands on a hard floor you’ll be seriously risking your little droid’s life.</div> <div class="has-media media-medium has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto; word-break: break-word;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border lazy-image lazy-gif thawed" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="lazy-loaded cursor-pointer" data-anim-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--cHSN9Ger--/1414750882086367526.gif" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--cHSN9Ger--/1414750882086367526.gif" data-chomp-id="1414750882086367526" data-format="gif" data-mp4-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--5Ej-KQjw--/1414750882086367526.mp4" data-webm-src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--xqv2xaYj--/1414750882086367526.webm" height="310" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--cHSN9Ger--/1414750882086367526.gif" style="background: rgb(245, 245, 245); box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: middle;" width="636" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> BB-8 also tends to wobble a lot, especially when rolling around on hard, smooth surfaces. We’re assuming the original Sphero has the same problem, but because it’s a perfect sphere you probably don’t notice the wobble when it comes to a sudden stop, or when it’s suddenly changing directions. However with the added weight of BB-8’s head on top, the back and forth motion of the toy while it’s shaking off inertia is very noticeable. It doesn’t really affect how the toy moves, but it does tend to make BB-8 look like he’s been out partying with the other droids all night long.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> The BB-8 app also touts voice controls as a fun feature. You can grab BB-8’s attention by simply saying “Ok, BB-8” followed by another spoken command from a handful of different instructions. But it’s not like Sphero has come up with a revolutionary breakthrough in speech recognition just for this app—it’s still far from perfect. Your success with voice commands will vary wildly depending on where you’re trying to talk to the droid, and we found it really annoying because of how many times you accidentally say BB-8 while playing with the toy. So it was turned off almost immediately.</div> <h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1rem; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"> Should You Buy It?</h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Remember that time all those parents were fighting over Tickle Me Elmo toys before the holidays? You can probably expect to see the same thing happen between <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> fans desperate to buy a store’s last BB-8—except they’ll probably be using plastic lightsabers.</div> <h3 class="has-media media-large has-image" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: ProximaNovaCond, sans-serif; font-size: 1.56rem; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px auto 1.5rem; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; width: auto;"> <span class="js_lightbox-wrapper lightbox-wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span class="img-border" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><img alt="Sphero BB-8 Review: This Is the Coolest Star Wars Toy Ever" class="cursor-pointer" data-asset-url="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KTpk9JyE--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750882176664614.jpg" data-chomp-id="1414750882176664614" data-format="jpg" height="450" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KTpk9JyE--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1414750882176664614.jpg" style="box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline-block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" width="800" /></span><span class="magnifier js_lightbox lightbox" style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; height: 32px; left: 8px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; top: 8px; transition: 0.15s; width: 32px; z-index: 93;"><svg class="svg-icon svg-zoom-in"><use xlink:href="#iconset-zoom-in" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"></use></svg></span></span></h3> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> Of all the <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> toys that will be flying off store shelves on Force Friday tomorrow, Sphero’s BB-8 is without a doubt the one to get. Even if you’re not interested in a tiny droid sidekick, buy one if you find one because you’ll easily be able to make a tidy profit selling it to another <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> collector later on.</div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> The vast majority of <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> merchandise you’ll find in stores tomorrow will probably feel like nothing more than companies trying to cash in on a lucrative franchise—but that’s not the case with Sphero’s BB-8. The company had a unique opportunity to bring <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">The Force Awakens</em> character to life using the robotic ball technology it originally developed years ago, and it’s done exactly that. Everything from the packaging, to the detailed design of the toy, to the fantastic accompanying app, makes you feel like Sphero was more concerned with creating a wonderful <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> collectible than just another <em style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Star Wars</em> toy.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcMjEfwENn8ZQEnXJHEcYJaZrckNGaG-VN8DYzpGWD2HoNc8x-S63Wk0aM4olauB12QW5NkZvbmI_DItFR9rw-CxfXuMNtn0Z6x-vXbV0Wnb3o8y4yjP7vUXxaeISSNPtyGgbZDnlK1xi/s1600/tumblr_nyybwqQ40v1rn5enqo1_1280.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIcMjEfwENn8ZQEnXJHEcYJaZrckNGaG-VN8DYzpGWD2HoNc8x-S63Wk0aM4olauB12QW5NkZvbmI_DItFR9rw-CxfXuMNtn0Z6x-vXbV0Wnb3o8y4yjP7vUXxaeISSNPtyGgbZDnlK1xi/s400/tumblr_nyybwqQ40v1rn5enqo1_1280.gif" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> <br /></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> We love you, R2-D2, we really do. But BB-8 has just stolen our hearts.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8aY7AyaHYb2xs5VKECYZzh1v-THGp-2exsAyzkoz-1rRwwRaABwojLtcF9uYL3mW3lJE_sKSUTWoOTbydfDnXSxaunOX6UMS8-8a06i-5D9kFxdSZbZ-Dm-soZREt1T9jGoDba4lrsqJ/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8aY7AyaHYb2xs5VKECYZzh1v-THGp-2exsAyzkoz-1rRwwRaABwojLtcF9uYL3mW3lJE_sKSUTWoOTbydfDnXSxaunOX6UMS8-8a06i-5D9kFxdSZbZ-Dm-soZREt1T9jGoDba4lrsqJ/s640/giphy.gif" width="640" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;">  Well also kittens hearts too.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7zW6zlz-p2MB31R9LQdBnT-Dh-5UOA0r5asPnyep_Oqutr4chosz-oYq66HQtbhHrbAsUSnYmcMiTE2goUOTOCdCz_DxxHwXv1QGD-qtpmZ5k1ERnzNIhxZnxsmyE7Ea6sC9eTD7rYLu/s1600/bb8-cat3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7zW6zlz-p2MB31R9LQdBnT-Dh-5UOA0r5asPnyep_Oqutr4chosz-oYq66HQtbhHrbAsUSnYmcMiTE2goUOTOCdCz_DxxHwXv1QGD-qtpmZ5k1ERnzNIhxZnxsmyE7Ea6sC9eTD7rYLu/s400/bb8-cat3.gif" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 29px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 636px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word;"> <br /></div> </div>

Sphero BB-8 Review:Best Star Wars toy| Revealed

For the past 38  years there hasn’t been a robot more loved by fans than  Star Wars ’ R2-D2. But that could all soon change when  The Fo...

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If You Read One Article About Emojis Read this One | Revealed

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h2 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">If You Read One Article About Emojis Read this One.</span></span></h2> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMxGF-QZ7bjvyQRjJsOp58IHxHpkSdXFp0u_d192SDExjO2Z2XXQVbeYBrpmquJ9lgYVE_bkflRmlGDYIRDXkRTVraJb9ji_aGja3up5nieTkqne5HMDGtiUd5tfTVXZnZhlNFSf41PxC/s1600/shutterstock_369923528-768x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMxGF-QZ7bjvyQRjJsOp58IHxHpkSdXFp0u_d192SDExjO2Z2XXQVbeYBrpmquJ9lgYVE_bkflRmlGDYIRDXkRTVraJb9ji_aGja3up5nieTkqne5HMDGtiUd5tfTVXZnZhlNFSf41PxC/s400/shutterstock_369923528-768x768.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">emojicode</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Nothing says ‘happy’ like emoji, right? Well, maybe not but this new emoji coding language could brighten up the day of any programmer.</span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.emojicode.org/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4020; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">Emojicode</a> is a new high-level programming language that can be used to make cross-platform applications. It’s open-source and multi-paradigm and the little pictograms form its structure and flow.</span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2B3Nw4H-rQGwfrQl1rRDxlKMVlOC0vPS4O4G-zMh9OOjCyIN6iY-2NRqCW1RZ5G-1Z0QnQTCLoFoR7HbjWRCz6mkNFhh1IrAL-uf93lkxxM2Qq9KSeYs6CPxXh9g8GVXyGoqVGSUaEI3/s1600/emojicode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2B3Nw4H-rQGwfrQl1rRDxlKMVlOC0vPS4O4G-zMh9OOjCyIN6iY-2NRqCW1RZ5G-1Z0QnQTCLoFoR7HbjWRCz6mkNFhh1IrAL-uf93lkxxM2Qq9KSeYs6CPxXh9g8GVXyGoqVGSUaEI3/s640/emojicode.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Being multi-paradigm, the language creates a consistent and stable interface but it’s not all smileys, you will need to use other characters for variables. Everything else is emoji-friendly though so it’s all good.</span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your program will be executed by the <a href="http://www.emojicode.org/" target="_blank">Emojicode</a> Real-Time Engine, which is faster than your average virtual machine at just 100 kilobytes. The Engine is compatible with Ubuntu, OS X, Raspbian and more.</span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So if you’re getting a bit tired of looking at the same characters over and over, you can download <a href="https://github.com/emojicode/emojicode/releases" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4020; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">the Emojicode SDK on GitHub</a> and get programming. And if there’s no binary available for your system, you can <a href="http://www.emojicode.org/docs/guides/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4020; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;" target="_blank">build it yourself</a>.</span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If you’re not already fluent in emoji, the company<a href="http://www.emojicode.org/docs/guides/" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4020; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;" target="_blank"> also offers a guide</a> on how to get going. For example, you set your non-emoji variables using ‘<img alt="🍮" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f36e.png" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-user-drag: element; -webkit-user-select: none; background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 1em !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: none; padding: 0px !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important; zoom: 1;" />’ and ‘<img alt="🍦" class="emoji" draggable="false" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f366.png" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-user-drag: element; -webkit-user-select: none; background: none !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline !important; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 1em !important; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0.07em !important; max-width: 100%; outline: none; padding: 0px !important; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; width: 1em !important; zoom: 1;" />’ for frozen variables.</span></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: large;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 30px;">Creepy or the way of the future? Let us know in the comments below!</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And do check other post by</span><a href="http://www.electronicsrevealed.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;"> </span><b style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">#ElectronicsRevealed</span></b></a></span></i></span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA4brQBhnt13l3-fjOpPbaHYUf2w4nPqGCsAKumO7cxWJdB33d-cpmZ6l-_-puy_i4AE6dqlTbFj5Y3ifX-G47EYfKtqlOyOJlFQeSF1IQ0S9ZpLGxLJK2LN4mdP9Zj2yxyELjHdz37L6/s1600/businessman-say-okey_1012-177+-+Copy+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA4brQBhnt13l3-fjOpPbaHYUf2w4nPqGCsAKumO7cxWJdB33d-cpmZ6l-_-puy_i4AE6dqlTbFj5Y3ifX-G47EYfKtqlOyOJlFQeSF1IQ0S9ZpLGxLJK2LN4mdP9Zj2yxyELjHdz37L6/s320/businessman-say-okey_1012-177+-+Copy+-+Copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="p1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25em; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; vertical-align: baseline; zoom: 1;"> <span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> </div>

If You Read One Article About Emojis Read this One | Revealed

If You Read One Article About Emojis Read this One. emojicode Nothing says ‘happy’ like emoji, right? Well, maybe not but this new...

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How did Google Hands Free Become the Best? Find Out

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">How did Google Hands Free Become the Best? Find Out</span></h2> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8pQesC6oKCcLMnCnBbKBWThceeMJGSCAaBcdjmvH6o7jcyKAUNYht6H6v9QMlkUpZWJziTH01yUH5tpnFcnehbDH8C1ct_vZVJKLRJHKiR-SIRkUucHJGLbSKCFUZElewTB1dUOl8beQ/s1600/496505-google-hands-free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8pQesC6oKCcLMnCnBbKBWThceeMJGSCAaBcdjmvH6o7jcyKAUNYht6H6v9QMlkUpZWJziTH01yUH5tpnFcnehbDH8C1ct_vZVJKLRJHKiR-SIRkUucHJGLbSKCFUZElewTB1dUOl8beQ/s400/496505-google-hands-free.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Paying with your phone is easy. Using a service like Apple Pay, you simply take your phone out, raise it to a compatible terminal, and you’re good to go. It’s that easy, and, along with <a href="http://www.samsung.com/" target="_blank">Samsung Pay</a>, these are the service that will likely be the future of mobile payments. But Google might have just come up with the best solution of all.</span></span><br /> <span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;">When <a href="http://www%2Cgoogle.com/" target="_blank">Google</a> was </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">teasing their <a href="http://www.electronicsrevealed.com/" target="_blank">Hands Free payment</a> method</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"> last year, we didn’t really know what to make of it. The service allows users to pay at retailers and restaurants simply by mentioning that they’d like to “pay with Google.” At the time, the search giant was pretty elusive about how this system worked and what security methods would be in place. It turns out that some of our speculation was right on the money.</span></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qxet1VdpOQ4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qxet1VdpOQ4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The video above demonstrates how it all works. Rather than fumbling around for your wallet, or even taking out your phone, just walk into a store, tell the cashier you want to pay with Google, and you’re done. That’s about as simple as it gets.</span></span></span><br /> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hands Free is an app that runs on Android 4.2 and up or any iOS device from the iPhone 4S going forward. When you set up the app, you’ll create an account and link a credit or debit card to it. Upload a photo of yourself, and you’re good to go. When you walk into a Hands Free supported store or restaurant, the app interfaces with the cashier’s register via Bluetooth and wifi, so when you say that you’d like to pay with Google, all the cashier has to do is verify that you are who you say you are via the photo you uploaded. No cards, no cash, and you don’t even have to pull your phone out of your pocket. You just take your items and go, transaction processed.</span></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZKyUCFYRgYdqJvZrqKIkvmLfqBXdTdlWESODUrR6zvRjrtpSROeus0858BSpwM_lzXSSkJsP6Ayy1sI3pn_7HESFKIOCnSuXeO5W3vnUP8mKWt1ebqPrPeXaL-2Cv5oMi66kUjBJTQ0O/s1600/google-hands-free-ps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZKyUCFYRgYdqJvZrqKIkvmLfqBXdTdlWESODUrR6zvRjrtpSROeus0858BSpwM_lzXSSkJsP6Ayy1sI3pn_7HESFKIOCnSuXeO5W3vnUP8mKWt1ebqPrPeXaL-2Cv5oMi66kUjBJTQ0O/s400/google-hands-free-ps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Google says the service is on its way to McDonalds and Papa Johns in the San Francisco Bay Area, and will initially only be available as a preview. More stores will likely support the service as it gains more traction; Google is asking for merchants to sign up if they’re interested in offering the service, while consumers are encouraged to request an invite to use the service.</span></span></span><br /> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If Hands Free turns out to be popular and safe in this limited, public test arena, then we may see it expand significantly over the next year or so. In the meantime, what are your thoughts regarding Google’s new payment method? Creepy or the way of the future? Let us know in the comments below!</span></span><br /> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And do check other post by<a href="http://www.electronicsrevealed.com/" target="_blank"> #ElectronicsRevealed</a></span></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_iBrgNxyoQGWakJeXOix-V3SOcZb46N3glZ6I_2-aOvzOBJLQDM-niy8tjy5HiMQ6E1dh8UKgEhBWFrxub2PjLr8feRfePJoT6WsCNsS4VOGMxn2X3CV0s27NvpDPZF1DXkcIrDS_8ZcZ/s1600/Google-IO-2015-Google-Hands-Free-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_iBrgNxyoQGWakJeXOix-V3SOcZb46N3glZ6I_2-aOvzOBJLQDM-niy8tjy5HiMQ6E1dh8UKgEhBWFrxub2PjLr8feRfePJoT6WsCNsS4VOGMxn2X3CV0s27NvpDPZF1DXkcIrDS_8ZcZ/s400/Google-IO-2015-Google-Hands-Free-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30px;"><br /></span></div>

How did Google Hands Free Become the Best? Find Out

How did Google Hands Free Become the Best? Find Out Paying with your phone is easy. Using a service like Apple Pay, you simply take yo...

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Raspberry pi 3

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3qfzLK-6OURVDZPmVLPZMc0GteAwOvFqNANhYbWzrnDYLSgU4uTGNP1_sRsagleodEo1ni1ypN_rFOgZPX8nvlNg8JE-461nD7AULWFM5nXxxYdmvfu-Ij0QXPyMGhAiMSd9oHvyZgk7/s640/Pi_3_Model_B-01.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raspberry pi 3</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3qfzLK-6OURVDZPmVLPZMc0GteAwOvFqNANhYbWzrnDYLSgU4uTGNP1_sRsagleodEo1ni1ypN_rFOgZPX8nvlNg8JE-461nD7AULWFM5nXxxYdmvfu-Ij0QXPyMGhAiMSd9oHvyZgk7/s1600/Pi_3_Model_B-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 23.1px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 23.1px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Raspberry Pi Foundation is celebrating its computer's fourth birthday with some big news: it launched a brand new Raspberry Pi today. The Raspberry Pi 3 is perhaps the biggest update yet to the tiny and extremely inexpensive computer. This new model is still just $35, and it now includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. "Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are a thing people have been asking for for a long time," says Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading, the charity's commercial arm.</span></span><br /> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span> <br /> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">Big Game on IoT</span></h2> <div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;">For $35 -- the same price as its predecessor -- the Raspberry Pi 3 has added Wi-Fi in the form of </span><span style="color: #b80000;"><span style="background-color: white; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; line-height: 23.8px; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all;"><a href="http://802.11n/">802.11n</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;">, as well as Bluetooth 4.1, according to a blog post</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;"> Monday. The addition of Wi-Fi means you don't need to rely on an Ethernet connection for Internet access. Bluetooth integration means you can connect a wireless keyboard or mouse to control the Pi 3 and communicate wirelessly with sensors and other devices.</span></span></div> <div> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div> <h2 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">How Raspberry pi are Making the World better Place </span></h2> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHS_jyC5fuDh6YXRssZTX9HA4-IK8ai8c-OsPh0To_5byb4JWQRuihgikCB4qZamSTcpoALdzBrQCWkI1tEEQqtqoLKaba3NvgaHCx9VDUM_VDv12OptFPMWdcwbA-yWiSjX-kDuh0o4y/s1600/7883988028_21fd6533e0+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHS_jyC5fuDh6YXRssZTX9HA4-IK8ai8c-OsPh0To_5byb4JWQRuihgikCB4qZamSTcpoALdzBrQCWkI1tEEQqtqoLKaba3NvgaHCx9VDUM_VDv12OptFPMWdcwbA-yWiSjX-kDuh0o4y/s400/7883988028_21fd6533e0+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div> <div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;">Designed for hobbyists, developers and students, the Raspberry Pi is a small motherboard outfitted with a CPU, graphics card, memory and other components. By connecting the Pi to a monitor, keyboard and mouse you can use it as a basic computer.</span> </span><br /> <div id="custom_twitter_button" style="background-color: #202021; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; display: inline-block; line-height: 22.4px; margin-left: 15px; margin-top: 4px; text-align: center; visibility: visible;"> </div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div> <div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;">The real point of the Pi is to encourage people to tinker with the device to </span><span style="background-color: white;">develop project</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;"> and, in particular, to interest students in computer science by teaching them how to solve problems through application design. Sparking interest in computer science at a young age can better prepare children for possible tech careers and give nations the edge against competitors.</span></span></div> <div> <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div> <div> <h2 style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace; font-size: large;">The Raspberry Pi 3 is also speedier than the first two models.</span></h2> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The new edition is powered by a 1.2GHz, 64-bit quad-core ARM <a data-component="externalLink" href="http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/cortex-a53-processor.php" style="color: #b80000; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: ease;" target="_blank">Cortex-A53 CPU</a>, a step up over the 900MHz, 32-bit quad-core ARM <a data-component="externalLink" href="http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/cortex-a7.php" style="color: #b80000; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: ease;" target="_blank">Cortex-A7</a> processor used in the previous models. The processor upgrade and other improvements make it 50 percent faster than the Pi 2 in 32-bit mode and 10 times faster than the original Pi, according to Upton.</span></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdJulGaWlAHSZyykQ70FuB7OGKZ0ssHIDH-_A90588MUpyE1mEd1LRJK7MmrTvKpmA_YGFV4RD0OtxJrx2pnNzqmBNSKA9y1U7MHRY0RuH_8Xf60uJxqR9vmyK8wjU7Y_PY_ZVjYJVxdb/s1600/pispecs2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdJulGaWlAHSZyykQ70FuB7OGKZ0ssHIDH-_A90588MUpyE1mEd1LRJK7MmrTvKpmA_YGFV4RD0OtxJrx2pnNzqmBNSKA9y1U7MHRY0RuH_8Xf60uJxqR9vmyK8wjU7Y_PY_ZVjYJVxdb/s640/pispecs2.png" width="640" /></span></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Raspberry Pi 3 is also compatible with the first two versions. So any projects created with the original Pi or the Pi 2 will work with the Pi 3.</span></div> <div style="background-color: white; line-height: 23.8px; margin-bottom: 20px;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 23.8px;">To run the Pi, you can </span><a data-component="externalLink" href="https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/" style="color: #b80000; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; line-height: 23.8px; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: ease;" target="_blank">download</a><span style="line-height: 23.8px;"> a copy of Raspbian, the foundation's official, supported operating system. You can also download and install certain third-party operating systems, such as Ubuntu Linux or Pinet, a system for managing Pi in a classroom. You can even download a copy of </span><a data-is-autolink="true" href="http://www.cnet.com/products/microsoft-windows-10/" style="color: #b80000; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; line-height: 23.8px; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: ease;">Windows 10</a><span style="line-height: 23.8px;">, but this is a special flavor known as </span><a data-component="externalLink" href="http://ms-iot.github.io/content/en-US/Downloads.htm" style="color: #b80000; cursor: pointer; font-weight: 600; line-height: 23.8px; text-decoration: none; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: all; transition-timing-function: ease;" target="_blank">Windows 10 IoT</a><span style="line-height: 23.8px;"> (Internet of Things) designed to run devices using an embedded version of the OS.</span></span><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWFAk1HaU81PmnjC9mlwnqMQgyHJY3VlyJKp7ShyphenhyphenUwzVaBwPHtdLWJ43DE5P685o3Vl3sH6db2SIJuecNzBLxBae5baRLx6UAHeQFHVUJAfk_lXrPR5WujiV0zLLHBd9DMAMj982qUJEd/s1600/RaspberryPi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWFAk1HaU81PmnjC9mlwnqMQgyHJY3VlyJKp7ShyphenhyphenUwzVaBwPHtdLWJ43DE5P685o3Vl3sH6db2SIJuecNzBLxBae5baRLx6UAHeQFHVUJAfk_lXrPR5WujiV0zLLHBd9DMAMj982qUJEd/s400/RaspberryPi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 23.8px;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 23.8px;"><i style="color: #777777; font-family: Lora; line-height: 26.25px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments section below.. And don't forget to check out the other posts of <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">#<a href="http://www.electronicsrevealed.com/" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ElectronicsRevealed</a></b></i></span></span></div> </div> </div>

Raspberry pi 3

Raspberry pi 3 The Raspberry Pi Foundation is celebrating its computer's fourth birthday with some big news: it launched a brand...

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