BB-8: The Review

[ULPO46]

For many of you star wars fans. The BB-8 is a cute little “droid” created by Sphero, previously known as orbotix. Although it may seem like a really cool gadget, it doesn’t come cheap at 150 US Dollars it’s possibly one of those expensive gifts for the upcoming Holiday season. However, it’s limited in functions. In essence it’s a robotic ball with a plastic head enabled with a magnet so that it looks like the head doesn’t move from the top of the ball. The BB-8 is one of the newer droids created for the upcoming Episode VII Film. It’s an ok object but it really isn’t more than just a remote controlled robot. In my opinion drones are much more fun to fly and operate for the price that this little guy is fetching. That said, it all depends on you the consumer. It’s a fun object and is available in a select few stores and will be sold at a selected few Disney Parks and Resorts Stores. The list hasn’t come out yet officially but more than likely you will be able to find the toy at the gift shops of Star Tours rides.

 

[seafoodbuffet]

I played with one today at the store. Funny enough my local Disney store wasn't going to get one until late Sept, but the store across the way had a sign that said, "This IS the droid you're looking for". Anyway, @ULPO46 is right in that this is basically a $150 toy. It comes with a few functions, all of which seemed to work pretty well and were controlled by the smartphone app.

* drive it around, the trickiest part is knowing which way it's facing. Every time I thought I was driving forward, it would back up or do some other thing
* augment-reality holographic message, point your phone in camera mode at the droid and a holographic message "Help me Star Tours, you're my only hope"-style will play. Apparently there's some way to integrate your own face into these but I didn't try that
* voice commands, yell "IT'S A TRAP!" and BB-8 rolls away

The droid is tiny, maybe about the size of a large fist, much smaller than I imagined. Also, the magnetic head doesn't levitate on top of the ball the way that the movie trailers show. That said, it all works pretty well and certain things are fairly convincing (e.g. the head dips down and leans forward when it's about to take off, almost comically so).

See this: http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/b52614123e0c35ffeb817a00ca3566f4/201881888/bb8.gif

A word of warning, there's a Target exclusive remote controlled toy that retails for about $80, it's similar in that it's a magnetic head on top of a moving ball sort of toy. That one didn't work nearly as well, the magnet head kept falling off as if the droid were decapitating itself. Yikes

$150 is a lot of money to pay for what is basically an RC toy, the smart phone integration is a neat trick, perhaps a sign of future toys.

 

[danlb_2000]

I'll be happy with just one of these...

 

[Nick Wilde]

$150 is a lot of money to pay for what is basically an RC toy, the smart phone integration is a neat trick, perhaps a sign of future toys.

It's brand new technology. Sphero is a fairly new start-up company, (Which, by the way, was funded by Bob Iger way before he even thought of asking them to create BB-8, which is quite surprising) and it's not easy to make. All new technology is always expensive.

 

[Nick Wilde]

For many of you star wars fans. The BB-8 is a cute little “droid” created by Sphero, previously known as orbotix.

Sphero also made the actual robot they're using in the film. That's not CGI folks, it's the real deal.

 

[seafoodbuffet]

It's brand new technology. Sphero is a fairly new start-up company, (Which, by the way, was funded by Bob Iger way before he even thought of asking them to create BB-8, which is quite surprising) and it's not easy to make. All new technology is always expensive.

Sure, no argument there at all. Point is, this is something aimed at early-ish adopters as I just can't see most people laying out $150 for "merely a toy". I think mass relevance will come later once they find a more compelling "killer app" for their technology.

 

[James J]

Sphero also made the actual robot they're using in the film. That's not CGI folks, it's the real deal.

Indeed. However the final incarnation, fully articulated and remote controlled, wasn't finished in time for filming. The one you will see in the film is a combination of two versions of BB-8; one that's kind of a gyroscopic bowling ball that could literally be hurled into shots, and a more expressive hand-operated puppet. Episode VIII will be the full working version though.

 

[POLY LOVER]

I'll be happy with just one of these...
View attachment 109200

very cool I ordered 2. apparently Disney had the patient for this in 2010 before the Lucas deal was ever completed, I guess they were pretty sure of what they were planning to do and the deal would be completed.

 

[Beholder]

Just as an interesting note on the early popularity of the BB-8. I just spent the day at the DragonCon in Atlanta (yes, I'm a geek and a dork) and the Funko BB-8 was selling for $50 and the remote BB-8 was locked in at $300. Literally a day after these things hit the shelves. It is a cool design though, could be the next R2 in terms of pop culture relevance.

 

[Wallace G]

I got the $80 Target BB-8.

At first, it was frustrating. I kept driving it into walls and the head would pop off. But once you figure out how to control it, it's a pretty neat toy. Especially for half the price. It's also got some cool sound effects.

There's also a $10 off coupon in the most recent Target flyer. Makes it an even bigger bargain.

I haven't tried out the more expensive BB-8. It seems to be higher quality and more high tech. But that doesn't mean the Target BB-8 is a piece of junk. It's really a lot of fun.

 

[LieutLaww]

Also remember that they will be increasing what BB-8 can do over the coming months via the app as the movie comes closer.

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

I had a Brookstone voucher I purchased from GroupOn, essentially I got $25 off and free shipping. Not sure if they are still in stock at this point.