The Sphero Mini is the baby of the Sphero family: This cute little dude squeezes a lot of fun into a tiny package. It comes in a choice of five starter colours: Blue, Pink, White, Orange and Green and comes with three Mini Traffic Cones and six Mini Bowling Pins. Apple have also recently launched three exclusive colours, Red, Purple and Grey.
This Mini bot is compatible with iOS 10+ & Android 5.0+ and is powered by a Gyroscope and Accelerometer controlled over a Bluetooth connection which has the standard 10-meter range. It has some colourful LED lights and measures up at 42mm x 42mm with a weight of just 46g. The Mini takes an hour charging, but in return gives you 45 minutes of continuous play. You will need to download the ‘Sphero Play’ free app to get started and pair up to get it moving…and my goodness, this little nipper is quick!
There are a few different ways to get the Mini moving: The Joy Stick is the simplest of them all and is a good choice for racing the Mini around the house; you can also use the Tilt, Slingshot, or Face Drive mode. Face Drive is a new feature and will have your play mates in fits of giggles as you use your facial expressions to drive the ball. As well as driving the Mini around, you can also use him as a controller for the games on the app, shoot, race, or destroy a polygon of bricks with the Mini in your hand. There are more on the way and you can even download the Sphero Edu app and program your robot using JavaScript.
We had the most fun keeping things simple and driving Mini around the traffic cones, knocking down the bowling pins and getting the cats to chase it across the room. Its glossy finish means he moves round easier on carpeted surfaces than hard floors, as it can pinball around a bit when it loses traction. The shell is easy to remove but durable enough that it doesn’t come to harm when driven at full speed into the wall (this happened a lot as we got used to the controls). The Mini Sphero would make a great gift for all ages: it is simple and addictively entertaining. RRP £49.99
4 out of 5
Pros
Fun
Fast and easy to control
Drive, Control or programme Mini
Interchangeable shells
Colourful LED
Cons
Short battery life
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