Holding out for a Sphero – The Ball Droid that will top 2011 Christmas Lists

When was the last time anyone you knew asked for a ball as their Christmas present? That might change thanks to Sphero.

You see, Sphero is a very different game. All the ball games, as far as I am aware, out there at the moment involve some form of jumping and running behaviour. Not Sphero – that’s why I am writing about it on a tech site 😉

Sphero is actually a little round robot that you can control using a gyroscope, accelerometer and compass via an iOS or Android device.

Sphero works with the iPhone 4, 4S and 3GS, the iPod touch, the iPad, and any Android device running version 2.2 or above.

That little ball is crammed with gadgetry. As well as that gyro, accelerometer and compass, there’s LED lighting inside so that you can change the colour of its glow – handy when there’s a gang of you playing with your… Spheros 😛

You even charge the ball droid using cable-free induction – just rest your ball on the charging base (so to speak).

Sphero can speed around at up to three feet a second, and be controlled to a range of around 50 feet (it uses Bluetooth to talk to your phone or tablet).

There are six Sphero-related apps available right now: Sphero Drive lets you steer the ball using an on-screen joystick or by tilting your phone or tablet (the makers suggest you build a course and race other Spheros), while Sphero Draw N’ Drive takes a different approach to controlling the ball – use your finger to draw a path on your device’s touchscreen, and Sphero will follow that path in the real world.

Unfortunately for us in the UK we have to wait til next year before we can taunt the cat; you can ‘register your interest‘ on the Sphero website though.

Those in the states will be able to buy the funky sphere next month for $129.99.

The Ball. Evolved. from GoSphero on Vimeo.