With its Bolt, Sphero revives interest in its motorized ball and relies heavily on the programming / learning to code aspect to amaze us. And it works ! All this thanks to the new capabilities of the robot, but also to the personality that its new matrix of LEDs gives it.
If you’re only considering buying a Sphero toy for riding, then a Sphero 2.0 or, even better, an Ollie will do just fine. On the other hand, if you are interested in the programming aspect, then the multitude of new possibilities offered by the Sphero Bolt is likely to keep you entertained for many hours. Especially since the Bolt finally becomes an interactive toy capable of reacting to the presence of other Bolts. And as the saying goes: the more the merrier…
Strong points
- A sturdy toy.
- Autonomy doubled, at the very least.
- Fun to roll.
- Exciting to program.
- Hours and hours of playful learning in perspective.
Weak points
- Sphero Edu app too cramped on smartphone.
- This remains expensive, especially if you plan to buy several Bolts to take advantage of interactions between robots.
NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude prices from shops whose the VAT policy is not clear (known as “grey” shops, typically in the case of imports from China).
Alternatively
If the union of the toy and the video game sometimes gives good surprises, we can not say that Lego Super Mario really manages to get the best of both worlds. Limited in its constructive aspect just as much as in its video game aspect, it is certainly fun throughout the discovery period, but requires the purchase of many compatible sets to make it truly complete. To be reserved for the wealthiest or Mario fans in priority.