Road Test: Sphero

YOU can't hit it with a bat, but it is a hit. Not with pets, however.

Sphero

WHAT is it?

It's the strangest ball we've ever played with. The size of a cricket ball, its hard plastic shell houses a robot "brain", motor, battery, lights, gyroscope and accelerometer.

So you don't smack it with a bat?
Definitely not. Instead, whip out your iOS or Android device and pair it with the Sphero via Bluetooth. Now you're ready to play.

Play how?
Put the Sphero on the ground and use your tablet/phone as a remote controller. The ball goes at a good clip - 1m a second - and the controls are precise enough to make negotiating home-made obstacle courses good fun. For a while, at least.

Then you get bored?
Then you download any of the 20-plus free Sphero apps, each of which offers a different way to interact with the ball. With the Draw & Drive app, for instance, you plot a course on your phone/tablet which the Sphero then follows. With the arcade-style shoot-'em-up Exile app, you hold the Sphero and use it to control the on-screen gameplay. There are party games to play with friends, and even "augmented reality" games.

Is it a one-weekend wonder?
For some, perhaps. But it's a clever toy and it totally freaks out cats, if you like that sort of thing.

Price: $199, iworldonline.com.au