Demand overwhelmed production, firm says

The makers of Sphero, a robotic Bluetooth-controlled ball that players could manipulate from their smartphones or tablets, have published a public apology to customers who pre-ordered the gizmo in hopes of a pre-holiday delivery. The CEO and leaders of the company put the blame entirely on themselves for "miscalculating" how long it would take production to ramp up, along with a larger-than-expected demand for the item.

The Sphero ball uses a combination of robotics standards, including a gyro, accelerometer and compass, an internal LED that lets it change its color and a full hour of active battery life. It features induction charging and a selection of app "games" for it including golf, draw-n-drive, a "random command" game to test its autonomy, and a function that lets users video-record the ball's movements (and interaction with pets, children and others) while still driving the ball around.

The ball is not designed for excessive dropping, hitting or other such traditional ball activities, being filled with sensitive electronics. Its abilities mainly consist of rolling, though it can handle the normal small shocks of everyday terrain.

In the note to purchasers and potential customers, the team explain that most pre-orders will be fulfilled in January rather than in December. To make up for the inconvenience, the company says it will upgrade all pre-orders to free expedited shipping, and those who pre-ordered expecting a Sphero for the holidays will get a free Sphero t-shirt and holiday card as a "placeholder gift" in time for Christmas until the real device arrives later.

The unit itself sells for $130 and comes with the induction charging stand and six applications. Other third-party applications are also available on the App Store and Android Market that work with the device, many of them free.

By Electronista Staff