Today, we are taking a look at the HTVRONT Auto Heat Press. While this is a bit out of the norm for us but we are trying to expand the products we cover. This machine is going to allow you to more easily add heat-pressed vinyl to your shirts. It has an easy-to-read temperature and settings display and is as easy as just pushing a button.

HTVRONT has some other products that offer similar functions. Everything from heat presses to vinyl and everything you need to get started. Also, while it is not yet available, HTVTRONT’s sister company LOKLIK will be releasing the LOKLIK CRAFTER Vinyl Cutting Machine.

Pricing – Currently, the HTVRONT Auto Heat Press is on a limited deal for $251.99 are their American site. However, those in the UK can also find it for £364.99 on their UK site.

*HTVRONT will be holding a Summer Party Sale from July 7^th to July 11th on their official website, and various platforms such as Amazon, eBay, and more. There will be up to a 50% discount on various products.

HTVRONT Features

Smart Pressure Transducer

Simply put, this will allow the machine to auto-detect the right pressure needed for the project you are doing. It can handle items up to 2.5 cm/1 inch thick!

2x Faster Heating

This heat press can reach its maximum temperature of 210℃/410℉ in around 6 minutes. If only using the temperature of 160°C, the machine can be heated up in less than 4 minutes. This is due to the design which features a dual-zone heating engine.

Bigger Heat Plate and Efficiency Modes

The HTVRONT heat press machine is 15″x15″ and has a large heating plate to make sure it evenly heats up your vinyl when applying it. This will help keep things smooth and the colours vibrant.

It also had 4 fast modes, 2 customer-defined modes, and an auto mode. All of these modes can be easily changed with the click of a button.

Safety and Auto-Off Features

Not only is this heat press easy to use, but it also has your back when it comes to safety. The pullout heat drawer means your hands are never directly under the heat plates. It also has multiple layers of thermal insulation and HTVRONT’s exclusive H-Colling technology to make sure it dissipates heat quickly. Also, should the machine not be used for 10 minutes it will just turn itself off, saving electricity and providing extra safety.

HVTRONT Auto Heat Press Closer Look

As you might imagine, the HVTRONT Auto Heat Press machine is a bit on the heavy side. While the box is also rather large, there is nothing in it except the machine, which is very well protected, and a small user manual.

The user manual has some of the details on the machine, but it doesn’t really show you how to fully use the machine. The HTVRONT Auto Heat Press is easy to use, but that first time you may need a small bit of guidance, and we will show you how to use it below.

On the front of the heat press, you will see a small display and a few buttons. This is going to have you up and running and using the heat press within no time.

On the left, we have the main power button and the temperature and timing buttons.

On the right are the + and – which will be used to control the power and temperature and the R button which is what you will hit when you are ready to use the heat press.

The bottom buttons are for the modes. The first button is going to allow users to choose from the 4 preset modes HTVRONT has added, the middle button is the custom modes so you can set them to your needs, and the A at the end is for the auto-mode when the iron board is pushed in, the machine will press the item automatically.

When the machine is on you will see the display. You can change the temperature display between Fahrenheit and Celsius but pressing the temperature button and holding it for a short while.

The number on the right is the seconds that the heat press will press your item. Again, this can be manually set or you can use one of the preset settings that will base the timing on the temperature currently being used.

Looking at the sides and on the bottom you can see an indent to the base in the middle. This is where you will want to lift the machine to ensure you do not damage it.

Please always use these when possible as you don’t want to damage the machine by picking it up from other parts that may move. This could break or even mess up the calibration of the machine in some instances.

Using The HTVRONT Auto Heat Press Machine

Using the machine is easy and once you do it once, you will be well on your way to wanting to add vinyl to all the shirts in your house!

The first thing you want to do is put your shirt on the machine, push the drawer in, and press the item for around 5 seconds or so. This is going to iron the shirt and get the wrinkles out to make sure you have the best contact for the vinyl.

Once you have done that, you can set your vinyl. As you will see, I went with individual letters to test things out and I will say, it does take some practice to get them to lineup nicely. The process is the same but there is no denying it would be much easier to just use a single vinyl.

Once you have your vinyl placed, you will want to add the Teflon sheet over the top. This does come included with the HTVRONT Auto Heat Press and makes it so the vinyl don’t stick to the heat plate.

Once that is done, you will want to push the drawer in and hit the R button. Should it start beeping or not press down on the shirt, it could be that the shirt is hanging a bit too far or the edge. This is another reason why it is important to use the iron function first as that will let you know if there are any issues with the shirt placement as well as get rid of any wrinkles.

We used one of the preset settings which used a temperature of 320f and a press time of 15 seconds.

Once the press is done, you can pull the drawer out and remove the Teflon sheet. It is then recommended to let the item cool for a little while before you pull any excess plastic off the vinyl letters. I waited about 30 seconds as I was a bit anxious to see how it came out and to see if the vinyl was pressed properly.

Everything was fine and while I need to work on the spacing of my letters, the vinyl was stuck on properly. I even tried to scratch it off at the corners in multiple places and it would not come off. For how quick this was, I am very amazed at how well the overall outcome is.

Yes, I had to go and get a second shirt to have another go. As the machine was already heated up and ready, it took me about a minute to do the second shirt and most of that was trying to line up the letters.       

Final Words

Currently, the HTVRONT Auto Heat Press is on a limited deal for $251.99 are their American site. However, those in the UK can also find it for £364.99 on their UK site. Even at the UK pricing, this machine is well worth its money. It will take all the guesswork out of the process and allow you to just enjoy the end results with ease.

Using the machine is easy and once you have done it the first time, you will be able to continue to enjoy it anytime you want. As a first-time user, there is no setup, no calibration, no nothing. You just simply plug the auto heat press in, select your temperature and timing, line up your shirt and you are good to go, it really is that easy. I am still amazed at how easy it was and have been left wondering why I hadn’t tried this earlier. We will definitely be using this for more content and to create some custom merch for Enos Tech in the near future.

After a few tests of the HTVRONT Auto Heat Press, I am still loving the quality of the heat press vinyl. Not only does HTVRONT have its own heat transfer vinyl, but you can also easily buy some from the likes of eBay and Amazon. For this review, I bought some letters from Amazon Uk which can be FOUND HERE.

There really isn’t much more than can be said. This machine makes adding vinyls to your shirts easier than ever and it does an amazing job at doing so. If you are looking for a new heat press, I highly suggest adding this to your shortlist, especially given the current pricing.

*HTVRONT will be holding a Summer Party Sale from July 7^th to July 11th on their official website, and various platforms such as Amazon, eBay, and more. There will be up to a 50% discount on various products.

The SIHOO DORO-C300 can be purchased directly from their website. It is currently on sale for $299.99.

SIHOO Doro-C300 Unboxing

So instead of showing you the actual box as it is massive, I have taken everything out. Everything comes very well packed and protected and luckily the box is heavy so you shouldn’t have to worry about delivery drivers throwing it about causing damage.

When you first take things out, you may be a bit overwhelmed as there are a lot of pieces to put together. However, don’t stress too much as it is fairly easy.

One thing I have not seen before is the base was not put together and instead, came with five individual legs and a central hub to connect them all to. Also, the armrests came in two pieces. Neither of these are an issue, just not something I had seen before with gaming chairs.

Of course, we also have the fice wheels, one for each leg of the base. The chair mechanism that is going to allow us to lock the chair and raise it up and down is heavy and feels sturdy.

Instead of a cheap fallen key, SIHOO have actually included an fallen key with a handle that makes assembly so much easier and is a welcome addition.

Another thing I liked was the fact that the screw pack was labeled properly, not just with the sizes of the screws but where they would go as well. This will further help to make building the Doro-C300 as easy as possible.

Building The Doro-C300

First off, you will want to find the legs and insert them into the central base. Each leg is secured with two screws.

Once you have done this, you can add the wheels. The wheels require a bit of force but you should feel them kind of pop into place once they are fully inserted.

Next, you will want to put the mechanism onto the bottom of the chair. Again, all the screws are labeled so it is easy to find the ones you need. The handle on the fallen key surely does come in handy for getting all these screws tightened a bit quicker and easier.

After the mechanism is secured to the bottom of the seat, you can put the arm rests together. Two screws will hold these together as well.

Now, you can install the gas pump into the 5-star base and set the base of the seat on top.

You will then want to slot the backrest into the base of the chair and screw it into place. After that, you can install the armrests.

When you first get the chair, this SIHOO logo will not be attached to the chair. This is so you can install the headrest and tighten it into place with the two included screws.

Finished Build and Features

Now, that the chair is all built, it is most certainly time to have a seat in it and try it out.

One of the first things you will likely notice when you sit in it is the lumbar support. This isn’t your standard lumbar support and instead, will follow you as you move. It takes a second to get used to, but once you do you will wonder how you ever sat in a chair that didn’t have one.

As you move side to side, it moves with you offering more support than standard lumbar supports/pillows as we normally see on Gaming Chairs.

The headrest is probably the best feature of the chair. When you are sitting straight up, it doesn’t offer much, but as soon as you lay back to relax a bit, its range of movement is superb.

Not only can the whole headrest be moved forward or backward, but it can also be moved up or down, making it easy to find just the right position for each individual user.

The armrests are probably the biggest letdown of the Doro-C300, unfortunately. While they offer plenty of movement, height, and positional options, they move too easily.

What starts out seeming like a good feature, quickly becomes one of the most annoying features of the chair. All of the moveable parts don’t really lock into place. Instead, you have to listen to them click to find where you want them and if you go to far, they just reset back to their original position.

This is fine for most of the chairs but for the armrests is rather annoying as every time you elbow them or go to move in the chair, they change positions. Hopefully Sihoo can update the chair and offer armrests that lock into place and maybe need a button to move them, similar to what we see on gaming chairs.

The armrest does offer an incredible amount of movement but again, until they can be locked into place they can become rather annoying.

SIHOO Doro-C300 Final Words

The SIHOO Doro-C300 is currently available in the US market for $299.99 by visiting their site HERE. However, users in the UK can currently preorder the chair for £240 if they spend £3.99 to confirm their order on the UK site HERE.

For the price, the chair does have a couple of minor issues, that depending on the individual user may or may not be a big deal. As mentioned it does take some time to get used to the lumbar support, especially if coming from a gaming chair. Also, the armrests are a bit of a pain and if they are something you use quite a bit and rely on, can be more troublesome than helpful.

Overall the chair is nice and is definitely sturdy to sit in. The ease of customizing the chair is probably one of the bigger selling points, but can also be one of the downfalls of the chair as well. Coming in at around 5’10, I find the chair comfortable and would say it suits me well. However, I can imagine for bigger users that it may not be quite as comfortable. As always, I would personally recommend sitting in the chair, or something similar to it before purchasing. I know this isn’t always possible but if you can, it’s well worth it.

I have been using the chair for 3-weeks now and will continue to use it on my personal PC for the time being. I do not personally, use the armrests much so the fact they are so easily moved doesn’t particularly bother me, it is just something that had to be mentioned in the review. Using the chair for a good few hours a day and I must say it is much more comfortable than the cheaper office-style chair I was using previously.

If SIHOO can sort the armrests out, this chair will be a much better option. Not much is needed to be done, just something so they actually lock into place and don’t move so much, that’s it. Aside from this, I can recommend this chair to anyone looking for something ergonomic and in all honesty, I think I may be switching from gaming chairs to ergonomic chairs for my daily drivers.

Pros:
Comfort
Headrest
Sturdy Base

Cons:
Armrests move to easy
Nothing locks into place

Purchase the EnergyQC Pilot X7 20,000mAH On Amazon UK £27.59

When you review your EnergyQC Pilotx X7 20,000mAH power bank, it comes in a rather plain box with just EneryQC on the front. This is actually nice to see as the less they spend on unnecessary packaging, the less they have to charge their customers.

Getting everything out of the box and there is the power bank, a manual and a charging cable so you can charge the power bank to full capacity before using it.

When we received ours, it was halfway charged. We could tell this as there are four separate LED lights around the power button that each represent 25% of a charge. While these may not be 100% accurate, it is a good indication on if your battery bak is fully charged or almost dead.

Not only does it charge your devices, it also has a small torch on it so should you need to use it in the night, you can with ease. To use the flashlight you just long press the power button.

There are 3x output USB ports. 2x USB A and 1x USB C for ultimate compatibility. While I recommend using the USB C port where possible, it is nice to have the included USB A ports as well.

The bottom of the Pilot X7 power bank is where you will find all of the technical info you may or most likely will not need. However, it is there for those who need it and like to know what they are using.

As we can see this is the Pilot X7 20,000mAH power bank and has a total output of 18W. This means that any device that requires more than 18W to charge, likely will not work with the Pilot X7. This is something you will have to look into yourself and make sure your device is compatible before using.

During my testing, I managed to charge up my S23 Ultra on average around 3 times completely. I still managed to get a little bit of a charge on the 4th time, but not a full one. This is more than fine for a device of this type and exactly what we would expect from it.

Given the EnergyQC Pilot X7  pricing of £27.59 on Amazon UK I feel this offers great value for the money and is a good product. Having a power bank should be an essential part of your day-to-day life as you never know when you could need it. With so many power outages, train strikes, and more, this could be the difference between being lost or stranded somewhere with no real way to get in touch with someone or, having a fully charged device to use so you can call someone or scroll social media while you wait. The choice is yours but I know exactly what I would choose, and that is the extra power every time.

I am going to give this our must have award as I do feel this is an essential piece of technology that everyone should have. Honestly, I think most people in this day and age should have more than one of these but that is just my personal opinion on the matter.

Should you feel the Pilot X7 20,000 is too big, or you may not quite need such a charge, feel free to check out the rest of the EnergyQC store on Amazon UK for more portable chargers.

Starting out in 2013, XGIMI offers state-of-the-art projectors that its consumers can use to create immersive audio-visual experiences. Not only does XGIMI (Pronounced X-Jimy) design some pretty impressive projectors, they always work with partners like Google, Harman Kardon, and Texas Instruments to make sure they are developing the best home and portable projectors.

Today, we are going to be taking a look at the latest offering from XGIMI, the MoGo 2. This portable projector is small, elegant, and has some very impressive features that make it one of the easiest-to-use projectors we have ever come across. Alongside its ease of use, it is also relatively small and can easily be put into a backpack and taken on trips. The MoGo 2 can even be used with a 65W portable power bank so there is no limits on where you can take it.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Pricing and Links

US – During the Pre-Sale period, you can buy a $50 off coupon for just $1. You will receive your coupon when the MoGo 2 launches on April 25th and will then have 10 days to use the coupon before it expires. This will drop the price from its RRP of $399 down to just $349 for the MoGo 2.

Those that want the MoGo 2 Pro version (1080P) will also be happy to know the coupon will drop the price from the RRP of $599 down to just $549.

If you wish to purchase in the US or just find out more info, please visit the US MoGo 2 product page. 

UK – During the Pre-Sale period, you can buy a £45 off coupon for just £1. You will receive your coupon when the MoGo 2 launches on April 25th and will then have 10 days to use the coupon before it expires. This will drop the price from its RRP of £359 down to just £314 for the MoGo 2.

Those that want the MoGo 2 Pro version (1080P) will also be happy to know the coupon will drop the price from the RRP of £529 down to just £484.

If you wish to purchase in the UK or just find out more info, please visit the UK MoGo 2 product page.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Specifications and Product Features

Specifications

Features

Image Quality

• 400 ISO lumens, 720P HD Resolution
• 90% DCI-P3 Color Gamut
• D65 color temperature standard
• HDR 10 enhanced color contrasts

ISA 1.0 (Intelligent Screen Adaption Technology)

This technology allows for a seamlessly easy setup, there is no need to worry about the screen angle, alignment, or resolution as it can all be taken care of automatically. Thanks to a small sensor on the front of the MoGo 2 projector, you will always have the best viewing angle, image quality, and picture you can get. This technology is truly amazing and also means you will not have to mess with the focus or anything when it is being used properly.

• Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance
• Intelligent Screen Alignment
• Automatic Keystone correction
• Autofocus

XGIMI Self-Developed Audio System

XGIMI has upgraded the MoGo 2 to come with 2x8W Speakers that can feature Dolby Audio, Dolby Digital(DD), and Dolby Digital Plus (DD+)

Android TV 11.0 and Google Play

Yes, there are over 5,000+ APPs that can be installed directly onto the MoGo 2 thanks to its 16GB of internal storage. You can easily install Disney+, HBO, Hulu, YouTube, and many more and add them all to your favorites for easy access.

Compact Design

This is one of the smallest projectors you will come across, especially for all it has to offer. It comes in at 16 1x 119 x 108mm (6.33 x 4.68 x 4.24 inch) and only weighs 1.1KG (2.4lb)

Type C Protocol and Power Charge & Portable Power Bank Supported

Thanks to its USB-C charging, not only can it be powered with the included mains plug, you can also use a power bank to power the MoGo 2 as long as the power bank is 65W or above.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Packaging and Accessories

The XGIMI MoGo 2 projector comes in a white box with a nice image of the projector on the front. There are some small details around the other sides of the box but nothing overly important.

XGIMI has used extra foam padding inside the box to ensure that the MoGo 2 gets to you in perfect condition. This foam padding is more than thick enough to keep the MoGo 2 protected while it is on its travels.

Taking everything out of the box and we have the MoGo 2 itself, the remote with included batteries, a mains charger, and all of our manuals. The MoGo 2 only comes with the essentials and that includes the packaging as well.

One small thing to mention about the mains plug. The way the prongs are orientated, they currently will take up 2 plug spaces on some power leads. This isn’t a major issue but just one to know about beforehand so if need be, you can buy a suitable power lead for your needs.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Closer Look

The frosty grey design of the MoGo 2 coupled with its small and elegant design is going to have you really wanting to show it off. That’s right, not only is it feature packed but it also looks amazing as well.

On the front of the MoGo 2 projector, you will notice the main lens on the top which will project the video. However, there is also a small sensor on the bottom. This is the Auto Keystone sensor and this is the feature that is going to make this projector stand out from the crowd. This is going to help make sure you have the best possible viewing angle and image, no matter what.

The top of the projector has the XGIMI logo, a small power button, and a power indication LED.

The bottom has some important info on it. It also has a mounting hole for the upcoming Freestyle Stand that will be released in July 2023. You can also use this to mount the MoGo 2 smart projector to a tripod in the meantime. Using the MoGo 2 on a tripod will add extra versatility to the projector and open up a wider range of places that you can use it.

On to the backside of the XGIMI MoGo2 Smart Projector and we can see the input ports. Here we find the following ports:

• USB Type-C
• HDMI 2.0
• USB2.0
• Audio 3.5mm Jack

These connections should be enough to make the most of the MoGo 2 and the audio jack is a nice implementation. This is going to allow users to connect a pair of headphones directly to the projector which means they can enjoy their favorite game or movie all to themselves.

Just below the connectivity ports, we can see the bass diaphragm. This viewing area is going to allow users to clearly see the speaker and the sound movement inside. While it may not add a lot in terms of performance, it is still a pretty cool feature to have on the MoGo 2.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Setup, APPs, and Storage

Setting up the MoGo 2 is a breeze. When you first turn it on you are greeted with a welcome screen so you can select the language you want. From here it only takes a couple of minutes to get it up and running so you can start making the best of your new projector.

Coming equipped with Android TV 11.0 and Google Play, the MoGo 2 projector has access to over 5,000 apps from the second you turn it on. This means that in most cases, there is no need to connect an external box of any kind to it. Instead, download the apps directly to the MoGo 2 and save yourself some hassle. This is a really handy feature to have and truly speaks on the portable aspect that the projector has to offer.

From Disney+ to Spotify and more, the MoGo 2 smart projector will allow you to watch your favorite TV programs or movies for hours on end.

There is 16GB of internal storage altogether. This means after the standard apps and everything are installed, you are left with around 10.4GB of space so you can download your favorite apps directly onto the MoGo 2.

XGIMI MoGo 2 YouTube Usage and Chromecast

Using YouTube on the MoGo 2 smart projector is as easy as ever and there are actually two ways you can do so. The first is to download the YouTube app and start using it. This is likely to be the preferred way for most as means you can use YouTube right from the MoGo 2 itself, without the need for any extra equipment. You can sign in to your account and instantly start watching all of your favorite creators within a matter of seconds.

However, you can also use the Chromecast feature and stream from your phone or supported device to the MoGo 2. This is a handy feature to have as we are all on our phones these days and video is the number one type of content that is consumed on mobile devices. When watching a video on your compatible device, simply select the Chromecast option and a list of devices will pop up. Select the MoGo 2 and watch the video start playing on the projector almost instantly. This is a great way to share what you are watching on your mobile phone with others and is seamlessly easy to do which is always a plus.

Installing NetFlix On XGIMI MoGo 2

Netflix does not make it easy to install itself on such devices. This is nothing to do with XGIMI or the MoGo 2 and more to do with how NetFlix handles certain android based devices. However, as always, there is a workaround!

Open up the Google Play store and search for DesktopManager.

Install the DesktopManager App.

Now you will want to open the app. When you do so, you will need to ‘Allow’ it access.

Once you have given it access, you can find Netflix and install it. If nothing happens the first time, you may need to click install again and another prompt will come up asking you what programs you will allow to install unknown apps. Simply give DeskptopManager permission to install unknown apps and then go click install again above Netflix, it should work and take you to a screen where you can input your username and password to start using the service.

Gaming on the XGIMI MoGo 2

Now, what kind of review would this be if we didn’t try and play some games? Firing up our Trust Xbox One S, we got right to it and were rather impressed. Another thing that was nice was the fact that the MoGo 2 projector could be placed right on top of the Xbox (Made sure not to block any vents) and used that way. This frees up even more space on the table and again, just speaks volumes about the portability that this projector has to offer.

Hoping into some Modern Warfare 2 and I must say, the 720P display really wasn’t that bad. While there is no denying that it isn’t as crisp as 1080P or 4K, the bigger screen size than what I am used to comes in great handy in a number of scenarios. While it made sniping a lot easier, it also made it easier to see snipers who were trying to attack me. In fact, the extra screen size made it easier to see all enemies, near and far, and after a few minutes of playing on it, completely forgot that it was a 720P resolution.

I tried a number of games on it but a good FPS is always my go-to for testing performance. The color representation was accurate and thanks to the 400 ISO lumens, the brightness wasn’t an issue. When gaming, some projectors can have a lot of dark areas that shouldn’t be dark but I did not run into this issue at all when testing the MoGo 2 myself.

XGIMI MoGo 2 Power Usage

As the MoGo 2 is a portable projector, I thought I would have a little bit of fun with it. So, with that being said I decided to test the power consumption. This is designed to be a portable projector that you can take with you and also boasts that it can be used with a portable power bank of at least 65W.

During my initial testing, which was browsing and opening, and closing different apps directly on the MoGo 2, I was seeing an average of 51W being drawn. As you can see in the graph below, I did this for about 5min or so and then decided to move on.

The 20min reading is from allowing a movie to play for 20min with the sound about 75% as high as it could go. I simply put a movie on through an app on the MoGo 2 and just let it play. Sometimes when devices get a bit warm after usage they tend to use a bit more power to try and cool themselves down, however, this wasn’t the case with the MoGo 2. Instead, once the MoGo 2 was settled and playing a movie, it calmed down and on average dropped to 49.7W being used.  While this is only a 2W difference, every bit helps, especially in these times.

Lastly, I decided to test out the ECO mode as this will be used when using a portable battery bank with the MoGo 2. The power draw dropped to 42.5W instantly and stayed right around this no matter if I was browsing apps or just simply watching a movie. This was nice to see and just reaffirms that the MoGo 2 Smart Projector will be suitable to be used with a 65W portable battery bank.

Final Words

The XGIMI MoGo 2 Smart Projector has a lot to offer. Those wanting the full 1080P experience will also be happy to know that there is a MoGo 2 PRO version that offers that full HD 1080P experience. Overall, the quality and design are on point and it has some very impressive features so let’s break it all down, recap, and give you my final thoughts on the MoGo 2.

Design – Its small size is going to allow you to bring the MoGo 2 with you almost anywhere you go. Being able to easily fit into most standard backpacks, you will never have to be without your MoGo 2 even when on the move. XGIMI hasn’t let the size stop them from making sure that the MoGo 2 is feature packed and allowing it to offer a great viewing experience. The MoGo 2 features a 720P display with 400ISO lumens, D65 Color Temperature, and an HDR 10 color contrast to give you great image quality.

Performance – For its small size, the MoGo 2 really packs a punch when it comes to performance. Both the audio and visual aspects of the projector are what we would hope and expect to see from a 720P projector. However, it is where XGIMI goes above and beyond that really helps the MoGo 2 stick out. The Intelligent Screen Adaption Technology is absolutely amazing and makes this one of, if not the easiest projectors to set up and get to use. There is no need to worry about how far from the wall/screen the projector is, the angle, or any of that as it can all be taken care of automatically. Simply set it down, turn it on and it will auto-calibrate everything for you and quite quickly as well.

The sound is also quite impressive thanks in part to its 2x8w stereo speakers and visible bass speaker. Not only does it allow for a nice listening experience but it also adds to the overall aesthetic of the MoGo 2. The MoGo 2 also has 4 professional audio modes that include Movie, Sports, Music, and News so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Value – The RRP of the MoGo 2 is £359 here in the UK but if you join in the Presale, you can get a £45 coupon for just £1 bringing the price down to only £314! Either way, the MoGo 2 Smart Projector has a lot to offer for its price. This has to be one of the best portable projectors I have seen and having both the Standard MoGo 2 720P version and a 1080P Pro version available is amazing. While both are more than fairly priced, those looking to save a bit of money will be happy to opt for the 720P version. To purchase the MoGo 2 in the UK, please visit the UK MoGo 2 Product Page. To purchase the MoGo 2 in the US, please visit the US MoGo Product Page.

Make sure to check out our Lifestyle section for more reviews!

Following on from our ECOVACS DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI ROBOT VACUUM CLEANER, today we are taking a look at the much more advanced DEEBOT X1 OMNI. The X1 OMNI is a massive step up and alongside its vacuum and mopping features, it also comes with a self-cleaning station. Not only is the DEEBOT X1 OMNI self-cleaning, but it is also voice-activated, and leverages advanced AIVI™ 3D and TrueMapping technology. Setup is as easy as you could imagine and you will have the DEEBOT X1 OMNI unboxed and up and running within minutes!

Amazon Prime Day Sale July 12th-13th

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3uCzG3Z

Price: Normally £1499 now only £899 – Saving £600 during Prime day

Product Page: https://www.ecovacs.com/uk/deebot-robotic-vacuum-cleaner/deebot-x1-omni

ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 OMNI Specifications

The first thing you are going to notice is that the box is absolutely massive, and this is thanks to the hands-free cleaning station. Inside, everything is well packed and padded to ensure that it makes it to you in perfect condition with no issues at all.

Taking everything out of the box and there are the 2x vacuum brushes and 2x mopping pads. While there is already 1x dust bag pre-installed in the station ECOVACS has been kind enough to include a spare one.

OMNI Station Closer Look

The all-in-one OMNI station is rather large and rightly so. The OMNI station is not only the home for the DEEBOT robot, it will also auto-empty the dust box and dirty water. It also fills the robot up with new and clean water and will also clean and dry the mopping pads, ensuring that your robot is always ready to go.

As mentioned, the DEEBOT X1 OMNI is easy to sit up. To get started, just flip the lid on the station and follow the instructions. Even with having to download the APP, it shouldn’t take more than 5 min to have it all up and running. One of great features is that everything is so easy to use, from setting up to maintaining the station and the robot.

7 simple steps will have you up and running within minutes as mentioned. The station needs to be placed with 0.5m of free space on either side and 1.5m of space in front of it. This is to ensure the robot has ample room to maneuver and make it back into the docking area.

The water tanks are easily removed, filled, and emptied. They are also clearly labeled and even different colours so you can easily tell them apart. To remove them, you simply just pull them out by the handles and you are good to either refill or empty as needed.

Both water containers are 4L so you will not have to change them every day! However, depending on how big an area it has to mop will determine how often the waters need to be changed.

Between the two water containers are a little storage area that holds extra mop pads and even a cleaning brush.

Changing out the dust bag is just as easy as changing the water tanks. To open the compartment, there is a button just on the roof of where the robot docks itself. Simply push it and the dust compartment opens up to allow access to the bag for easy changing.

When you first set it all up, the robot will easily find its docking station so it can fill up with water and get ready to mop. After every cleaning, it will return to the station empty the dirty water into the station, empty the dust and then fill up with fresh clean water so it is ready to go. The robot also talks so you will know when it has finished cleaning and is about to return to the station.

DEEBOT Closer Look

The Deebot itself has quite a bit going on for itself. From vacuuming and mopping, it takes a lot of other features to make this all happen as smoothly as it does. It has multiple sensors, cameras, and even a bumper for the odd occasion when it bumps into something trying to make sure it is cleaning as much of your floor as possible.

Not only do the cameras on the front map out your house, you can also use the app to video the cameras in real-time. You can even use them to control the Deebot and move it around the house. Combine this with the inbuilt speakers and you can talk to your favorite animals or person!

The top cover of the Deebot is held on by magnets and comes off as easily as you would expect. Once you take the cover off you can access the dust box which also just lifts right out for easy changing. You will also find the power button and wifi connect button under the cover. Again, setup is easy and all the instructions are located under the lid of the OMNI station that way you can never lose them.

It really is amazing just how easy everything is to change around. The dust box literally just lifts right out and then slots back into place equally as easily.

The dust brushes and mopping pads just pop onto the bottom of the Deebot! They can also be removed just as easily when it comes time to change them! The dust brushes clip into place whereas the mop pads are magnetic so they are even easier to change and for good reason. The mop pads will get dirty after a few uses and will need to be changed. Remember, there are spares stored between the water jugs in the station and it only takes a few seconds to change them.

Even the vacuum brush is easily removed. Simply push the two clips in to remove the cover and just take the brush right out for easy cleaning.

Having everything so easily accessible and cleanable makes the ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 OMNI an absolute pleasure to use. It also means that you will be able to prolong its longevity of it and make sure that it is always running as best possible.

ECOVACS APP

As with both the OMNI station and Deebot, the APP is also easy to set up and get using. When you first go to use the Deebot X1 OMNI, you will be instructed to download the app and you will need to set up an account to start making use of it.

The App will let you start the auto cleaning of your house function. You can also enter the smart cleaning mode which will let you specify what rooms and areas you want to have cleaned and you can also tell the Deebot to recharge so that its batteries won’t die while cleaning. Also, this is where you will enter the video mode that lets you see in real-time where the robot is, what it is doing, and even take pics and videos.

It does take a little bit of time to get used to the APP but once you do, you will be able to make the most of it.

ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 OMNI Conclusion

While these types of Vacuuming and mops are a bit of a niche product, they are definitely making great strides in the features that they offer. If this is the type of product you are after, then the Deebot X1 OMNI should be at the top of your list. It has all the best features and the latest tech to make sure you are getting the most from your robot vacuum.

The all-in-one OMNI station makes sure the Deebot is kept clean and raring to go at any time. As we have seen, the OMNI station will auto-empty the dust box and even the dirty water from the DEEBOT, keeping it clean at all times. While some of the cleanings can be a bit noisy, it means you don’t have to empty and clean the Deebot itself after every use. It also uses hot air to dry the mopping pads to help prevent odor and bacteria and to also make sure they are dry are ready to make use of the vacuum function if mopping is not needed.

The Deebot can also be voice-activated so you don’t even need to use the app at times, you can simply use the voice commands to use it. The Troemapping 2.0 and AIVI 3D features will make sure that Deebot is cleaning as much of your house as it can. You can also use these features to make rooms off-limits or clean a single room at a time if needed without the need to clean the whole house.

Both the vacuum and cleaning functions are top-notch. It features a 5000Pa suction power with dual side brushes and a floating main brush. It also has two mod pads to offer a wider area of cleaning at a time. The Deebot itself will go up and down the room multiple times and you can even see what path it takes on the app.

While there is no denying that the price is quite expensive normally, it is well worth it if you want the best of the best when it comes to robot vacuums. At the time of reviews, it is also on sale for £600 on Amazon UK Prime day which makes it even better value for the money, coming in at just £899 while on sale.

The ECOVACS DEEBOT X1 OMNI is pushing the envelope on what robot vacuums have to offer and really has some amazing features. If you want to make your life around the house a bit easier, this is definitely something you need to consider!

Amazon Prime Day Sale July 12th-13th

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3uCzG3Z

Price: Normally £1499 now only £899 – Saving £600 during Prime day

Product Page: https://www.ecovacs.com/uk/deebot-robotic-vacuum-cleaner/deebot-x1-omni

When it comes to security, companies like Blurams and their PTZ Dome Security Camera (use code blurams10 for a 10% discount off your first purchase) are trying to help and make people feel safe. While they have a pretty great lineup of security cameras, today we are taking a look at the A31. This camera features a 1080P resolution, built-in mic, and speaker and can store videos to the cloud or a Micro SD card. With home security becoming more and more important, it is great to see companies making it as simple as possible for us to keep an eye on our loved ones when we are out of the house. The A31 security camera also has motion detection so if the whole family is out, it will notify you when something moves in the room and you will get a notification straight to your phone.

Closer Look

The Camera itself is quite small for what it has to offer. As you can see, it isn’t much taller than the Alexa Show 5 to its left. The A31 is mostly white except for the lens and surrounding area. The Surrounding area is black as this houses the 8x LEDs for the night vision mode, which automatically kicks on as and when needed. The Night vision mode is good for a range of 22 feet, making this a perfect Baby monitor as well! The Camera also has full 360° coverage using its 109° wide-angle lens and of course, it is all shown in crisp 1080P. Overall, this is a pretty impressive home security camera, especially when you consider the price.

On the front of the camera are a small blurams logo and an indicator light. Using the app, you can turn this light off as seen below so it doesn’t look as obvious that the camera is on. I have turned it off during my testing so the kids just think it is sitting there and it only comes on when I access it VIA my phone.

The back of the camera is where you will plug in the included USB cable. This is also where the speaker and reset button are found.

While we can’t expect the world from a speaker in a camera this size, it is more than adequate and does the job. Both the speaker and mic offer crisp and clear audio. What I liked most was when you are connected to the camera on your phone VIA the APP, you can hear what is going on, but they can’t hear you unless you hit the call button. This is great for when you want to just have a quick check-up on the kids without them being aware. Calling the camera to speak through it is as easy as hitting the phone icon in the app when viewing and then talking, and then you simply hang up when done. Blurams have done a great job of making everything as easy as possible with their A31 security camera.

Blurams App

The APP is very simple to use once all set up. When you first open the APP you will see a live view of the camera. Simply click on it to open it up and have a few more options. From the main APP screen, you can also access the settings/preferences with which you will want to have a play and make sure everything is set to your liking.

Once here, you can even turn the camera on/off depending on your needs. You can change the device name, its use, notifications settings, quality, night vision mode, and more.

You will want to customize all these settings to your individual needs. For instance, you may not want notifications on all the time as they can be annoying, however, if you are on holiday then you most definitely would want to turn them on. Again I am a big fan of being able to turn the indicator LED off as most people are programmed to look for a light when the camera is on. This is a handy feature to have and while it may not be of use to everyone, at least having the ability to turn the light on or off is amazing.

Live Photos Daytime

Here are a few photos I took during the day so you can kind of get an idea of the quality and just how much you can see. The camera is about 4 feet away from my sofa and zoomed out for reference. You can zoom in with it just as you would any image etc on your phone and it does keep a good quality but for most users, I don’t think you will need to zoom in very often. The below 2 images are of 1080P Quality.

The below 2 images are with the quality down and a bit less lighting being used. While not as good of quality as above, the quality is still more than good enough to see what is going on without issue.

Live Photos Night Vision

The first photo, funnily enough, is just what happens when shutting the curtains in my main room. However, you can see just fine with the night vision mode enabled which is nice. The image is still fairly clear and you can easily make out anything you can see.

The below image is at night and has something close to the camera which obstructs the view a little bit. However, you can still see everything you need to clearly which is good as the camera doesn’t just focus on what is closest to it.

Final Words

Coming in at $49.99 directly from their website (use code blurams10 for 10% off your first purchase)($40.98 from AMAZON.com), or £29.99 from Amazon UK (currently also has a £5 voucher as of 14/03/2022)  The Blurams A31 Smart Pan-Til Come Lite 2 Camera offers very impressive value for the money. It is easy to get set up and you should have it up and running within 5 minutes of opening the box! Once you get it working, it just gets even more impressive and will instantly have you asking yourself why you only bought one of them at this price.

The 1080p resolution is crisp and clear and using the camera via the phone APP is as easy as you could hope. You can move the camera, zoom in, turn audio on/off and even call the camera so you can speak to whoever is on the other end with ease. As mentioned, the APP will also allow you to easily customize your camera settings so that you are getting the most from it, or the least if that is your thing. Being able to easily turn on or off notifications will make sure you are always in the know if someone has entered the room.

All in all, the A31 from Blurams has a very attractive price point and it has almost all the features one could want in an easy-to-use home security camera. Blurams does have a few other cameras but the A31 that we have looked at here today seems to be a good middle-of-the-road option and one I look forward to continuing to use in the future.

Every few years products that were once thought of as ridiculous and over the top, become much more acceptable. This is exactly what has happened to robot vacuums. Once upon a time, only for those with a rich and fabulous lifestyle, they are now becoming more affordable so almost anyone can get their hands on one. As with most products, you do get what you pay for so make sure you are careful when selecting one.  Alongside being able to vacuum, they also can now mop and some of them even have cameras on them so you can use them for security means as well. Today, we are taking a look at the ECOVACS DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI which is one of the most advanced robot hoovers you can currently get.

Currently available for £599 when applying £50 voucher on AMAZON UK: CLICK HERE

Packaging and Contents

ECOVACS have double boxed up their T8 AIVI and rightly so! When you spend this amount of money on anything, you want to know that it is going to arrive in one piece with no damage! The outside box is also a plain brown but serves its purpose.

Inside the brown box is the more stylish packaging for the T8 AIVI. This box has a white/blue theme to it and not only has an image of the robot vacuum there are some specs and info as well. We can also see a couple of awards it has won in the top right corner which is nice to see as it helps to reaffirm that this isn’t just some cheap Chinese knockoff.

Over on to the back of the box and there is even more info about the T8 AIVI. We can see some info about the ECOVACS APP and that this new robot last even longer and should be able to go for around 3Hours or so.

The T8 AIVI comes very well packaged. There are several smaller boxes inside and even some foam to help make sure the robot is safe and secure during transport.

Getting everything out and there are definitely quite a few things! We have three small boxes that all contain parts and spares for the T8 AIVI. WE can also see the charging stand and robot itself.

There are also quite a few spare parts as well to make sure you can get the most out of your new T8 AIVI for as long as possible.

T8 AIVI Closer Look

The DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI is a fairly big and heavy robot. From the moment you get it out of the packaging you know you have a great product in your hands. DEEBOT has a number of these autonomous robots and the T8 AIVI is one of the more advanced ones. While I don’t see this allowing you to be able to fully get rid of your manual hoover, it will definitely keep the house nice and tidy for the most part and alleviate the need to hoover quite so much.

IT sounds funny to say but it does look kind of stylish and all. The little head that pops out of the top of the robot is going to allow it to help map out your house and know where it is. Aside from this, there isn’t much going on at the top aside from the power button.

Flipping it over quickly and taking a look at the underside and we have three wheels. The single one towards the top is going to be what allows the T8 AIVI to maneuver around your house and turn while the other two are going to be what makes it go forwards and backwards and also allow it to climb smaller surfaces. While it won’t be able to climb your stairs, it can easily climb over wooden door bars and up onto carpeted areas. The green and red clips are going to hold brushes that when in use, will stick out just past the edge of the T8 AIVI and allow it to grab a bit more dust along the walls and in corners. The yellow brush in the middle is going to be what does most of the hoovering and is also easily removable for cleaning and to replace it should you ever need to. The yellow brush also has rubber brushes to help and try to make it so hair doesn’t get wrapped around it.

To remove the yellow brush you simply push in the two grey clips on the cover, take the cover off then you can remove the brush and either clean it or change it. The water tank is also easily removed by pulling it out so you can fill it up, clean it or change the mopping pad with ease.

Setting it all up is really quite straightforward. When you open the box there is a small guide that tells your how to get started, then between the robot itself and the ECOVACS APP, you will be up and running within minutes. The hardest part of it all is trying to decide where you want to put the charging base, especially if y9ou live in a smaller house as there isn’t a whole lot of room to store a big robot in the middle of the floor. However, it is all well worth it once you have it up and running.

The T8 AIVI will get as close to walls as it physically can and does an absolutely brilliant job of hoovering. The first time around the house while it is mapping out does take a bit of time, but once it knows the layout it will make its way around your house much quicker.

We have a mix of laminate flooring and carpet in our house with the odd rug about as well. The DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI had absolutely no problem in switching between the different surfaces. The only thing that happened a couple of times is the robot would try to climb onto the rugs and would flip one of the corners up a bit but it would keep on going! It would take a few seconds but eventually, it would just climb right over the corner and keep on hoovering! At first, I did think it was going to get stuck but to my surprise, the T8 AIVI sorted itself out and kept on its path.

We generally use our hoover every day to try and keep on top of things. Instead of manually hoovering we let the T8 AIVI do all the work and I must say I was quite impressed with how much it managed to get up. Considering once it is all set up, you need to do nothing but empty the dust and change the water/mop pad it was nice to see just how much it did hoover up. Our house is also quite small so that made it even more impressive and I could tell a noticeable difference just from looking around after it went around the house. It is much harder to show the mopping feature but just knows, it will keep your floor clean from everyday messes but bigger/sticker spills may require a bit of additional help.

ECOVACS HOME APP

The App can be downloaded from the Apple and Play stores quite easily and will help you to get your new autonomous robot hoover all set up and running in minutes. The APP is quite easy to navigate and will even allow you to set no-go zones and start/stop your T8 robot. You will even be able to see how much charge your robot has so if needed, you can manually return it to its charging base.

One of the cool things I had fun playing with is the security camera. You can control the Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI through the app and drive it around your house to check in on pets or anything else you may want to see. It also features a small speaker so you can even talk through it. I mean, just imagine this – drive it to your wife/husband and ask them for a drink, all without having to get up or yell across the house. This feature is definitely going to add a bit of a premium to the price so make sure you need it before buying the T8 AIVI. If you are not sure whether you will use it or not, it may be worth looking into some of the other ECOVACS products available.

T8 AIVI Final Thoughts

I have used this for a couple of weeks and must say, it still amazes me every time I go to clean the dust tray out! The best thing about the T8 AIVI is that it has made it so I don’t have to manually hoover most days now, I have cut the manual hoovering down to once maybe twice a week now which is amazing. As you saw in the image above, the T8 AIVI does a great job of hoovering and well get up dust, pet hair, crumbs and more. The two smaller brushes on the front are a great addition as it allows the T8 AIVI to get right up to the wall and brush everything under itself so it can get hoovered up. If you have not used an autonomous robot hoover before, I cannot recommend the ECOVACS range enough as this is the second one we have had the pleasure of using. Even the mopping feature is very handy and the fact that it can switch between the carper and harder floors with ease is amazing. Once your home is mapped out, the T8 AIVI  will do its thing as and when needed and can even be controlled VIA the easy to use APP to your preferences.

The price is not for the faint of heart but if you can properly use the T8 AIVI it is well worth it. Alongside its hoover and mopping functions, it also has a webcam on it for added security that you can use to control the robot and essentially drive it around your house. When doing this, it also has a speaker so you can talk through the robot to your spouse or pets which is pretty cool. However, it will be up to your own discretion if this is a feature you will use or not so have a good thing about it as if you won’t use it, you can get a similar ECOVACS OZMO T8 for a bit cheaper. While it sounds a bit over the top, this is a great way to be able to check in on pets or even your children should you need to. However, as mentioned this will add a bit more to the price which generally comes in at £799 on AMAZON UK but they do frequently have vouchers and discount codes to help get it a bit cheaper.

As with most products, what it all comes down to is if this is the right product for you. While there are definitely cheaper options out there, you generally get what you pay for and if you buy cheap, you buy twice or more! ECOVACS is making a good name for itself as a premium manufacturer of autonomous robot hoovers! They have a wide range available, all of which come with different features and are well worth checking out if you are in the market for one. The OZMO T8 AIVI is going to be one of the more expensive ones but with its feature list and amazing functionality, it is well worth it. The only downside we had in our testing was where to put the charging base and this is due to having a smaller house so open floor space is just not something we have a lot of for anything, let alone our new friend the T8 AIVI. However, with how well it works, we have definitely made room for it and are happy to keep using it.

Currently available for £599 when applying £50 voucher on AMAZON UK: CLICK HERE

It’s often said that “Tomorrow’s leaders are today’s kids” – which couldn’t be truer, this is why companies like LittleBits exist. If you aren’t familiar with LittleBits as a company then here is a brief overview. LittleBits is a New York-based educational business that was founded in 2011 and has received numerous awards for not only its creations but also the work they do within the educational sector. Since being founded in 2011, LittleBits has gone from a small start-up company to creating an electronic building block dubbed “Bits”. This is impressive in its own right, but the company didn’t stop there and has since become part of not only Disney’s accelerator program but also part of the New York City Department of the educations STEM program. If you’d like to learn more about LittleBits as a company, then check out their website littlebits.com.

Today we’ll be taking a look at one of their inventor kits – the Space Rover. This kit is designed for ages 8 and above and will set you back $199 in the US and £199 in the UK. These kits can be found via the LittleBits website as well as on Amazon and eBay.
So let’s take a look and see if this kit is worth the price tag.

Closer Look – In The Box

The Space Rover kit comes packaged in a white and purple box that features an image of one of the creations you can make with the included Bits inside. Also on the front, you’ll find some information about the kit as well as a small image of a sample Bit.

Flipping the box to the back and the theme continues with even more information about what you’ll find and how it works.

Within the box, you’ll find an array of different cardboard templates that are used to build the core of the Space Rover. Here you’ll also find a very brief instruction guide which shows you the basics of how the Bits interact with each other.

Underneath the templates, you’ll find a plastic tray with all the Bits the kit comes included with. These are nicely organised and well presented so that it makes it easy to find the right Bit.

The Bits that come included with the kit are all labelled which makes it very easy to identify which Bit you’ll need during the assembly process. The included Bits are as follows. You get
2 x DC motor
1 x Control module
2 x Motor Bits
1 x Power Bit
1 x 9V battery with adapter
1 x Power cable
1 x Servo motor
1 x Servo Bit
1 x LED
1 x Bargraph
3 x Extension cables
1 x Bit splitter
1 x Buzzer
1 x Proximity sensor
1 x Light sensor
1 x Digital number display
2 x Wheels
1 x Ball wheel and mount

Lifting the tray reveals even more accessories that you’ll need to build the Space Rover.

Closer Look – Assembly

Now to creating the Space Rover and the first thing you’ll want to do is download the LittleBits app; this can be found on either the Playstore for Android or the App Store for Apple devices. The app is free to download and isn’t overly large, so it doesn’t take too long to download and install. The first thing that needs to be done is to create the main base platform, this base platform is what you’ll need to add the Bits to and to create your chosen Rover design.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, tap the make this invention option for invention 1 Rover Base. Once within the tutorial, you’ll be given a step-by-step guide on how to build the Rover’s base. If your child is doing this on their own, they more than likely should manage, depending on how old your child is. This kit is designed for ages 8 and over, so children under that age may require some help, again depending on their age.

Following the guide is very easy, and the way it’s configured is very straightforward, this reduces any potential headaches as the guide is not overly complex – like some other kits can be. The image below was captured from the guide that is both picture and video-based. Within the guide itself, there is a handy pause button so you can stop the guide if it’s progressing a little too quickly. Also, the play/pause button doubles as a repeat prompt which is handy if you’re unclear on any of the steps and need to re-watch that part. Navigating the guide is easy, you can either let it progress naturally, or you can swipe the screen left to right (to go back) or right to left (to go forward).

Actually putting the Space Rover together is simple too. The cardboard templates included do require a fair bit of folding which can take a bit of time to make sure that all the folds are done correctly, this is important as it makes the assembly so much easier. You’ll also note that all the templates are clearly labelled so that identifying them is very easy. They also have a number system too which is highly useful as essentially the numbers match. Let me explain, within the guide, it’ll ask you to fold section number one to section number one and so on. You can see the image below for reference.

Once all the folding is done, you’ll be ready to add in the base plate and then start including the different Bits. Again adding the Bits is very easy as they connect via small notches and cutouts that are held together via magnets, this makes adding and removing the Bits extremely easy. The guide for this section is again well thought out and simple to follow as all the Bits are clearly labelled. Things like the wheels and battery have there own dedicated mounting points which again simplifies the whole process.
In total, the entire stage one build took me around thirty minutes from start to finish. Keep in mind I had to stop to take photos during this process, and it probably could be completed much quicker. Of course, this time will vary depending on skill level and age, but honestly, there is no real time-sensitive aspect of completing the project, and we’d advise completing it for enjoyment, rather than simply to rush it together.

Side note – I repeated the build process and let my 5-year-old nephew help. During this attempt, I found that he could manage to connect the Bits together, but found the folding a bit too tricky to get just right. So if you’re child is struggling with the folding, you may need to provide some help as it’s important to get the folding right.

After completing the first invention, you can then decide if you’d like to evolve the Space Rover and make it more advanced. The first step to do this is to complete the Rover upgrade tutorial, this is pretty much the same as with the base, but you’ll be adding new parts to the Rover. Again the instructions are brilliant and so simple to follow through.

After finishing the Rover upgrade, you can then customise the Rover even more and follow one or more of the eight different tutorials, each of which allows the Rover to do different things. At the sake of repeating myself, the guides for these are well thought out and easy to follow. Now depending on what you want to create, you may need to disassemble parts in order to reassemble the Rover into a different configuration. All in all, these upgrades don’t take long as most of them easily adapt to the Rover upgrade config.

Closer Look – Finished Product

For this part of the review, I put together a few of the different configs to provide an example of what the Rover looks like when it’s completed. We first start with the Rover upgrade and the below image is what the Rover should look like.

The circuit is comprised of the main controller, the battery, the power delivery, the two DC motors and the servo motor. This completed config is essentially your base for adding Bits to.

First up we made the Rover Arm which is one of the more basic upgrades you can make. With the arm, you can use the Rover to move objects and perform gestures.

Here I decided to try the Boulder Bumper (at my nephew’s request). With this config, you use the servo motor to power an arm to sweep objects out of the way. Keep in mind that the motor isn’t very strong, so we’d advise not attempting to push anything too heavy.

After we’d done with the Boulder Bumper, we then attempted the Light Meter. When in this config you can use the Rover to measure the amount of light in any given area. This is really cool as when you increase or reduce the amount of light, you can see the display on the front change. This setup uses the light sensor to pick up on the amount of light present and then relay that information to the display which is mounted to the front of the Rover.

The image below illustrates the completed circuit to allow the Rover to sense light and display it. This circuit uses the Rover upgrade base and adds a light sensor, a splitter and the display.

The last one we tried was to try and combine the Light Meter with the Space Hammer; this involved another circuit re-jig, but it went off without a hitch.
So although there are plenty of things you can mix and match as well as create, we can’t help but think that a second servo motor would have been a nice touch, that way you could have the Space Hammer combined with the moving head for example. There is probably a good reason (possibly a power limit) why there isn’t two included, but it would have been a cool addition.

We’ve also made a short demo video to show a few of the creations in action.

Closer Look – The App

The LittleBits app is nicely design, easy to use and works well – for the most part. When you fire up the app, you’ll be greeted with a prompt to get building the basic rover, once completed you can then progress to the Rover upgrade and then from there you can customise the Rover in various different ways. Also in the app, you’ll find some fun activities and challenges.

Below you’ll see a few of the challenges that can be done after the Rover upgrades have been finished. The activities designed are not overly difficult to do, but they are very fun. So essentially here, you and your child could do these challenges/activities before moving onto the rest of the Rover modifications. Of course, you don’t have to as these activities aren’t locked nor are they time sensitive meaning you can come back to them at any point, so you are free to explore the rest of the app and what it has to offer.

After completing the basic Rover and Rover upgrade, there are a further eight different types of Rover that you can make using the provided Bits and each of these have their own mini set of activities to do. Of course, we could go over every single one, but then there would be no surprises left when you do get the kit. What we can say though is that the ones we tried were great fun to use and experiment with.

The app, although good was where we encountered of first issue. When trying to pair the Rover to my mobile via Bluetooth neither my phone or the Rover were playing ball, and they refused to connect to each other. After a quick look in the help section, it turned out that to make the connection the app needed access to the location settings. So be sure to enable this otherwise you may run into the same problem.

Once connected you’ll see that the connection icon glows green instead of red. After connection, you are then free to use the controls and play around with the Rovers functions. Our sample below shows the controls for the Rock Crusher, so keep in mind that each of the controls will be different, depending on which config you’re using.
With this control (the sample below) you can control the direction, speed, activate the hammer and make the Rover create different noises.

As mentioned above, the app is where we ran into our first issue with the Space Rover kit, and that problem wasn’t the only issue we had with the app. Every now and then the app would crash and refuse to work, this meant you’d have to restart the app in order for it to work again. After doing this – at times, the Rover would need re-pairing to my device in order for it to function again. This didn’t happen a lot during the test phase, but it did happen enough for it to become irritating. Also to note, the app hasn’t seen any updates since installation, so we can’t be certain if this problem will get fixed or not. This lack of updates also means that new content and challenges might not be implemented, leaving you with just the pre-configured ones.

Closer Look – In Use

Now we get onto the hands-on with the Space Rover, and there are some things we liked and others we didn’t. We’ll go over the few negatives and then round out with all the good stuff.
The first drawback with the kit is the build quality. As the kit costs £199/$199, we’d have expected a little bit better. Some areas are good, but other areas need work. The good areas are the Bits themselves and parts of the main body which includes the wheels. The Bits are solidly made and feel robust which is reassuring as they don’t feel flimsy. The cable connections also feel solid, so we have no worry that they’ll easily come loose. The wheels also feel soild as they are made from good quality plastics. Some parts of the main body feel solid too as they are made with thicker cardboard or have been doubled up during the build process.
Where the build does fall down is with a few of the cardboard sections, some of the areas are quite thick (like mentioned) and feel sturdy whereas some sections feel too flimsy. The main thinner areas are at the front (section A & C) as well as the main body floor and some of the add-ons. The front section and add-ons should have been with slightly thicker cardboard to make them feel more durable. The main body floor does get strengthened via the plastic base, but naturally, it’s a touch thin. We understand that using thicker materials costs more, but making the materials a touch thicker wouldn’t hurt the bottom line that much.

One other issue that was identified was how front-heavy the Rover is; we noted that when performing turns the back end would lift up and cause an imbalance. This can somewhat be fixed by placing on the cargo hold, but again that only somewhat fixes the problem. A more permanent solution would be to include a small counterbalance in the kit that slightly weighed the backend down to create a more balanced Rover.
An argument could be made that you could simply move the internals to the back, but then the cables aren’t long enough to reach the wheel cutouts and also you couldn’t properly use the cargo hold. So a small counterbalance would be the best solution to fix the front-heavy nature of the Rover.

Onto the positives and the main one is fun, this kit is fun. When playing with my nephew we had hours of fun messing with the kit, making new creations and testing them out. He really liked the sweeper and hammer as he likes destroying things, but I really liked experimenting with the light and proximity sensor. So you can just use the kit and have a good time making obstacles to navigate or blockades to smash through or even add your own additions as we did with a small battery powered torch to go exploring in the dark.
So not only is there all the pre-made activities – that are great fun too, but you can also encourage creativity and get your child’s imagination bubbling to modify and use the rover in their own way. One fun example was to use the Rover as an ambulance to take wounded warriors off the battlefield. And it’s all the things like this that is what makes this kit good, is that it’s not only fun to control and use, but it’s also educational and gets your child off activities such as their mobile or games console.
Plus it’s so easy to control, my nephew is five and he had no issues driving the Rover and using all the actions and features it has.

I and my nephew made a few little clips of the things we did with the Rover, and you can watch that below. The video is just a small snippet of one of the times we used the Rover.

One final thing to note, if you have to – for whatever reason, put the Rover into storage, just be careful when disassembling it as it’s so easy to accidentally rip the cardboard, so please take your time and ensure you do your best not to rip the pieces as it’s very easily done.

Conclusion

Performance – Performance wise the LittleBits Space Rover Kit has plenty of great things going for it as well as a few drawbacks. The main negatives are the slight issues we had with the app and some concerns over the build quality and balancing. Apart from that, the Rover is great; it’s very fun and easy to use, the app has plenty of challenges and tasks, and it’s educational.
The ease of use of this kit will vary depending on your child’s age as the kit is meant for eight years over, though I did note that my five-year-old nephew could do some parts of the build process. The build tutorials are easy to follow and it’s very straightforward to go from the pre-assembled parts to a finished product. LittleBits has done a great job in this respect, and we couldn’t find anything to fault with the build process.
As for the in-use part, the Rover was fun to control and actually surprised me when it came to what it could do. I and my nephew had hours of fun tinkering with the Rover and using it in scenarios it may not have necessarily have been designed for. So there are the main challenges you can do, but then outside of that, there is still tonnes of stuff you can do with it. I did mention that the app hadn’t seen an update in a while, but if you and your child get creative, you can think of new ways to use the Rover outside its normal use.

Design – The actual styling of the Rover depends on which of the styles you go for, I personally think it looks really cool, and I like the white and purple colour scheme. Each of the end Rovers looks slightly different and honestly, the styling is bang on, it’s not too in your face nor is it overly masculine and has a look that is more neutral which is better for a broader target audience.
In terms of how well it’s thought out, it again scores well, everything is so straightforward and simple, though there are a few changes and additions I would have liked to have seen. Firstly is the build and as we’ve mentioned there are a few spotty areas that could have been strengthened, the second would be to add a second servo, this would have been great as you could have had two main moving parts such as the hammer and sweeper. We did mention that the reason they didn’t is due to the power limits of the single 9V battery, but I’m sure it could have been done. We also had some issues with the balancing as the Rover is quite front heavy, though if you get creative, it’s easy enough to fix. Overall though we are happy with how it’s designed, even despite the issues.

Value – Now to the actual value. At £200 and $200, it’s not exactly cheap though it does have a lot of great selling points. We’ve already covered that it’s very fun to build and use, though I think it’s the educational and creativity factor that makes the kit worth it. LittleBits has done a fantastic job of making the kit easy to use and approachable so that it’s not off-putting for anyone to attempt to build or use it. Plus while your child is building it, they’re learning not only about how basic circuits work, but also how to use their imagination and creativity which is important. We all know how difficult it is to get kids of their consoles and phones, but honestly, this is a great way to do that and yes we understand that expensive, but if you have the means, we’d highly recommend this kit, especially if your kids showcase a knack or an interest in building things, because when they do, you have to nurture it and allow them the freedom to do so. All in all, the kit may be pricey and it does have it’s faults, but if you can see past them and afford it, we highly recommend this kit not just for the fun factor, but also the other things it offers.

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