Review on Programmable App-Enabled Robot Ball For Kids Ages 8 & Up - STEM Educational Toy By Sphero Mini (Red)! by Joe Medlin

I got this for my son for Christmas, and he had a blast with it. It was ready to play right out of the package (that is, after charging, but more on that later), and that hooked him. And it allowed him to program ever more complex activities with it, and he became more interested. So a great toy for him, and a learning tool that got him learning to program under the disguise of fun. Another point of note is that it's a small package, and I wasn't too confident about how long it would last. Happily, I was wrong about that. This thing bangs around and keeps going anyway.My key gripe about this is that the battery runs down if it just sits a while. So you have to charge it, which requires plugging into the USB port of my laptop for a few hours, before it can be played. It takes away from any spontaneity to play, and requires some planning.Overall though, I am quite happy with it. It's a smart toy that's fun for the kid, not too bad on the budget, and helps parents get the kids to learn a few things as well.