E3 2012: Sphero Brings Third-Party Tangible Fun to your iOS Device

How do you make the iPhone more fun? You give it it's own little R2-D2-like companion. Enter Sphero, the plastic ball that you control with your iPhone. Though we covered it briefly at CES earlier this year, we got a better look at the device while perusing this year's E3 show floor. At first glance, it's hard to tell Sphero's purpose. But once it's calibrated with an iOS device, Sphero is all at once a toy, a game controller, and even a programming tool.

After removing Sphero from it's induction charge cradle, two quick shakes brings this little device -- hardly the size and weight of a tennis ball -- to life. As it connects to your iOS device, a small radial dial will appear on the touch screen as a blue light appears on the side of the ball. As you rotate the dial, you only need to aim the blue light in the direction of your device to calibrate. After the easy setup, there's plenty to do with Sphero.

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Where to Buy Third-Party Thunderbolt Cables

by Matt Clark 0Comments

Occasionally, new tech can feel like a car without wheels. When Apple and Intel announced their new Thunderbolt input/output interface last year, the list of compatible devices was a bit slim. Obviously, the super-fast data transfer speeds are now showing up on new peripherals with each passing month, but what about that expensive Thunderbolt cable sold by Apple? As noted by Macworld, a few companies are finally stepping up with third-party alternatives. While there's not much of a price incentive, these cables at least offer slightly different features from Apple's lone offering.

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