My son is turning 11 next week and suffice it to say we’ve had our share of remote-controlled devices through our household over the years. When he was a toddler, he was naturally more rough on his toys but a cheap plastic remote-controlled car that lasted a month didn’t phase him, and he was on to the next adventure.
As he (and then my other two kids) got older, we learned that if you wanted a toy like a remote-controlled car/whatever to last, you needed to 1) spend the money on a quality product and, 2) treat that product well, within the day-to-day play and tasks you put it through.
This blog has featured both Sphero (a little ball of color and fun!) and Ollie (a revved up 2.0 so to speak!) in the past and both products are still used in our household (and outside!) today. The Sphero review, you’ll note, was back in 2012 so that says something for the quality of the device.
Now, Ollie is moving to the darkside and you’re invited along for the ride! Simply put Darkside is an app-controlled robotic device that defies what old-school remote-controlled toys were capable of. Rolling, twisting, and doing tricks is standard for this little beast, and it can roll at speeds up to 14mph (that’s about 22 km/h!) Once you download the App, the challenge and skill-building comes from using the controls on your device to get Darkside to perform stunts, tricks or race. Yes, it takes practice and your first few attempts will be more fun and laughter than full-out Tony Hawk reminiscent tricks, but a look at videos online shows you what Darkside is capable of with a little practice and determination.
Darkside also comes with a bonus set of Turbo Tires and Flux Hubs so you can customize it for your use depending on the atmosphere to conquer. Simply use a USB plug to charge, and Darkside will enjoy 1 hour of drive time on a single charge. You can also find some pretty cool accessories to purchase separately here!
Look for Darkside at the Sphero Store online, and Best Buy locations in Canada ($149.99).
I would love to win this for my husband and son. They love gadgets like this and I know they would have a blast with it. Thanks for the chance!!
My husband would love this! 🙂
would be so much fun for the whole family! love that it can roll up to speeds of 22km and do stunts and tricks
This would be so cool to play with…the whole family would love it.
My partner would love this!
I would love for my teens to check out the dark side 🙂
this looks like it would be fun to use and my son would really love this
My whole family would get a hoot out of the Darkside!! Do you think it could fetch me a snack? Just saying. 🙂
This looks like it would be fun to play with, before repackaging and gifting to my nieces. Because it’s fun, and also has pink on it, which is a requirement with them :-0
My son would go absolutely crazy for this! He talks about Ollie all the time lol
I’d love to go to the dark side with my grandkids and hubby! They would have a blast with this!
I want to check this out for my nieces – as they approach their teen years it is getting harder to find “cool” gifts for them, and this is one that I think would be a hit!
I’ve heard so many great things about this product! I would love to win it for my tech saavy hubby for Father’s Day!
This would be for my programmer husband and Miss R to visit the Darkside together. Love Ollie and Sphero!
would be great for a backyard party
This looks like so much fun for the boys in the house (and maybe the girls too)
This looks like a great device for my grandson and his dad, and his Grandpa and yes, Gramma too (Me!). We could have some entertaining fun with this Darkside.
I would like to check it out as I know my grandchildren would love to play with Ollie when they come this summer.
I’ve wanted an Ollie (ahem, I mean my kids have wanted) for a while, but this looks so much better. Love the challenge.
Would love to check it out because it looks like the entire family could have fun playing with it.
I would love to check dark side out because I think my brother would love it.
I would like to check it out as I know my grandkids and their Poppy would love to play with Ollie
This is so new to me. I want to check it out. Test out my skills.
My sin has a Sphero and absolutely loves it. Since the first moment he saw Ollie he has wanted one. Live this version!
i thin this woul dbe so much fun to play with
My kids and hubby would enjoy playing with this.
I think this is so neat and I think my nephew would enjoy it.
My Son & Hubby would love this.
This would be great to play with
This would be so much fun!
Sounds fun but I really think my hsuband would enjoy it most!!
My hubby and boys would love to try this.
I’d love to check out Darkside because it looks fun.
Looks so fun! My nephew would love this!
My son would love it! He go the sphero for Christmas, so this would be great!
I’d love to check this out because it looks cool and my entire family would really have a lot of fun with it!
I’d love this because we have the Sphero, so I’d love to see how they compare
I love to check this out because it sounds few people in my life would have a ton of fun with it.
I’ve read alot on Sphero and this one seems just awesome, I’d so love to check it out.
It’d be such a fun toy for my kids.
This looks it would be a fun toy!
My partner and I would love learning how to play with this gadget! We would be experts by the time our grand-daughter, Juliet, is old enough to play with it so we could teach her! It sounds like your children have enjoyed years of use, so we would still have it for her! Bonus!
My husband would love this!
I would love this for my brother! Very cool and it’s fun being on the dark side.
our family would love this
I have three brothers that would probably love to try this out 🙂
My nephews would love this! They love trying out new gadgets.
I think my son and husband would love this 🙂
We have Sphero and Darkside would be great fun.
I would love to win this to give to my son and grandson. They would have so much fun with it.
Looks like fun 🙂
I`d love to chcck out the dark side,because my 16yo son would love this!!
I’d love the Darkside so I can entertain my family hehe
I’d love to win this. It sounds like such a cool gadget!
My kids could use any sort of entertainment over the summer to keep them busy! Darkside Ollie is something they’ve never seen before & I know they would love experimenting with it.
This just looks really cool and the kids would love to play with it this summer!
looks so fun…great war to bond with my nephew
I would like it because it looks like such a cool toy! I know my boyfriend and my son would have so much fun with this
It looks like it would be fun for the whole family.
Looks like hours of fun! They seem to come up with better toys all the time, can’t keep up!
The kids would have so much fun with it!
I’d love to check it out because I think it would be a lot of fun for me and the kids
I think this would be great for summer vacation. it would help keep the kids busy and entertained
looks like great fun for both kids and adults!
My hubby would love this
My son would love this!
I want to check this out myself. I know my boys and hubby will too once they see it. 🙂
Ive wanted an Ollie Darkside for a long while now, since around christmas. This would be great
My son would love this, and so would his uncle 🙂
my grandson would go crazy for this he has wanted one since they first came out but the dark side one would be over the top
My husband and kids would love this!! Keep them busy for hours
Hubby is the gadget King. He would love this.
My little girl would love to play with this with her Daddy!
my husband and kids would love to play with ollie.
i love toys so this would be right up my alley
I have played with and owned the cute little sphero ball 2.0, so I think its only fair I try its dark sinister cousin
This would be great for my daughters and husband
My grandson is really into gadgets and technology so I think he would enjoy this and so would his dad who is a big kid at heart.
My son would love this and he loves the name Darkside. This would keep him busy for hours if I let him lol 🙂 Mom would want a turn too
I’d love to check out Darkside because I think it would be great fun for the whole family.
My husband would love this 🙂
This would be fun and I think my sons would love it.
I am not familar with Ollie Darkside but my granddaughter sure is, she has mentioned this to me that she wants one but until now, I had no clue what she was talking about. She loves anything remote controlled and gadgety
My husband and kids would have so much fun with this. thanks
My kid loves toys like this!
I think my sons would love this!
We’d love to check out Darkside because we don’t quite have anything like it.
My whole family would love this!
I think my sons would love it
My teen son would love this!
Both my husband and my son would love this!
Sphero looks so fun…..my teen would love it!
My kids and husband would love this!
It just looks like an absolutely cool product!
I would like to win this to give to my friend’s son for his bday.
This looks like fun for everyone.
My son loves electronic gadget! He would love this!
bet my nephew would love it!
My boys would love this, I know we would have a lot of fun with it
This looks so much fun – I want to win it for ME!
I would like to go to the darkside with my son and niece with this amazing toy, it is incredible that it can do so much, roll, twist and do tricks and especially that it can roll at speeds up to 14mph is totally wicked!!
My son and hubby would love this.
This looks fun for the whole family. I like that it’s something both my kids would enjoy playing with plus my husband.
I think my nephew would love this.
I love that this can go so fast and do so many neat tricks. I think this would be fun for my kids, husband, brother and my self to play with together.
my son just turned 11 and this sounds like hours of fun for everyone ty for this great chance