Should You Buy the Best Buy Exclusive R2-Q5 Astromech Droid from Sphero

In this video, we let our inner Star Wars geek out a bit with an unboxing and test of the Sphero R2-Q5 Interactive Astromech Droid, available exclusively from Best Buy

When it comes to Star Wars, I have been a super nerd when it comes to my passion for the movies. I went to every midnight showing of the Prequels, even going to see Episode 1 9-times in the theater! Don't judge me! One of the reasons why I subscribed to PlayStation Vue was so I could get access to Disney XD to be able to watch Star Wars: Rebels. When it comes to Star Wars, it's a series I really loved.

As a kid 2 things I always wanted was an X-Wing of my own to fly and an Astromech droid of my own. Well, I sure am not getting an X-Wing but thanks to the folks over at Sphero, the same company that brought BB-8 to life, I now have an Astromech of my very own. The Imperial Astromech R2-Q5 is the evil counterpart to R2-D2 and available exclusively through Best Buy. How do you know he's evil? Well, he's painted black and, just like old westerns, the bad guy always has the black hat. Best Buy recently had this guy on-sale for only $49.99 and, at $130 off, I couldn't pass it up.

I've previously purchased the Sphero BB-8 and was quite impressed with the detail and funtionallity of this little droid. Similarly, R2-Q5 features a ton of scale details, incredible paint, and functional LEDs. Unlike the BB-8, which uses induction charging to recharge the on-board battery, R2-Q5 uses a traditional Micro-USB connector which plugs into the back of the unit itself. From box to full-charge took about an hour, which has also been pretty typical with subsequent charges.

Diving into the app, there have been a few updates since I had last fired up my BB-8. First of all, there's now a combined app for all of the Sphero droids, where before I had just a dedicated BB-8 App. One neat piece that is now baked into the app is the ability for 2 droids to interact with each other. \Perhaps one of my favorite things about these guys is the "watch along" option, where your R2-Q5, R2-D2, BB-8 or BB-9 will interact with different scenes in any of the existing Star Wars movies. That's fun!

Playing with the R2-Q5 on a variety of different surfaces I have to compliment the work that Sphero has done to make sure that you can drive on more than just smooth tile or wood surfaces. It does surprisingly well on carpet, although my 3 dogs definitely don't approve! The belts that drive the unit forward do pick up a ton of dog hair; they never clogged up but I did make sure to clean things out after each use. While not a fan of touchscreen controls for games and drones the integration here is ok, but not great. I still feel like the responses are not great, at least it feels like it is all or nothing in some instances. Direction changes can feel rather abrupt, causing some instability.

The one place where R2-Q5 shines is with his emotes - they're absolutely awesome. It's funny how something without a face can display so much personality. A lot of the functions have been brought over straight from the R2-D2, but the pitch and tone of the beeps are more "evil" and menacing.

Why it RoX:
- Static model-quality detail
- Movie accurate
- Drives well on a variety of surfaces
- Interactivity with other droids is super awesome
- Watch along
- Sometimes it's just good to be bad

What could be improved:
- $179 normal price tag is too high
- Tracks load up with hair and fuzz
- High self-discharge rate on the battery
- Fingerprint Magnet
- Once the novelty wears off limited play opportunities

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
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The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)