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Not just any car though...
Ok, I did the silliest thing of my life today, I went ahead and bought the Sony-Ericsson bluetooth remote-controlled car today!
Ever since I saw news about it on the web, I wanted one. Also, since it works with the T610 cellphone, which I bought earlier this year, I thought they'd be a perfect match, IF ever I could get my hands on one!
Well, today I did.
It cost a REDICULOUS amount of money for such a small gadget, but then again so does a Sony-Ericsson bluetooth headset, with the difference the headset can actually be USED for something. The car just moves around (in a not very precise manner, might be added).
Ok, so on with the show. What's it like then?
Well, for a geekazoid such as myself, it is a marvel of engineering and worksmanship! Well, um, maybe not quite, but it IS quite spiffy. First thing that strikes you is how small it is. Length is about 7cm, width 3cm and height maybe a smidgen below 3cm too. Weight... Well, not much, but it's not empty either. There's a nice, solid sense to it I have to say.
The body of the car's metallic white (hood, front fenders and doors), metallic silver (around the windows and the rear of the roof), black (the roof itself) and metallic green (rear fenders, spoiler). The wheels are chromed and comes equipped with low-profile rubber tires. When looking through the windows you can see the electronics inside. There's a small rectangular circuit board with an IC on it covered by a metal cover, a dual LED - red and green LEDs in the same package - a sheet metal antenna and not much else really. A small electric motor drives the rear wheels, and there's a tiny actuator that steers left and right.
Preparing the car for use is simple. Snap it onto the phone's power socket to charge it. Yes, the PHONE's, not the charger. This is so you can have a blast anywhere I guess, not just where there's a wall socket nearby for the charger unit. The manual says the car should be charged for "up to an hour", so I figured I'd better time it and remove it in time so it won't overcharge or drain my phone's battery. Well, no need. After 55 mins of flashing the red LED, the car shut itself off automatically. After that I popped it off, held down the button on top for like 10-15 secs, and the LED started flashing red/green, meaning it was ready for pairing.
All bluetooth devices need to be paired with one another so they know who to talk to, and also to avoid unauthorized use. This is easily done using the cellphone's menus, scan for devices, select the car, enter the passcode listed in the manual, done. After that, the device can be re-named from the rather dull-sounded CAR-100 to something more suitable. I named mine "The Batmobile". Wrong colors perhaps, but cool-sounding at least!
After the thing is paired, the LED will blink green every second or so to show it is on. Pressing it again will activate the "driving mode". This must be done from the car side; there's no way to initiate driving from the phone. When the button's pressed, it will synch with the phone and a window will appear with "instructions", showing which keys do what.
As for performance, this thing moves at an OK clip I have to say, dunno what it is to scale, but for my kitchen table I have to use it on its lowest speed setting (it's got three), or else I risk going off the sides. The controls are very simple.* 0 and # selects speed. 1 and 4 is forward and reverse, 2 and 3 is left and right. The joystick and volume buttons can also be used, but that doesn't work as well, since the car won't stop if the joystick is released after pushing forwards or back. Maybe if I had a larger surface to drive on, but my floor is kinda dusty so I don't want to drive it there. (Could do some cleaning I guess, but I wanted to drive it as quickly as possible, heh heh!)
Turning radius is maybe 20 cm or so, you need some room to manouever this thing. It doesn't exactly turn on a dime I'm afraid. Still, I could easily go round and round my fairly big table. The wheels are on the small side though so rough tablecloths, thick carpets and such are more difficult to navigate.
As it's not a real radio-controlled car, steering it is somewhat of a challenge. There's a slight delay which varies between the time one presses/releases a button and the car actually responds. Usually it is rather short, but if the car is heading for the edge of the table and it doesn't stop immediately when I tell it to I tend to get a wee bit worried! Also, the steering, and indeed forwards/backwards motion is "digital" in nature, meaning either it does it or it doesn't. Well, what can you expect? After all, it's just a toy, though an expensive one.
I drove it around for a lil bit, not sure how long the battery lasts but should be a while anyway. Just charging the thing takes about 50-60% of the phone's capacity, so it's definitely best to do it if your phone is FULLY charged... Also, I didn't test the range. Bluetooth devices are usually specced for 10 meters unobstructed range, but my apartement isn't that large. Anyway, my headset only has a few meters range before sound starts to break up, and I guess the same would be true here too. Manufacturers always overstate the specs... Not that you'd want to stand too far away, the car's so tiny it would be hard to see it from ten meters away. 
So to sum things up, this thing is:
* Hugely expensive,
* A TOTAL waste of money,
* COMPLETELY useless,
* Lacking in precision control,
* Stupid,
* Beneath the dignity of a man my age,
* Utterly cool.
Final Geekscore: NINE out of TEN points.
-L
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"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
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smith
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On fire! |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 1095
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Yep......total waste of $$$, completely useless, stupid, way beneath your dignity and Amazingly Absolutely WICKED COOL!!!! SupremeKewlscore +10/+10. God, I love remote control anything......I want one 
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ohhhhhh i want one!!!!!!!!!
Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
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Think - those pesky calls will never get in the way of eating again!
You said when you'd die that you'd walk with me every day
And I'd start to cry and say please don't talk that way
With the blink of an eye the Lord came and asked you to meet
You went to a better place but He stole you away from me
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Man loves toy cars...collects them already...so I think he may get this as a stocking stuffer.
Thanks! Cool!
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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I may be a gadget freak, but that one's too weird even for me. Hehehe.
Hugs for you!
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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Now all you have to do is come to Daytona!! ;-D I've always been under the impression that you could judge the size of a man's "thermos" by looking at the size of his car. ;-D ;-D ;-D Guess that's just an old wives tale. Seriously though, I'm jealous. I always wanted a remote control anything and the more useless it is, the more I want it. Enjoy.
{{{HUGS}}}
Think good thoughts,
e
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The relationship between the size of a man's "thermos" and that of his automobile is INVERSELY proportional! ;-D
Hugssss!
-L
PS: Setras, when will you tell everybody else your awesome news???
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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I guess I didn't get the "inverse" part.  But I do hope that when I finally get to come for a visit that you will let me play with your .... ummm, car. ;-D
Think good thoughts,
e
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No Message Body
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
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I bought a CAR today! 
To the Bat Cave !!!!! 
Oops! 
