Rover App-Controlled Spy Tank with Night Vision

by Brookstone

Product Details

• Item Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• ASIN: B005OQYOB6
• Manufacturer recommended age: 12 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,152 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #34 in Toys & Games > Novelty & Gag Toys > Spy Gadgets
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

Product Description

Rover App-Controlled Spy Tank with Night Vision. Let the secret agent training begin... Drive Rover with your iPod touch (2nd, 3rd and 4th generation), iPhone device, smartphone or iPad tablet. Built-In Mic transmits sound back to your device in real time. Manually adjustable camera streams live video and takes still photos. Undetectable infrared light night vision lets you see items in the dark Generates its own Wi-Fi connection for your device. Wireless range goes up to 200 ft. unobstructed, explores up to 100 ft. around walls into other rooms. Navigate using the on-screen driving arrow controls. G-Drive Mode turns your device into a steering wheel in your hand. Power Runs on 6 AA batteries (included). Free App from the iTunes App Store Mission possible. Whether following friends and family, navigating the office or investigating the activities of your dog, it's all possible with the audio/visual-enabled and photo-taking Rover. Its built-in microphone transmits sound back to your device in real time, so you can hear everything as it's being said. The manually adjustable camera streams live video and takes still photos, letting you see what's going on in other rooms. It even takes pictures as proof. Low-light setting? No problem! The undetectable infrared night vision lets you see items in the dark. Mission. Accomplished. App-controlled. The Rover Spy Tank is app-controlled via your iPod touch (2nd, 3rd and 4th generation), iPhone device, or iPad tablet. It generates its own Wi-Fi wireless connection for your smart device (no frequency interference). The impressive wireless range lets it travel up to 200 ft. unobstructed, up to 100 ft. around walls into other rooms. Navigate it with the on-screen driving arrows or use the G-Drive Mode that uses your device's accelerometer like a steering wheel in your hands. To get started, download the free app from the iTunes App Store SM . Powered by 6 AA batteries (included). This remote control vehicle is designed a

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 93 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars WiFi range too short November 24, 2011

By Etienne

Durability: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 2.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 2.0 out of 5 stars   

The toy is well built and a nice concept, but the main flaw is the WiFi range. The max distance is about 7 to 8 meters (25 ft), even without any obstacles. Beyond that, I'm always loosing control (without warning, as you don't have any signal strength indication). Both with my iPad 2 and iPhone 4S.

The toy creates its own ad-hoc wifi. This is useful where there's no network. But when you have one, eg at your home, it's a pity you cannot use it for a better range.

As it is almost impossible to control the tank in another room or a bit far from you, it loses it's interest. Same for sound : when it's a few meters from you, a larsen feedback prevents you to use sound. At a longer distance, you are disconnected...

Forgive my English mistakes, I'm Belgian !

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Compared to other devices we've tried, this one is the best December 19, 2011

By Shelbell7777

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

We got the ihelicopter, the little monster truck and this spy tank to use with the various iPads/iphones in the house. This one is by far the easiest to set up and a use. I love that it has an iPad specific app (instead of just an iPhone app that you can put on the iPad). The kids enjoy it a lot. Two things that would make it better 1. The ability to record video, not just take still shots and 2. The ability to move the camera to different angles. The way it is now, you pretty much see the floor and the bottom of everything. That's good for navigation, but if you're "spying" on something, it would be nice to have the ability to look up.

Lots of fun though.

30 of 39 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, but need improvement in quality February 7, 2012

By Alexdoc

Durability: 2.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 2.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

The toy was purchased directly from Brookstone. Base on description and photo, looks as one of the most attractive in the category (taking into account asked price). But when I have received it, I have found same problems, which already was described in one of the reviews below - short operation range (6-7 meters only), low quality of sound. In addition, it's rather noisy to be a "spy tank" After about two weeks of light use it is fails - lost connection with controlling device (I have tried both iPhone and iPad). I have replaced batteries, reset toy, re-connect it several times with no sucsess. No warranty outside USA (Brookstone is rather fair here, they have put notification to the on-site description and manual), so, you will think twice before purchase, I would't recommend it. Now mine tank goes to garbage...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome product October 4, 2012

By Perry Ray

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

OK I love the tank however I would like to talk bout somethings which were confusing to me for instance this product does not connect to my wireless network, it creates it's own then you connect to it with ipad in my case so I cann't be in say California and drive my tank around my home in Georgia. upon further review of the discription I determined no claims were made stating the product could do this. Additionally I would like to mention that battery life isn't great it takes 6 double a batteries with no pluggin for recharging just pull them out put them in. As the batteries become weak the signal range deminishes. This should have been equiped with Lith ion batteries and recharging station which you could drive into. oh not good for off road (off sidewalk).

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding Toys November 28, 2012

By M. VanderMeer

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Greetings everyone,

I am writing this review because I've seen a number of unfair critiques regarding this product. I received this as a free gift from someone so that I could use it to entertain my nephew. A lot of people are complaining about the remote distance being too short. Granted, the manufacturer states that one could theoretically use this up to 200 feet without any walls or objects to disrupt the signal. This number is determined under the most ideal circumstances, which does not reflect the reality of the average household. I notice, with walls, and various other objects, that I generally get about 50-60 feet of range when I am using the rover. By the standard of this being a toy for children, I count this be an excellent length.

It is not a military grade drone that can remotely travel hundreds of miles; it is a toy that has a reasonable range. It is fun and amusing to use, while simple enough for even children to be entertained. I'd encourage anyone to buy this product as long as they can understand that there is a difference between the theoretically world and practical reality.

Enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars CRAZY ROVER November 1, 2012

By CrazyRoto

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

This rover is a cool toy for any boy, man and most girls, how ever I'm not impressed with a few things. 1. The batteries seem to drain quickly so could be costly to play, for the price "originally" $150 it really should've came with an integrated rechargeable battery and charger. 2.The quality of the camera is not that good but I guess it gets the job done. 3. Wifi range is an issue, it creates it's own wifi signal that you connect to and it's very limited and usually goes out when driven into a different room from the one you're controlling it from "isn't that the whole idea is to be able to drive it using FPV (first person view)"?? I thank an added option of being controlled using wifi via your home router would've gave it a much better signal thus making it possible to drive it around the entire floor of your home from one place. And 4. I don't care for the controller configuration in the app, would be very easy for them to have another option to control it like a cross hair for your thumb and you can slide your thumb up/down and left/right all simultaneously to control the movement. Have'n pointed out all the "what I think should've been different" about this rover I still like it and definitely recommend it. I do however understand there is a rover 2.0 that is available now that offers a better wifi, better camera and other features so you're probably better off buying the new and improved model but I'm sure the price will reflect that as well...