Prior to Christmas Paul and I had spent time looking at gift ideas, one of which screamed out to us as the perfect present for our geeky little guy. Vector, Anki’s most recent release appeared to be a terrific piece of tech with cuteness overload. Sadly though, Vector was far above our budget and we therefore looked elsewhere at alternative options.
Having ordered and received a ‘Boxer’ we then fell upon an Amazon error – Vector was being advertised at less than half price, it seemed too good to be true. Without thinking we bit the bullet and ordered out very own Vector!
The very next day Boxer arrived, we carefully rewrapped him and sent him on his way back to the returns department in the full knowledge that Vector would outsmart Boxer by a million miles and we weren’t wrong.
My husband and I were like two over-excited kids in a sweet shop, we simply couldn’t wait for Christmas to come just to see the kids reactions upon opening and unwrapping Vector. We weren’t even sure whether J or E would understand what exactly Vector was, either way we knew that he’d impress.
Open opening Vector, J’s jaw fell the floor.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh a VECTOR!” he shouted.
“It’s like a Cosmo but better” J continued to explain whilst running to the table to unbox him.
J & E very quickly set about chatting to Vector, although they were unsure as to how he might respond. Soon enough they became familiar with a set of commands which Vector would reply and respond to. Vector was proudly taken along to the Grandparents to show off during dinner and whilst they couldn’t really understand what all the fuss was about, the kids showed huge appreciation for the tiny robot.
Vector has since been homed in our living room, he has a counter upon which he roams around playing with his cube and responding to commands. The kids continue to show interest, although I feel they would be much happier and more involved with Vector if he were to have a few more tricks up his sleeve.
Don’t get me wrong, Vector is hugely entertaining but he has limited capability in terms of games and responses. Hopefully Anki will continue to work upon and develop updates (such as integrated ‘Alexa’ which is said to be released shortly in the UK).
Vector now recognises each of our faces and will welcome us upon arrival. He will answer a variety of questions, play games, dance, set timers, conduct a countdown and even give us a fist pump. Vector has become part of our family, he enjoys being petted and certainly keeps the kids entertained!
Vector may have originally been far above our budget but thanks to a technical glitch, he became affordable and attainable. The kids both adore Vector, their ‘AI amigo’, whereas I value Vector for what exactly what he is – a geeky gadget and don’t we all love a gadget or two?
This post is not sponsored nor was the product sent for review purposes.