If you’ve loved Sphero’s take on Star Wars’s BB-8, you might also fall in love with this talking Spider-Man toy, which comes out just in time for the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming next month. It’s unlike the usual Sphero toy, though. Unlike the BB-8, which moves around, it’s more of a talkative rubber toy. Kids can speak to it via voice commands—much like we would the other smart home speakers. It can guide kids through comic book storylines, which The Verge likens to camp counselor telling a story at a bonfire. But there’s a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book aspect to it as Spidey asks the kid what to do next. There are 400 pages worth of content included and 100 storylines to get through. Sphero intends to add stories in the future. You don’t have to worry about your child’s security as the toy doesn’t send information over the web or stores data in the accompanying app. It’ll just look for its wake-up phrases.
As mentioned, you can pair phones with Spider-Man over Bluetooth but it’s not essential to control the device with it. Some of the trigger phrases include asking it to “Tell me a story” or “Make me laugh.” It’s going to be a fun toy for young (and old) Spider-Man fans. It’s said to be available for US$149 starting today but a quick check of Amazon shows that it’s “Currently unavailable.”