()1) As with the other reviews, I too had trouble lining up the parts to connect them. I was trying to be careful, because it seemed that it would easy enough to break off any of the pieces that hold it together, then how do you connect it? Also, I feel that if you tried assemble & disassemble between uses, then you greatly increase of wearing down the connection pieces and thus snapping off a key piece of plastic. Thus plan to keep this assembled
2)Part of the product description says, "Sharpen your skills without need for a training partner." It's true you won't need a training partner, but you will need a 2nd person to help you run the thing. The second you turn it one it starts firing balls. No delay.
3) You get an AC adapter with something like a 4ft cord. Thus you better have an extension cord handy.
4) For the price they should have thrown in at least 50 one-star balls. . .anything to practice with. I was looking for the big bold letters that said "Balls Not Included". This would have been a good laugh if they had this on the packaging somewhere too.
5) Any kinda of device with dials gets me worried, but I have to say that the knobs felt firm and turned easy enough.
6) Yes, the motor is a bit loud, but big deal. It's a sports tool after all.
7) Running a bunch of balls through it, the machine seemed pretty consistent. About 5% of the balls would fly into the net
OVERALL: This product is the basic device to help someone practice. I took this to work and my co-worker who has no forehand skills to speak of was excited to try it out, as it could keep throwing balls to the same side and help him practice.
Is it worth the cost? That's for you to decide, considering it's all "manual" other than the actuall ball launching and you're paying for a motor surrounded by questionable plastic parts.
()I must agree with the other reviewers here: the price of this product is not justifiable.
The plain, brown cardboard-box (with no print on it what-so-ever) inspires little confidence. It would be an awkward gift, to say the least (considering it looks a bit like something Ted Kaczynski would mail). Likewise, the black-and-white leaflet (a single, folded page) provides sparse information about this pricey little toy. (I guess I expected a glossy little insert from the popular Joola company ... not something made at their local Kinkos). Now, I will admit that the "Training Buddy" is packaged VERY well. The polystyrene hugs the components tightly ... I can assure you, this item WILL reach you in mint condition (and, to be generous, maybe this this where Joola invested their money ... and who can argue with that?)
Assembly was easy; however, the flimsy plastic made me a bit concerned I was going to snap the "Training Buddy" into tiny, little pieces. (And, if you have children, you may want to take care ... I do not believe this product can survive any type of accident). Likewise, I was unprepared for the excessive noise. But, that's fine because where else am I going to find a product like this? And, admittedly, the super short cord meant I had to make a mid-week run to Wal-Mart for an extension. *sigh*
Here's the kicker ... ping-pong balls are not included. For $150.00, one would imagine those bright-orange balls would be stowed in the box (or at least otherwise noted BOLDLY in the description). Why even show the balls if they aren't included? That trip to Wal-Mart was more expensive than I care to admit. Perhaps I'd forgive Joola ... but their company actually MAKES ping-pong balls. They could include them at little cost to their business. (And I am not the only reviewer irked by this strange omission).
Yes, the "Training Buddy" does work (almost all of the time). But, I guess I'd rather just flip-up the other end of my table old-school style (that's how I've practiced for fifteen years ... and I don't have to pick-up one-hundred balls when I'm finished). Between the noise, the extension cord, the extra balls, the occasional "serve" into the net, and the clean-up ... well, it's just not worth the trouble or expense.
Maybe if this were $49.99, I could endorse it. But, for nearly triple?! Certainly not. Wait for Joola to make some improvements to the "Training Buddy." In the meantime, just flip-up that table and keep practicing:)
Buy iPong Original Table Tennis Training Robot Now
()The iPong sits on the ping pong table and sends servers across the table perfect almost every time. Maybe 1 or 2 in a 100 misfires short. I'd say that's about as good as you get. I've never seen a baseball, tennis ball, or football thrower shoot 100% all the time.
The top spin, heavy top spin, and down-spin worked flawlessly for me. The only thing I would have liked to see is a delay on the first ball, since most of the time anyone uses this they will not have someone there to turn it on. You can slow down the serve speed so you won't miss too many balls on your way back to your side of the table after turning it on(1-2 balls missed).
There is no side spin option in case you are wondering.
Read Best Reviews of iPong Original Table Tennis Training Robot Here
()This is my second time writing this review because the last version disappeared (was pulled?).
I agree with just about everything that has been said. It arrived in a plain box, with a photocopied manual and "rough" mis-matched parts (and harder than it needed to be assembly).
It made me want to give it one star right then like some reviewers, but I decided to stick it out for a few months before writing this review. In that time my overall opinion improved but more importantly, I think I got over the shock of the initial un-boxing. (I think if all reviewers had done the same it would be an average of at least 3 stars--which in Amazon's world means it is "ok".)
But it isn't a 4 or 5 for me because I think to justify the price it needs a delay (for the first ball), it needs a remote control (to start/stop the balls and change settings) and it just needs to have its build quality improved overall. I don't think it needs to include balls with it, but make sure everything is clear about them NOT being included.
But it is functional, you can "stop" when you run out of balls and it does a decent job of shooting the balls toward you making for a better solo play time for table tennis. I might wait for a few improvements or just understand that you might be at least initially underwhelmed with the product.
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()I was pretty excited about this table tennis trainer. However, when it arrived (plain, unadulterated box sans pretty marketing pictures) it went downhill fast. I think I am being generous with 2 stars (only because it does actually spit balls out once you get the thing assembled).
Basically, it is a construction NIGHTMARE! You need to assemble the 2 cones and to the middle section, which seems easy enough except that the plastic is really thin and the tabs did not align properly. One section actually popped apart at the seams when I was trying to assemble it and cut right through my finger like it was butter resulting in a pretty deep gash. I almost gave up at that point, but I came back to it and did eventually get it put together (literally the plastic bent as I tried to get the pieces to line up). I could not see giving it as a gift presentation is awful and quality is abysmal.
It is easy to use once it is assembled, but as cheaply as it is made, I am not sure it will hold up it is definitely NOT worth the price unless you line your shoes with money. Then, do what you want.
Bottom line: Poor quality construction make this a loser. Pay a neighborhood kid to chuck balls at you instead.
Update: A representative for the product commented in my review regarding the safety and packaging. The packaging is promised to be beautiful. He also states that assembly will be eased. I hope so because after a week I still have a nasty gash in my finger.
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It's extremely soft, expressive, and made my 8 year old daughter's birthday. It's cuter than it looks in this photo.
