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"Hands on with Silverlit's Porsche 911 Carerra Bluetooth Based RC Car\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Bluetooth Based RC Car\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Headlines\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Tail\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Wheel\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Interior\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Setup Batteries\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Setup Bluetooth\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Play Screen\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra App Controls\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Start Your Engines\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Gesture Control Interface\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Carerra Joystick Control Interface\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPorsche 911 Driving\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLast night, I was cruising around with my Porsche 911 Carerra when I made too sharp a turn and smacked right into the base of my refrigerator. \nFortunately, the car was just a few inches high and was traveling at well under 10 miles per hour. Unfortunately, my dream ride is an R/C (remote control) car. The diminutive Porsche (3.75 inches tall, 11 inches long and 4 inches wide) was created by Silverlit, the people who brought you the iCybie Robot Dog almost a decade ago and now makes a wide array of RC-based comic-book-hero-related toys. \nIt looks like your run of the mill R/C toy, featuring just the right amount of verisimilitude (you can\u2019t open the doors, trunk or hood). But it eschews a bulky remote control for your iPhone, iPod or iPad. The Porsche communicates via Bluetooth and allows you to control it via gesture-based controls and on-screen virtual joysticks. I took the Porsche for a spin using both methods. \n\nSetting up the car is simple. It takes four AA batteries and as soon as you try to pair it via Bluetooth, a message on your iPhone guides you to download the free Silverlit app. Once that was installed, I had no trouble pairing my iPhone 4 with the car. The app offers a lot of guidance for setting up the car and teaching you how to control it.\nI started with the default control method, which is gesture based. Since it uses the physical motion of the phone, it\u2019s definitely the most difficult of the two control methods. Once inside the app, after you press \u201CPlay,\u201D a large Start button appears. After that you see the dashboard, complete with a steering wheel. There is the \u201CNeutral\u201D position, which keeps the car stationary, but as soon as you tip forward, the car starts moving. \nTip more and the car goes faster. Tip back and you move back; the reverse lights also turn on. Similarly, when you steer left or right \u2014 by turning the phone left or right \u2014 the corresponding turn signals on the car turn on. If the car moves or steers when you\u2019re not moving it, the app includes trim controls to calibrate the motion. It also has a host of advanced options for adjusting the motion of the car.\nThis all worked well, but the app is supersensitive. I had some trouble controlling the car, ramming it at high-speed into couches and other furniture. The Porsche scratches a bit more easily than I would like.\nIt was far easier to use the joystick mode, which presents two thumb controls: one for acceleration and one for turns. They work well together and I got pretty good and accelerating and steering at the same time. Other on-screen controls include manual blinkers, headlights and a horn. None of the sound-based effects or controls worked with my iPhone 4. They did, however, work on the iPhone 5. You hear the engine accelerate, the horn honk and the wheels screech as you turn, but all sounds come through the phone, not the car. \nI don\u2019t mind it, but I\u2019d rather hear them come directly from the R/C vehicle.\nThe app also throws in some acceleration rumble that you feel in the phone. The faster you go, the more rumble you feel.\nThe car is fun and very good looking, but it'll also cost $79.99. Even if you throw in the free app (probably a $3 value, at most), this car is a bit pricey for a toy \u2014 even an R/C one \u2014 that\u2019s recommended for an 8-year-old. \n$50 would be more reasonable, but only time will tell if Silverlit can move these devices at this price when it goes on sale this fall. On the other hand, a real Carrera \u2014 even used \u2014 could cost you $102,000, so maybe $79 isn't such a bad deal after all.\nWould you pay $80 for your first, tiny Bluetooth-controlled Porsche? Is it smarter to save your dollars for the real thing? Let me know in the comments.\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/10/09/silverlit-porsche-911-carerra-rc-toy/>