PONGBOT Table Tennis Robot: APP Control 264 Drills, Portable Ping Pong Machine with Spin/Speed Customization, 150-Ball Capacity for Solo Training & Coaching

No other mass-produced robot under $1000 allows creating custom drills and from a well-designed app, no less. The drills can be an array of up to 5 shots that can be positioned around the table. It's easy to set up a Falkenberg drills, for example. There are a couple of things to note that aren't clear from the description. The height/trajectory of the head can be set via the app, but it cannot change within a drill. So, one drill has one common trajectory for each shot. That means you can't really set up a serve, a push and a loop in one drill. I have been able to set up underspin pushes and topspin loops in a single drill, no problem. But short serves require that the trajectory of the head be pointing downwards. That being said, because this is a tabletop robot that can be placed anywhere, it can replicate serves better than other (often much more expensive) robots that are permanently mounted at one height at the center of the table. Also, one drill can have two spins only, meaning topspin and backspin. Sidespin is possible by manually rotating the head, but this is not automated so you'll have that side/topspin or side/underspin until you manually rotate it again. The shot quality is great, no complaints. The build quality is impressive and the robot has yet to jam after 10+ hours of use. If the manufacturer is reading this, I would like to make a suggestion. The more expensive PongBot models have automated trajectory and head rotation for sidespin so you can get all possible spins and trajectories in one drill. However, they are mounted in the center of the table to allow for ball recycling. The Nova is far more versatile because it can be placed anywhere on the table, making for more realistic serves, counterlooping, etc. Many robot users don't really care about ball recycling. A human multi-ball feeder doesn't have constant ball recycling so why would I need that in a robot? 150 balls is plenty of workout before needing a break and I could easily rig up an extension to the Nova's basket to allow for another 100 balls if I need that. I'd like to see a "Nova Pro" model that is a tabletop unit that has the automated rotation/trajectory of the more expensive PongBots. I'd pay good money for that.

I absolutely love this robot. I've used others in the price range and none of them even come close in functionality. The app is good but not great. It has significant limitations and requires Wi-fi in addition to bluetooth. But there are open source programs on the web available for free and designed by users that unlock all of the functions this machine has. For example, they allow you to program a drill where each ball is served at different heights. The stock software doesn't allow this. It also allows you to modify the stock drills the machine comes with. They also don't need Wi-fi. Finally, they allow one to design drills with more than 5 consecutive unique balls and allow one to save many more custom drills than the stock program. The machine has limitations that every 2 wheel robot has, namely the speed and spin are directly related. It does allow one to place the machine anywhere on the table, so if you want very spinny, low, short, slow balls sent to you you can move it closer to the net. The other thing I don't like about it is that the head is on the large size. To place it on the table means that you will hit it very frequently and have balls bounce back at your head and everywhere else. It's not a dealbreaker but it can get annoying. What I did was move it off the table and adjusted the throw, which opens up 100% of the table to me. I created a custom stand, but others have put the machine on a chair and have had great results. When you do that you do have to reprogram the drills so the balls land where you want them. It's also been reliable for me - I've never had a misfeed with many thousands of rallies under my belt. I think this is a great robot at any price, but with the discount offered recently it's an unbelievable deal.

I have decided to update my review. My first review was harsh. But after much consideration I am choosing to rewrite my review. Yes, I did have an issue with the robot. The top motor broke. I did have some down time. Having said that. The customer support team for Pongbot sports went above and beyond. They responded daily to my messages and the did address my concerns instantly. Machines are subject to malfunctions. They did instantly send me not one but 2 motors. The sent me a complete link how to repair the machine myself which was easier than I had thought it would be. Very easy to follow video/photo instructions. I took my time an made the repair. My machine works as good as it did the first day I took it out of the box. It is a challenging machine if you want to set it that way.

I have had it for more than 6 months now, and it has given me and my friends many hours of fun. I originally purchased a different brand, which was very plastic and lasted just about 3 months. This one is solidly built, and comes with a one-year warranty. It is controlled wirelessly with a useless remote control: the screen is tiny and almost unreadable, and it is prone to losing connection. The redeeming feature of this machine is that the remote control can be replaced by a phone app. My real complaint is that the app comes with so few preset routines. Thus, I rate the hardware a 5 and the software a 3, on average, 4 stars.

Fantastic machine to practice on your own. Very reasonably priced for what programmed and customizable options it provides. App is easy to use even for someone like me who is not tech savvy. It’s so fun that I have friends come over to try it out. Great learning tool and I use it about an hour a day in my garage and can get a great workout. Honestly, I think it's great for beginners and advanced players too. Occasionally it disconnects with WiFi and you have to turn it off and turn it back on again, but that’s an easy fix. Well worth the money.

The so-called "Operation Manual," written in Chinese English, with usage instructions and diagrams that are so small that you literally need a magnifying glass to read them, is absolutely useless in instructing you how to use the robot or even how to get it to throw balls. And instead of providing instructions on how to use the accompanying remote control, the "manual" forces you to download an app to use with your cell phone, circumventing the use of the remote control. In addition, the instructions that appear in the window of the remote control are, again, so tiny they are all but impossible to read, and the steps required to use the robot are so convoluted that three of us spent over an hour trying to decipher them. The result: we could only use the robot intermittently, on one setting, before it shut off, and then we had to spend another ten minutes trying to get it to shoot balls again. So unless you're a computer nerd or have nothing better to do with your life than spend hours trying to figure out how to use this thing, I suggest you buy another robot from a different company.

The pongbot robot is cool! It delivers consistent ball speed and location and can customize drills with the app. I got it to practice with a new paddle to refine my swing.

Great Robot, for multiple reasons with some feedback Goods: - Lot of ways to play - Speed / Spin / Angled. - Light weight - If you move the head it adds the spin inside and away from your body. - Includes the settings for left and right handed players both. - it can throw fast shots at you as well. - it can play shot range balls as well - Comes with a remote but not that useful. Now the NOT-SO-GOOD - The Bluetooth takes a while to connect even though you are near it - You cannot access the Sequence unless you are connected to the robot, so if you want to customize the sequence beforehand you can't do it. (not a big deal but still!) - I don't use the remote as much because the screen is too small. - Becuase the robot is so portable, they advertised it comes with a bag, but the bag was never sent to me. - The lights on the head of the robot are bright, so if you are looking at it for 3+ mins, chances are your eyes may get watery or tired. Happens to me every time i play. - Considering its so expensive, I would expect it would some with some 3 Star balls but it didn't. - Doesn't come with anything to clean. Considering it stays in the basement most of the time. (not a big deal)

Excellent - easy to set up, lots of options. Very happy

This product works as you would expect. One thing to note. The bot needs about 10 balls in the tube before it will fire a ball. The app is great. Easy to use and set up drills.

Not cheap, but it is really a nice device. The setup was easy, basically no hardware setup, it is required to setup an app in the phone through bluetooth. Once it is setup, it works very nicely. It is with all basic training options and it can be programmed as well. The remote control is not very user friendly, the screen is too small. But the phone app is good enough for all you need!

Zowel ikzelf als mijn zoon gebruiken deze robot. Hij is echt top, stil en zeer gebruikersvriendelijk. Zowel via een app als remote te gebruiken. Je kan ook eigen trainingsschema’s maken in de app.

素晴らしい卓球ロボットです。N -Control Sの画面がもう少し大きければ大満足ですが。