iPong Original Table Tennis Trainer Robot,Black, Orange

Background: I play regularly at my local table tennis club. I wouldn't call myself a great player, but I'm no slouch. I wanted this thing in order to: 1. Get some exercise. 2. Tinker and tune my strokes. I also understood the limitations of a machine like this. It cannot shoot a ball with low velocity and high spin. You can choose high speed and high spin, or low on both settings categories. I think some people don't understand this before they purchase one of these. Performance: At this point I have now had this thing launch a few thousand balls at me. The iPong Original has performed very well. I mainly use Gambler Gold balls, but I have some others mixed in. The settings for increasing or decreasing the interval between shots allows anything between a very slow pace to frantic. The spin adjustments work well. If you want a slow shot with no spin, you turn both the topspin and backspin down low. If you want fast and topspin, turn the topspin way up and the backspin way down. I have only had it jam once. I gave it a shake and it hasn't happened since. I've noticed if balls are different enough, they will come out differently, and why wouldn't they?? This actually gives you a bit of unpredictability to play with. But I would really suggest using the same kind of ball if you want consistency, and again, I'd suggest the Gambler Gold balls. Extra thoughts: Use some creativity with this and you can avoid the need to buy a more expensive robot! If you want to practice smashing, this thing doesn't produce a slow lob no matter how how you set it on the table by itself, but you can still make it happen! I set a box on the table close to the net and then set the iPong on the box. Then I put paper back books under it to tilt it up at an angle, and finally I turn it on with slow, no-spin. And I smash away. It's really not hard and it's my favorite way to use this! But if you think this is too much hassle, you'll need to buy something far more expensive. Fast topspin is what this machine can do best. It's a great way to practice counter-looping. If you want a slow shot with heavy backspin, such as from a serve, this might not be able to produce that. Though I've been thinking of ways I could position it on the floor and tilt it up... Haven't tried it yet. I use the iPong net to collect the balls. You really need this or else you'll spend all day looking for the balls, or worse - stepping on them. I like switching between forehand and backhand on alternating shots. I enjoy seeing how many aggressive shots I can land consecutively. This has improved my basic strokes. I've been able to unlearn some bad habits. My backhand attack has improved noticeably in club play. It's a good basic robot. Don't expect a $700 robot! Add in some creativity and you'll really enjoy this.

I would like to focus this review on what the iPong is and not try and compare it with other more expensive robots. So if you are in the market for a full featured robot, my advice is to invest in those robots. BUT if you want a fair product eval on the iPong Original than please read on. I bought the iPong because I don't have the budget to invest in a Newgy or like robot. I play at the office almost every day and at least once a week at my local TT club. With that said I am a total noob to table tennis and I am not very good. I figure a robot would be a great training aid and with the lack of a friend that shares my desire to get better I needed something. Enter the iPong! My first impression when unpacking the iPong was; it's really well made. I know these types of items are mass produced, but JOOLA put some thought into designing this and use higher end materials in the process. It's really easy to put together, 5 stars on packaging and assembly. I put it on the table and plugged it in, started it up and tested with some practice balls. The first thing I noticed was the noise, it's pretty loud, and the faster you make the back or top spin the louder it gets. This is not a major issue, it's just the first thing I noticed. Once I dialed in the settings I started to hit, and at first I blamed the iPong for serving the ball wrong and that's why I was crushing them into the net. Then I came to the realization that I am really bad at TT and the iPong was just serving the ball close to the net where I never really play. Another feather in JOOLA's cap, I like to believe they thought about this and engineered the iPong to keep the ball low. I think over time this will make me a better player. 3 stars for noise, 5 stars for challenging me. Operation (after 7 hoppers full 6/2/2015): 1. When there are 9 balls left they just stay in the hopper and never make it into the chute. Happened every time. 2. When the hopper is about half full a ball would get stuck in the chute. Happened about half the time. 3. Every 5th or 6th ball comes out with little force and to the left. Good for testing your chops. 4. Even with raising the iPong off the table the ball doesn't bounce high, this is a good thing in the long run. I have a goal. I am going to use the iPong for 30 days and report back to this thread on my progress. I feel that 3 stars is a fair review for now. I think there are improvements to me and the machine that will make me happier with the iPong but I need to give this a fair shot. Update (7/3/2015) I added another start to my review, because the iPong is doing what it is designed to do. It's helping me become a better table tennis player. If you want all the features of the high end robots, then go buy one, but if you want a great value and a tool that will make you a better player then buy this tool. All the issues that I mentioned in the above operation section still happen and I am fine with it.

I have had this robot for a week now and so far I like this machine. For the price it does what it is supposed to do. Works well with 1-star balls from your local Target as well as with REGAIL® Orange 3-star 40mm balls I bought on Amazon. I did not experience jamming or multiple ball releases. It serves balls pretty consistently with slight variability, which I like. Also, all loaded balls are getting served, contrary to other reviewer's complaints. However, frankly, I do not expect this robot to last very long. Parts are plastic and probably are going to wear quickly. I think this explains other user's complains. I think, since the robot is made inexpensively, there is some variability in the quality of parts. "Multiple ball release" issue happens occasionally after loading of new batch of balls. This happens because when the hole in the top disk is aligned with the channel below (happens randomly based on timing when you turned off the machine) about 3 or 4 balls are filling the channel and they are getting shot out at once after switch on. After this, the robot works pretty well. To eliminate this issue, before filling the robot with the new batch of balls, slightly spin the top disk with your hand to make sure the holes do not align. A few notes. 1. If you turn off topspin and underspin dials, the balls are coming out with low speed and you need to place the robot closer to the net for the balls to make it over. I always have it on top spin and it gives decent speed and spin where the machine could be placed in the far corner of the table. 2. You can set it up to bounce on the opponent's side and then make it to you side, however you will need to place the robot beyond the table and tilt it a bit down. 3. This robot is good for a beginner to practice consistency of basic strokes. If you want to get further in the game, you will need Newgy robot or human partner/trainer. Will add further notes after a few months. Update: 11 Feb 2016: After 3 months of daily use it still works and does a good job! My forehand, backhand counterhits and loops improved quite well. Also had great practice with backspin open-ups. I realize now that the robot lacks ability to imitate short serves with strong backspin. Oh well.... Still love it.

I found this design hard to tune up or almost impossible to make it throw slow top spin easy balls to hit for beginners. At low speed the balls doesn’t go over the net and at higher speeds doesn’t bounce much making it very hard to hit for novice players. This product didn’t meet my expectations

I wasn't expecting very much from this robot as a lot of the reviews were negative. I chose this model as I didn't want the battery powered model, wanted backspin in addition to topspin, but didn't need oscillation like the more expensive model. I actually don't have my own ping pong table but I set this up in my kitchen and use my large dining table with the robot sitting on a stack of boxes. It seems to be of decent enough quality and while most other complained that it's just a few plastic parts and a motor– I would say that it's simplicity is it's strongest trait. I think the bottom and top "cones" are actually the exact same and found the whole thing easy to assemble (and everything lined up perfectly). As a beginner I the machine is great for me to practice my strokes against varying degrees of topspin & backspin, and at different speeds. There is a knob for frequency, and knobs for topspin and backspin that you use together- for example you can serve knuckle balls if you give equal amounts of both. I find that I have to get kind of creative with placing the robot, sometimes I'll prop it up higher with a slower speed so the ball bounces high to practice smashing, sometimes I'll keep it table level and real close, etc. I think if you're using a faster ball speed with a lot of backspin you might have to move the robot off of your table in order for the ball to still land. For a beginner player this is a great tool to practice strokes, and if you're creative you can come up with some footwork drills. It's a great way to supplement practice in between coaching sessions and when you don't have a practice partner. For an intermediate/expert player you might get a little bored with it but I still think it would be good to keep your strokes in check. I've used it on average for around 2,000 balls a week for the past couple of months and I've had no problems with it so far. It's helped my game tremendously. To clear up a couple of things: It DOES come in retail packaging, but it comes inside of a unmarked cardboard box. It DOES say "Balls not included". The remote cord is long enough to be close to you.

Arrived with a short in the wire. Controller rarely works

I had a lot of fun with it… for just 10 minutes. I was reloading the balls on maybe my 3rd ever reload on it, and when I turned it back on, it didn’t shoot any balls at all. I tried reconnecting the a/c adapter in and out and waiting 15 minutes to let it cool down, but nothing happened. Besides that unfortunate mishap however, it does have great speed and top spin. You might need some books for it to sit on, so it can get over the net easily. The lowest frequency is a little fast for beginners, however, but that just means it’ll be good practice for your reflexes. I bought this initially because I’m a college student who wants to get their reps in for cheap. I think it’s really worth it, but there’s a 50/50 chance of it working at all. Gonna have to return this thing, and save up for something better!

Bought this three years ago in May 2015. I was headed back to grad school and desperately needed a fun activity to do at home when I wasn't stressing out over studying. I mean, enough already with noodling around on the Internet! And this little buddy, Mr. iPong, has been well worth it the modest price. I haven't given it five stars because it's not a perfect machine. But at its price, it's a real value and amortized over time worth a good deal more than I paid for it. You can't and shouldn't expect perfection at this price. Another reviewer nailed it when he described the various predictable imperfections -- the 6 or 7 balls invariably left in the machine when it stops spewing out, for instance. It has a topspin and backspin setting, as well as speed, and I find the ball only makes it over the net if I put it on topspin. But I can live with that because it's such a pleasure to take a half hour break from work and bat the ball back at my little friend, sharpening up my game for those times when I'm with real human beings. I set this up on my dining table along with a table net set and some good paddles -- no pingpong table needed. This is table tennis, indeed! I considered getting the oscillating trainer, which costs only a bit more than this one. But I figured more could go wrong with that one, and I now believe there is benefit in having to repeatedly work on one kind of shot for a sustained period of time and not mix it up. I suggest investing in a good number of the orange ping-pong balls that are made for the machine. They're thicker than the regular pingpong ball and the machine doesn't devour them as it does regular ping pong balls. It's nice to have a lot of balls on hand so that you don't have to stop every five minutes to pick up the balls from the floor. I did buy a contraption for picking up balls from the floor, but I don't mind doing a quick sweep with my hands. I even place the Rubbermaid bowls I store the balls in on the floor in the hopes that a few balls will wind up in them. Usually it's just a handful but hey! It feels good anyway. This whole thing feels good and keeps me moving in a fun, easygoing way.

楽しいです😊

It works well but the material is week

No height adjustment Very good delivery

It a practical machine, for a basic type of trainer, I've had lots of fun and kids have enjoyed a good time with it also. If you've got a bigger budget and you are a fairly advanced player, then i would recommend going for another trainer which also oscillates right and left.

内部のローラーなどのメカは雑な作りで寸法精度は粗いです。一応動きはしますが耐久性は期待できなさそうです。そういうものだと思って買った方が良いです。