This week, Avram Piltch discusses a toy that is both strangely priced and strangely timed: the Star Wars First Order Stormtrooper Robot. This toy was released just this week, only days before Christmas, and commands a premium price of $300. This isn't the only programmable device to charge a price in this range, but it is possibly the least featured programmable toy in this price range. The companion app offers a strange use for augmented reality, in which the AR itself does not add to the experience. In fact, during this game, the robot itself doesn't add anything to the game. But does the promise of future updates make the robot worth the price? Avram's got an answer.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.
