NOW CLOSED Do you have a child aged 3-11? Try blobo, the new fitness-based gaming controller with your child and be in with a chance of winning a £100 M&S voucher!

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

We've been asked by blobo to find 10 Mumsnetters and their child(ren) (ideally aged 3-11) to test blobo out and add their feedback on Mumsnet.

Here's what blobo say: "Unlike other controllers where you sit on the sofa waving the controller around in the air, blobo not only copies your movements, but also knows how much force you are applying. In other words, you actually do have to run and jump rather than micro-jogging and simply standing up straight. If you want your avatar to run faster, you really have to run faster too!

In this way, blobo offers a genuine way to get children having fun and getting exercise at the same time. Indeed, blobo is the only fitness-based gaming controller available that accurately calculates the number of calories used. By giving children of all abilities the chance to measure their efforts using calories we see it as a good way for children to win a game even if they're not the fastest. This builds confidence and hopefully encourages them to be more active in the future. blobo is designed to be played with just as easily outdoors as indoors so you and your child can have lots of fun running around outside testing it!

blobo is a small, light, soft ball which connects via Bluetooth to your PC or Mac. With it being wireless, you can take blobo anywhere and play wherever you want as long as you are within Bluetooth range (typically 25m) of your PC/Mac. Take blobo outdoors or on holiday - there's no need to stand in a specific spot in front of the computer or TV!"

We're looking for 10 Mumsnetters for this product test - it is open to all UK MNers who have a child aged 3-11.

If you are selected for the test you'll be sent a blobo games pack, Fun&Fit, which includes a blobo, a CD with 6 fun fitness games - Archery, Basketball, Bowling, Karate, Long Jump and Running - a Bluetooth dongle and a charger (currently on summer offer for £39.99). You can also download other games (there is a charge of £2.99 for some but others are free).


You'll be able to keep the product at the end of the trial. In return we'd ask that you add feedback to a thread on Mumsnet, to let others know how your child(ren) found it. For more information about the product please visit the blobo website.

Everyone who takes part and adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where the winner will get £100 of M&S vouchers.

If you'd like to take part please add your details here.

Many thanks and good luck
MNHQ

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

arfur - here's blobo's response to your query:

"Blobo has been designed to be very simple in its set up and would not normally require any changes to be made to a laptop. However, if the standard bluetooth software settings in the laptop have been altered please see below:

Normally if the laptop has built in Bluetooth and it is configured to be able to connect to new devices, there should not be any issues. However, if using this option please check the following:

1. You need to ensure that 'allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer' is selected in the Bluetooth settings menu.
   
2. Select 'Add a device'
   
3. Activate the blobo by shaking or squeezing it and you should see BALL which is blobo, and then select 'pair without a code'
   
4. You should then get a notification 'this device is now ready to use'.
   
5. Then run the blobo software.
   

So in this case please ensure the the built in technology is configured correctly.

If using the BT dongle, it is best to do the following:

1. turn off the internal Bluetooth. This should not normally be required but if you are having a problem with initial set up, this is a good thing to do.
   
2. Insert the dongle and wait for the driver software to automatically load (this only happens the 1st time you use the dongle). There is no need to do anything else. If there is NO notification, please ensure that the dongle is inserted correctly into a USB port/socket. NB It is possible to insert a USB device into a data port rather than a USB port!
   
3. Then run the blobo software.
   

All the dongles and blobos were checked as a pair to make sure they would link up together, before we shipped them out. If Bluetooth is running on a laptop correctly then you should not see any warning when you run the blobo software, just the search and connect screen."

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

lisad123 - yes - it'll be up soon but don't worry, I'll email you all with the link when it's ready

arfur - I've passed your query on to blobo and will post response here when it comes

[lisad123]

Do we have a seprate thread to leave feedback on?

[arfur]

Hi can you help. My laptop has bluetooth and can see the ball but when you run the fit and fun ap it says the bluetooth is not found, turn the bluetooth on. Have tried using the dongle and it makes no difference. What should I do please??

[ledodgy]

Thanks it is all downloaded now. However we can't try it until tomorrow as DP has confiscated dd's laptop as she was naughty!

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

More response from blobo...

"Also as this is a software product, we need to have traceability as to where the free of charge software goes. This is for licensing purposes and to ensure that the code can be controlled and not used for other purposes or as spam. This means that even if the product is free, it still needs a formal address to be registered and the check out process is the best way to ensure we capture all the details of the user. However, we also do understand that the process needs to be as simple as possible and we are looking into authorised methods of simplifying the process!"

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

ledodgy - here's what blobo says about the delay:

"The download of free of charge software needs to go through different checks compared to purchased software. Purchased software is released as soon as the payment is made. The free of charge software incurs at short delay but no more than 24hrs before being released. This is to ensure that the system is not overloaded with spammers. The other day for example someone requested 4852 free of charge downloads of the same product! This might be children playing with the system and as there is no fee we need to have the delay in place to double check first."

[festi]

just a question lisad123, does it save data for more than player or would you need one ball per player?

[lisad123]

I tried the basics last night but its not the easist to work out how to use will get girls to have a play later, shame there is only one ball, going to be some fighting later i| can see it

[ledodgy]

*you have to
Sorry on the iPad.

[ledodgy]

We are trying to download the software on dd's computer you ahem to go throu this whole rigmarole of 'buying' the free software then wait until the order is confirmed and it says it will be available to download. I have had an email confirming the order but no link on it to say I can download. The website just takes me back to the order page! We can use the cd in my computer to test it but I"d say the download thing was a pretty big problem!

[Fillybuster]

Great - thank you! Will check and report back :)

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

Fillybuster - I passed your query on to blobo and here's what they say:

"You play the games on a laptop. You can if you want to, plug the laptop into a TV. The technology works by measuring relative movement so if you do plug in a TV into a laptop, you can play in front of the TV as the sensors take all of this into account. So either play just using a laptop or play using a TV plugged into a laptop, it does not effect the game play whatever you do!"

[Fillybuster]

Just received mine - in Devon on a stupendously wet day....thank you!

But wondering how this will work since we only have laptops....in the picture on the box it shows people playing with what looks like an enormous flat screen tv, but that doesn't seem to be an option from the set up. And of course if we plug the laptop into the tv, the 'sensors' will still be on the laptop so you wouldn't be aiming at the big screen anyway?

[ouryve]

Postie's just delivered mine - thankfully signed for, otherwise this current postie would probably have tried to shove it through the letterbox. Just got the little ball (smaller than i expected) on charge.

[CroissantNeuf]

Thanks!

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

CroissantNeuf - we at MN select testers at random so your number has obviously just come up!

[CroissantNeuf]

Helen -just out of interest, how do people get picked? Is it the company or MN that goes through our 'applications' and chooses who? And do you/they base it mainly on the blurb that you have to write about why you want to try out a product?

Its just that its the first time I've been picked

[maxybrown]

just make sure Tortoise and I get picked please please please HelenMumsnet - I'm open to pretty much anything really

[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

Sorry ladies - they only have 10 to give away, but please keep your eyes peeled for other tests coming very very soon....

[festi]

maybe they could persuade blobo to give out a few more to the other posters on the thread, Im sure it wasnt inundated.

[Tortoise]

Lol good plan maxy!

[maxybrown]

tortoise i think we should team together and force MNHQ to give us a really good tester

[Tortoise]

missed out again.
Look forward to finding out how testers find it though.

[lisad123]

Woo hoo, thank you loads