Robot Reviews

Thinkway Toys is a global toy company that designs and develops high quality products that are sold to retailers and distributors worldwide. Incorporated in 1984, the company is recognized as an industry leader with innovative electronic, interactive and animatronic products. Thinkway Toys was the original master toy licensee for Toy Story in 1995, starting a relationship with Disney·Pixar that continues today. Thinkway Toys has offices in Canada, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan and is held privately, solely by its founder, Albert Chan, who also serves as CEO and President and remains the driving force behind the company’s creativity and innovation.

Un-boxing the Robot:

I was unable to un-box Wall-E from its original packaging. Someone else had the joy of taking it out of the box.  But, from what I heard is that it took a lot of sharp utensils, and a blowtorch (kidding) to get it out of the box.  Seriously, it was very secure which is what I prefer, even if it takes me like an hour to get it out of the packaging.

Inserting both sets of batteries:

               Inserting the batteries are a 2-step process on Wall-E itself.  Ultimate Wall-E requires 4-AA batteries, and the included battery pack that you need to recharge.  The 4-AA batteries are located on Wall-E's back side, whereas the battery pack is located on the bottom.  Both pictures show where the batteries go.  The remote takes 3-AA batteries also.

Package Contents:

You receive Ultimate Wall-E, remote control, 7.2V battery (1000mAh), charger, MP3 player holder, and Owner’s Manual.  I was shipped Wall-E, battery, charger, and remote.  Thank goodness you can find the manual online.

Owner’s Manual/Quick Start Guide:

The Owner’s Manual is very thorough in covering every aspect of Wall-E.  It covers all of the features in which Wall-E can perform and gives you tips to execute them seamlessly.  I didn't receive the paper Owner's Manual, but I do have the .PDF of it and will include a link to it shortly.

I have placed the Owner's Manual which is in .PDF form and is about 8 meg.  http://www.4shared.com/file/160004943/782785b2/Ultimate_Wall-E_Instructi...

Turning on Wall-E (What to Expect):

When you first turn on Wall-E, you will be greeted by his standard "Hello".  After he finishes speaking and has stopped moving, then you can control him via the Remote Control.

Features:

Ultimate Wall-E consists of 10 motors, 2 Processors, and a slew of sensors so Wall-E can interact with his surroundings.  He has Motion Sensors, Infrared Obstacle sensors, and audio sensors on every side of him.  He also has 2 Infrared Receivers which receive the signals from the remote.

Ultimate Wall-E has 5 different modes which one can play with.  They are:

Follow Mode – This is where Wall-E will follow your claps.

Explore Mode – This is where Wall-E will use all of his sensors to prevent him from bumping into things and such.

Dance Mode - Wall-E will play a tune and start dancing on his own.

MP3 Music Mode – Plug in your MP3 player and Wall-E will play the music through his built-in speaker while his eyes glow and blink in rhythm to the music.

Programming Mode – This is where you can program up to 1000 action combinations and play them back.

Ultimate Wall-E moving via autonomously:

    Ultimate Wall-E can move around all by itself by using all of his sensors to keep him from bumping into anything.

Navigation Remote:

The Remote has 16 command buttons for voice/sound effects, expressions, music, lights, etc.  There are dual joysticks which go forward/backward (Not left/right), and a touch pad which it will recognize 14 moves which is shown in the manual.  The Remote responds very well to button press and location of the remote and Wall-E.  Some remotes you have to aim the remote to the object and keep pressing the buttons.  Not in this case.  It even worked when I drove Wall-E around the corner and drove him back. He wasn’t very far, and I’m sure the signal bounced off of the wall.

Battery run time:

Since the Ultimate Wall-E wasn’t brand new when I received him, the battery showed some age and would only last around 5 minutes.  It’s just a standard 7.2V NIMH battery 1,000mAh.  I plan on purchasing a much larger capacity battery which should run much longer.

I purchased a 7.2V 2500mAh battery which fits in the same space.  Charging took about 6 hours (Original charger was designed for the smaller battery.  Ultimate Wall-E runs on this new battery for about 30 minutes on carpet! I am very pleased as how long the battery lasted.

Overall:

        Overall, Ultimate Wall-E is an intelligent robot for the price you get.  Unfortunately he can't grasp anything with his hands, but the sheer size, robust programming of sounds and movements including the eyes, and weight of him makes up for it.  Especially if you are a collector of movie items.  He will keep your children entertained for hours on end.  I would strongly recommend you upgrade the battery pack to a 2,500mAh one so Wall-E can last much longer.  He runs better on carpet with the upgraded battery pack.  Ultimate Wall-E is still available on Disney's website, and a few online retailers.

This review can also be seen in the Forums Review section: http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12249