iPong Table Tennis Training Buddy
- Easy to use and assemble
- Select Underspin, Topspin, or Heavy Topspin settings
- 110 ball capacity; adjustable frequency from 12 to 70-balls per minute
- Sharpen your skills without need for a training partner
- Measures 18.75 x 11 x 11 inches (H x W x D); 1-year manufacturer’s warranty
Product Description
iPong is the affordable, portable table tennis practice buddy that plays with you tirelessly. Set your own pace with this attractive accessory, from casual to a blistering ball-feed that will give you a world-class workout. Adjust the iPong to give you underspin, topspin or heavy topspin balls and blast away. No more waiting for a practice partner. More like a live opponent rather than a ‘playback feature,’ iPong can continuously shoot more than 100 balls befor… More >>
iPong Table Tennis Training Buddy
May 28th, 2010 at 5:38 am
This is great when you got no one else to play with and the playback feature on the table is just not cutting it. Lets me practice my shots and really get good!
Rating: 5 / 5
May 28th, 2010 at 7:37 am
This product works as described; it is fun and good practice for beginners.
The controls are simply analog dials, set it and that is what you get for the entire session, no side spin, and not a lot of power.
While this product is reasonable for occasional home use, it does not seem appropriate for a club or other daily use.
The device is easily disassembled and stacks in 1/3 of its full size or about 11″ round by 8″ tall.
However, for the price the quality seems quite poor.
The plastic the device is made of is ok, fairly flexible and doesn’t seem brittle. I think it could take a drop off the table without damage however I would worry about the motor mounts holding up from the shock of a fall as they appear weak.
The product seems to have been assembled in a low budget operation, perhaps in a garage. Plastic parts were not aligned properly in mine, this didn’t effect operation but the top of the device was warped which caused the collector base to wobble. This was easily fixed and is no longer a problem.
The manual is a single page double sided folded in 1/2 poor quality laser print/copy with the inside upside down from the outside.
The motors seem cheap and are slightly louder than ideal. The controller seems underpowered as as each ball impacts the speed of the foam spinners and it has to ramp up each time.
The control board seems well made but the wiring is not neat and the board is exposed when you open a side door in case of a jam.
Hopefully the foam spinners won’t need replacement or cleaning as they don’t seem to be user accessible.
So I like the product, I think it is a fairly good design. It just doesn’t meet my expectations for this price point.
Their website is [...]
Note that the box shown in the video is not the one the item is shipped in.
It was shipped in a well padded thick brown cardboard assembled with staples. Much like that used for shipping large packages of furniture.
Rating: 2 / 5
May 28th, 2010 at 9:02 am
The quality of this product is very poor and it is not like the one shown in the video. When I opened it form a box, the “O” letter was almost falling off form the surface before I tried to assemble it.
It is also not a kid-safe product. If you have kids at home, you better watch out for them and don’t let them to get too close to this machine.
The motor generates a lot of noises and most of times it has trouble to serve the last couple balls in the tray.
In general, it does what it claims, but it’s not worth of the price.
Rating: 2 / 5
May 28th, 2010 at 9:15 am
My fellow reviewers have adequately addressed the strenghts and weaknesses of this product.
Although the iPong has only a few parts, assembly would be facilitated by a better set of instructions. Even after correct assemly the thing feels still pretty shaky. The cord is too short. The motor too loud. That said, once set up the machine is nicely consistent and allows good variation of the spin settings.
Rating: 3 / 5
May 28th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I was pretty excited about this table tennis trainer. However, when it arrived (plain, unadulterated box sans pretty marketing pictures) it went downhill fast. I think I am being generous with 2 stars (only because it does actually spit balls out once you get the thing assembled).
Basically, it is a construction NIGHTMARE! You need to assemble the 2 cones and to the middle section, which seems easy enough except that the plastic is really thin and the tabs did not align properly. One section actually popped apart at the seams when I was trying to assemble it and cut right through my finger like it was butter resulting in a pretty deep gash. I almost gave up at that point, but I came back to it and did eventually get it put together (literally the plastic bent as I tried to get the pieces to line up). I could not see giving it as a gift – presentation is awful and quality is abysmal.
It is easy to use once it is assembled, but as cheaply as it is made, I am not sure it will hold up – it is definitely NOT worth the price unless you line your shoes with money. Then, do what you want.
Bottom line: Poor quality construction make this a loser. Pay a neighborhood kid to chuck balls at you instead.
Update: A representative for the product commented in my review regarding the safety and packaging. The packaging is promised to be beautiful. He also states that assembly will be eased. I hope so because after a week – I still have a nasty gash in my finger.
Rating: 2 / 5