That’s why this YouTube video by Nicklas stands out. First of all, the dude’s got three balls. And second of all, he’s using the techier side of Sphero’s capabilities (via our open API and mobile SDK) to synchronize all three. Check out how a computer can be used as a different interface to play and create with Sphero. If you’d like to get started on your own Sphero project, be sure to check out our developer page. Thanks for sharing, Nicklas!

Don’t worry, if you don’t have a Sphero, you can still win. You’ll just have to use your creative genius to destroy the competition. Anything Sphero-related is fair game, so send away.

Submit your creations with an @GoSphero mention on Twitter, or post to our Facebook page. Winners will be announced via our blog and social media accounts. Let the games begin!

To order Sphero today, U.S. fans can visit our store or Amazon.com.

But wait, there’s more. Sphero is now shipping to our fans in Canada! You can find Sphero online at Amazon.ca to make sure you’re one of the first to have a ball up North.

For those of you who ordered Spheros but don’t have someone to race against, now is the time to encourage your friends to join the fun! And if you’ve been on the fence, wait no longer. Sphero is shipping in real time, and we have more mixed-reality apps on the way. This will be a big year for Sphero, and we would love to have you along for the ride. Make sure to join us on Facebook for exclusive content and contests. You can also join us on Twitter.

While this is exciting news, we understand that many international fans are anxious for Sphero to roll over-seas. We are finalizing international certifications and will begin shipping internationally as soon as we are able. We’re rolling as quickly as we can! Sign up here to be notified when Sphero rolls abroad.

Last Thursday, the Orbotix team did something active. We competed in the local Broom-ball tournament, hosted by the One Boulder Plaza Ice Rink. While we play with balls all day long, ours are of the robotic variety. They don’t involve running, dodging, diving, and sliding across a field of ice. Needless to say, we kicked off the night with an epic performance against the reigning champions from last year – the actual Ice Rink staff. Also competing this year were teams from local businesses: WW Reynolds, Sterling Rice, Newton Running, Reuben’s Burger Bistro (order the Road Rash), Occipital (high five to the one-woman teams), and Shooters Bar & Grill. For those who aren’t local to the Boulder scene, that list includes everyone from hard-core gamers and programmers to bartenders and bankers. Not to anyone’s surprise, the team who runs the rink won the competition. Our hard-hats are off to you guys – thanks for hosting and organizing an event to remember!

What happens when you hand a team of techies a real ball and a “broom” that more closely resembles a sledge hammer? Watch the video to find out.

We love robots because…

1. Their love is unconditional.
2. They’re easy to turn on.
3. They are imagination personified.
4. They don’t ask for much.
5. They’ll do anything you program them to.
6. They are a tool for us to create with.
7. We’re robots.
8. They don’t talk back. And if they do, you can shut them off.
9. They make the impossible possible.
10. We have to.

One thing is for certain, we’re all in a long-term relationship with Sphero. If you don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, you can head over to our store to order own robotic companion. Flowers and dinner not included.

Events included all-around socializing and presentations, as well as eating massive slices of pizza. A handful of individual companies presented their newest products, projects, and ideas to the audience. Altius Space demoed their Stickyboom technology – a mechanical tractor-beam mechanism that actually nabs “non-cooperative” objects using electrostatic adhesion technology. Then ModRobotics showed off their Cubelets, a construction kit of sorts that enables young hackers and makers to build robots.

Gamma Two Robotics was there to introduce us to their basic-service robots (Basil), that can actually serve your guests food at parties, among other tasks. Also toting robots along was Sparkfun, who introduced us to their potato-gun robot mounted on a 6WD Wild Thumper chassis. Yes, it shoots potatoes. Our team at Orbotix was happy to host and introduce the group to the nitty-gritty technology behind our very own Sphero. Here’s the run-down in ultra-geek terms, in case you weren’t there.

You can pack a lot of tech into a 3″ robot ball. Start with a sensor network – multi-axis rate gyro and accelerometer – fused together with the same kind of math that took Apollo to the Moon. Now run those matrix computations over 200 times/second, transpose the output to spin velocity controlled motors, and you have a 3D stability platform that can drive around at 3 ft/s. Power it with lithium polymer batteries which are inductively recharged through the shell and add a Bluetooth-based command and control data link. Finally, mix in over-the-air firmware updates and internally sandboxed language extensions, and you have a true robot that is an intelligent component of a smart phone app-based gaming, learning, and human-machine interaction system. Driving Sphero over ramps only scratches the surface of what is possible with this incredible robot.

Everyone is looking forward to the next meetup. We hope to round up the techies every two months, so if you missed out be sure to join us next time! A big thanks to our organizers – Brad Feld, Nikolaus Correll, Paul Berberian, Ross Ingram, and to Boulder’s Google Headquarters for having us. For more information on the creative genius behind the event, check out Brad Feld’s Blog.

We love CES because it’s a four-day extravaganza of playtime – for both our team and attendees. The highlight was showing off the new mixed-reality apps that use Sphero as a controller (Space Fighter and Chromo), and putting Sphero’s endurance to the test on ramps at our booth, down concrete stairs, and through crowded hallways. Our little gaming robot survived techy VIP parties, all-nighters, and played through the day with hundreds of fans. In a word, CES 2012 was magical. Take a look at this year’s record-setting Consumer Electronics Show from Sphero’s point of view. You can also view our Facebook album for more shots of the event.

One of the most exciting events at our booth this year was the Space Fighter Press Challenge. Press competed for top score with the chance to donate up to $1,500 to the charity of their choice. Using Sphero as a controller for the first time, press dodged fireballs, attacked alien ships, and had an absolute blast playing Space Fighter. At long last, the results have been tallied! Here are our winners.

In third place with 80,350 points, we have Geoff Hathaway, co-host at the B Team Podcast donating to the Humane Society. Second place is Willem De Moor, writer for Tweakers with 113,650 points and donating to Toys for Tots. Drumroll, please…

The reigning champion with 126,800 points is Dave Hamilton, President and CEO at MacObserver. Dave is donating to the Oyster River Youth Association. Congratulations to our winners! And a big thank you to all who participated. Your energy and enthusiasm fighting alien space invaders was infectious.

The year ahead is cram-packed with events and contests, and we couldn’t be more excited. Keep an eye out for little white robots rolling around, and if you see us at an event, come say hi. We’d love to introduce you to Sphero and all of his new gaming apps.

Sphero will be making a special guest appearance this morning on LIVE! With Kelly at 9:00 AM! Be sure to catch a glimpse of our little robot with one of television’s favorite entertainers. Sphero will be showing off his skills next to the latest tech gadgets from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Leo Laporte, the tech guy known nation-wide from Premier Radio Networks, will be running the show. You can check out the details online, and view the segment later, here.

While in New York, Sphero also had the opportunity to meet with Business Insider and roll around with their team. Check out the article for some insider information on games to come.

Press competed for the top three scores in Sphero Space Fighter with the opportunity to donate up to $1,500 to the charity of their choice. The press rolled in to try their hand at killing alien ships and dodging fireballs, and after four days of extreme space fighting, the results are being tallied up. Keep posted for the winners!

Thanks to everyone who came by and took Sphero for a spin! We will be recapping with a full-length video, staff bloopers, and the winners of the Press Challenge next week, so stay tuned for more.