LEGO Mindstorms EV3 31313

Amazing product that sparks the imagination
The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 (31313) is my first mindstorms product that I have ever owned so I can't compare it with the previous generations. After playing with it for 6 days and building 4 of 5 the default models, I am simply left amazed, inspired and smiling from ear to ear.

The set comes in a large flat box with a removable outer sleeve that you can cut out to use as an obstacle course (the 1st basic EV3 model you build utilizes this). When you open the box, the contents are contained in several plastic bags with the main computer brick (P-Brick) in a white cardboard box and instruction booklet and stickers in another plastic bag with cardboard backing.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any bins or boxes to store/organize the pieces. So I suggest buying some storage organizer or if you happen to have the LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 Core Set (45544) you can combine BOTH sets into the Education Core Set storage bin for one beefy development kit!! (more on...
Very good upgrade to the Mindstorms line
My kids and I have played with the new EV3 for a whole weekend. We've only built two robots and have otherwise experimented with the set.

Pros:
- Android interface is very good. Not only can you control any of the five stock robots out of the box there is a nice interface for building controls for your own creations. This means no figuring out how to control things! It just works.
- Easy to build with a good selection of parts
- Nice techy look. My kids built some spaceships while I built one of the harder, non-stock robots.
- Easy to program. We used one of the downloadable extra robots and its code, but then used that to make our own modifications. That makes it easy to start off with someone else's code and then later try to do all your own.
- Bluetooth works relatively easily. I had troubles at first but now it works fine. Don't mistakenly tick the box for iPhone thinking they mean any phone. Leave that unticked if you're using...
Father-Son awesome-ness
My son just turned 6, and he's been completely crazy about robots (and rocket-ships too, but that's another review) for the last 6 months. I spent the summer researching what the best thing to get would be that would not be a let-down (either too difficult, or too content-free). I settled on this, and waited impatiently for the release on Sept. 1.

This "toy" is amazing. I can't think of any toy I've ever purchased that lived up to and then beyond my expectations. We've only built one robot so far (the track3r), but after we figured out some of the basic programming, we performed our own mod - attaching all the sensors on it, and writing a very simple screen-wide program to make a more functional robot. Our creation rolls until it is near a wall, then turns to avoid it. It senses the color of the floor it's rolling over, and spins it's "blade of doom" with anger if the floor is red. It plays a silly sound file we made if you sneak up behind it and touch its "behind."...
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