Anki Drive - advanced AI for 10 thousand rubles!

The new year is very soon, which means it's time to finally decide on the gifts! The end of 2013 was remembered by a huge number of the most diverse and interesting gadgets: a new line of apple devices, the fifth model of the Google phone from LG, Moto X - a whole bunch of excellent candidates to take center stage under the holiday tree.

However, I would like to draw the attention of habrovchan to something more non-standard and interesting, especially considering the specifics of the Bandelka blog, this “something” if you buy, then only in the United States. We are talking about Anki Drive - a clever toy, to which recently advanced users have dedicated a separate post to Habr.

This post is good for absolutely everyone, except for the fact that the most important thing was not described there - how and where to buy this toy and how much will it really cost, taking into account insurance and home delivery. In Russia, however, Anki is sold, but not at a human price. Judge for yourself:
')


So, the Anki Drive set, which includes two smart cars with AI, a vinyl track and charging, will cost the Russian buyer 20-25 thousand rubles. That with the original price of $ 199 well, not at all attractive!

Anki in brief

Anki Drive is a toy whose main feature is artificial intelligence. Its essence is very simple: it is an ordinary track for racing toy cars. What makes it unique is that these cars are equipped with advanced AI, which allows them to quickly analyze the situation during the race and show enviable results. To overtake the robot is really not easy!
Do not want to play against the computer, play with a friend - this mode is also provided. In any case, fun is guaranteed!

You can control cars only with the help of Apple devices. There is no application for Android yet, but perhaps it is worth the wait. The wording of the developers is as follows: "Anki DRIVE does not currently work with Android devices."

And Anki will work only with relatively new apple gadgets. Here is the official list of supported devices:

• iPhone 4s and newer
• iPod touch 5th generation
• iPad 3rd generation and newer
• iPad mini

The application can be found on the App Store . By the way, it brings a fairly large element of interactivity into the game. Here you can buy weapons and improve the characteristics of your car, earning points for the "destruction" of the opponent.



In general, the game is practically no different from modern computer arcade racing, except that the action takes place not on the screen of a computer or tablet, but on the floor of your apartment! A kind of experimental breath of fresh air in the digital entertainment industry.

Now about buying

The original price of Anki Drive and an authorized Apple retailer is $ 199. Additional cars (and we recommend buying at least one additional car) cost $ 69.
Given the regional isolation of the project Anki Drive - the developer sells its products only in the United States and Canada, Russian prices are amazing. Instead of the planned 6 thousand rubles, local entrepreneurs ask for 20-25.

This is where the Banderolk comes to the rescue!

Thanks to the relative liberalization of the Apple Store policy, you can now order almost all products from us to our address without any problems. If the store still cancels the order - it doesn’t matter, more recently Banderolk renewed its “Help with purchase”, presented today in the person of Veles.

Delivery

Anki Drive is a dimensional and relatively heavy toy:

Weight (weight) - 9.5 lbs / 4.31 kg
Length (length) - 45 inches / 114.3 cm
Width (width) - 8 inches / 20.3 cm
Height (height) - 5 inches / 12.7 cm

You can send it to Russia and other CIS countries using EMS. Considering all the costs: commission, cost of packing, insurance and delivery to the apartment door, the price of sending Anki Drive will be $ 106. A parcel from the United States will have to wait about a month within the framework of the characteristic pre-New Year reload (of course, there may be delays, however, by tradition, in Russia they do not remove the Christmas tree until March 8th, which means that the gift will still be ready by date! :)

So, you get Anki Drive for 10 thousand rubles, together 20-25. And for such a price, Anki Drive is a really nice present for the New Year!