Motrr Galileo Review

Introduction

Oh Galileo Galilei! In paying homage to the great physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, the folks over at Mōtrr decided to grace its latest gizmo with his name. Similar to how the fabled technologist dabbled in many delightful endeavors, the Mōtrr Galileo is a unique device made to specifically work with the iPhone to spur creativity and imagination in more ways that you can count. Quite simply, the Galileo is a revolutionary iPhone-controlled robotic platform that allows users to do several things – like capturing slick panoramic images, time lapse videos, or double as a remote accessed security camera.

The package contains:

• Owners guide
• microUSB cable
• Additional rubber inserts

Design

Simple, yet humble. There’s not a whole lot to its design, but don’t let its puck-like shape fool you in what it can achieve.

At first glance, most people wouldn’t have the slightest inclination to the Galileo’s purpose, since its design looks like a super thick sized hockey puck. Well, it’s actually a set of independent bases that can rotate to achieve certain purposes. The entire thing, in fact, has a nice subtle soft touch finish to give it a clean look that’s resilient to smudges or fingerprints.

Going from top to bottom, the top-most base has a removable rubber insert that can be exchanged for other inserts to accommodate either the iPhone 5s, 5, 5c, 4s, and the 5th generation iPod Touch. In addition, the top-most base employs a unique hinge mechanism that allows it to both pan and rotate in all sorts of directions. Well, the base snaps into place when the iPhone needs to be placed into landscape.

Along the bottom-most base, there’s a lonely microUSB port there to charge its internal 1000 mAh lithium polymer battery, which is rated by the manufacturer to have an average shelf life of 10 days – or roughly an “all day” usage with normal use. On the bottom of the Galileo, there’s a universal ¼” tripod mount for use with a tripod, and a battery icon that lights up in green, amber, or red to indicate its charge status.

Mōtrr app

In order to get started, the Mōtrr app is required to initially pair it with our iPhone 5s. By simply twisting the bottom base of the Galileo, it’s automatically put into pairing mode. After briefly looking through the app, we soon realize that it’s nothing more than a centralized hub that aggregates other apps in the App Store that support the Galileo.

When we first received the Mōtrr Galileo, we were disappointed by the slim listing of supported apps – most of them explicitly mentioned supporting it, but they actually didn’t. After a couple of weeks, we decided to revisit them again, and to our amazement, we were astounded by the quick adaptation. Generally speaking, several of the apps listed that support the Galileo are paid apps – with a few scattered free ones. For our review, we decided to check out a couple of the free ones.

Performance

From breathtaking time lapse videos to spot-on 360-degree panoramic shots, the Galileo’s automated help truly enhances the iPhone’s capabilities.

Who doesn’t like free apps, right? Well, we paid close attention to two that we feel strongly shows off the true potential of the Mōtrr Galileo. First up is the Sphere app, which as its name so greatly implies, allows the iPhone to compose stunning 360-degree views with the aid of the Galileo – it’s similar to that of Android’s photosphere function. Honestly people, the Galileo makes it look so easy capturing these 360-degree shots, as the automated function of the Galileo catches everything with surprising accuracy. Once everything is stitched, we’re simply impressed by the superb quality – something that’s a heck of a lot better than trying to capture manually with the phone in our hands!



The other app we decided to check out is TimeLapse. Obviously, the name says it all. Using the Galileo, the app allows us to make some movie-like time lapse videos that condenses captured content into videos no longer than 15 seconds. After playing around the settings with the TimeLapse app, the Galileo is used to perform panning sweeps and tilts. The end result is breathtaking to watch, as 15 minutes of captured content is shrunken down to a video lasting no more than 15 seconds. From the busy atmosphere of the Flatiron district of New York City, to watching the clouds roll on by in the sky, the Galileo helps to capture some stunning time lapse videos – while taking the hassle out of us having us to sit and do the panning ourselves.



Beyond these two specific apps, there are several paid apps that continue to deepen the Galileo’s functionality. For example, the AirBeam app allows the Galileo to transform the iPhone into a real-time surveillance system where operators can orient the unit remotely. Based on what we encountered with the two aforementioned apps, we have to admit that we’re smitten by the wonders of what they Galileo can accomplish.

Conclusion

Honestly folks, the Mōtrr Galileo is one of those gadgets that normally wouldn’t come to mind as a must-have item for any iPhone owner – that’s until you actually see what it can do and grasp the possibilities. Our only complaint is that the Galileo only supports the iPhone. It’d be neat if its reach can be extended to other smartphones.

Sporting a price point of $150 online, the Mōtrr Galileo is without a doubt a pricey accessory. However, we feel as though it’s a warranted cost when taking into consideration its comprehensive offering. At the end of the day, it’s not too often that we fall in love with a gadget of this caliber – so we’d highly recommend picking it up if you’re serious about expanding your iPhone’s functionality.