The two robots are functionally identical. The obvious difference is that the Amicus can only be controlled through the app,which you can run on the included tablet or your own phone/tablet. The PowerPong uses both an tablet/phone app and the included control box which has the same feature set as the PowerPong 3000/Amicus Professional.
However, there are significant differences in the current state of software features of each app. The Butterfly app currently includes all of the features that the control box does, with the added benefit of more flexibility/ease of use through the app. Creating/managing drills on PowerPong app is also easy, but at this moment the app does not include the “cluster memory” feature, which allows you to chain existing drills together to create longer drills and/or add a randomness to the series of drills. However, this feature is still available through the use of the control box. Currently you can control the PowerPong using the App OR the control box. That is if you use the app, the control box is disabled, and if you the box, the app control is disabled. This situation may change as the app matures. It is possible to create a drill in the app and then get it loaded into the control box memory, but it’s not intuitive.
If you purchase the PowerPong you are counting on the fact that PowerPong is still actively developing and app and seem quite willing to add/prioritize features based in customer feedback. So in the long run I think it’s possible that the PowerPong will catch up and surpass the Butterfly app, though it trails the Butterfly app in features now.
I have the PowerPong 5000, and I’m happy with it overall. I am familiar with the Butterfly app as you can download it onto any phone/tablet and run it on your device, but it won’t connect to a PowerPong robot. I am a bit disappointed that the PP app isn’t a complete replacement for the control box now, but I think PowerPong will come through in the long run,.
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