Robot Contest

I would recommend the Joola iPong Trainer Motion to my beginner ping pong friend.  It's got the right amount of features - spin, oscillation, without breaking the bank.  The robot trainer will help my friend level up and get the needed repetition and practice for our recreation ping pong nights!
- George - 

Hi, I just had a conversation with one of my best friends ( who, I would consider being a fair club player ) about this very topic this week.  I've been looking at robots for some time as I am recently retired and now have the time but not always the practice partner to play against.  I typically tend to approach buying any tool I intend to use a lot with the idea of which one gives me the most "bang for the buck"?  I think that the Newgy 2055 fits that bill very nicely.  It's a company that has been around a long time, has a good reputation,  and has parts and accessories that are easy to get.  It has a lot of features that some more expensive robots have but for a lot less, but you may have some manual setup work to achieve this. For example, you may have to twist the head to generate different spins, but that's no matter. I've watched several reviews on youtube, some by table tennis teachers I follow, read some owner's comments, and overall, people seem to be quite pleased with this model.  It has 64 drills you can use that are built-in and, you can even download a program onto your computer to make custom drills.  I downloaded the program and found it to be very user friendly and intuitive.  It doesn't take long to set up the Newgy 2055 and the net and ball retrieval system allow you to drill continuously to get your strokes grooved, helping with muscle memory.  You can even buy a handy carrying case to transport it if you should want.  I downloaded and read the manual and it is very thorough.  I checked with our local table tennis club and they use the model previous to this one ( 2050 ) and they are very pleased with it and find it easy to maintain and repair.  I'm sure it would get at least twice as much use at the club as the average user, by players far better than me.  This tells me, not only can it be used by beginners to competitive players, but it also must be quite reliable.   More expensive machines may have even more features, but the Newgy 2055 comes in at a reasonable price and ticks a lot of feature boxes for your beginner to advanced player. 
- John -

I would choose Power Pong 5000. It is app controlled which makes creating drills easy.  It can also produce different spins within same drill sequence.
-Ken - 

If I were to recommend a robot to my friend, I'd recommend the Newgy Robo-Pong 2055.  The 3050xl would be a dream, but it's more expensive, and I think the 2055 is a very viable option for at-home training at its price point.  This is especially true considering the current sale at Pingpongdepot.  Newgy make quality robots, and even the cheaper models are very good products.  For the 2055, I think the biggest selling point over the cheaper models is the 64 pre-programmed drills.  This makes a solo training session much more beneficial, and enjoyable, as you're not just training the same shot over and over.  You can more closely simulate a match situation.  I've never used it, but the randomness feature is very appealing to me as well.  Plus, this thing comes with a recycling net, and the digital control box is a nice step up from the analog box.  All that said, I've used the 1040+ and, although lacking all the bells and whistles, I'd recommend that one in a heartbeat as well for someone on a budget.  The Newgy robots are great training tools, easy to use, and a lot of fun!
- Mark -

I recommend the butterfly amicus prime.
- Omair - 

I would recommend the Joola iPong trainer motion robot. It has all the functions you need and doesn't break the bank.
- Terry - 

Just from reading online it seems like the V300 has some jamming issues that the iPong Trainer Motion has fixed. Pretty sure i've made up my mind about getting an iPong Trainer Motion + Carbon net - Now my Dad can practice and maybe one day win a game :-)
- Aaron - 

Butterfly Amicus Expert, je préfère des bons vieux boutons pour contrôler le tout! 

- Steve -

My recommendation would be the Newgy RoboPong 1040+ and here’s why:
It’s a great introduction to robots, good for all levels of players. It’s very easy to set up and play with right out of the box. It has a few basic features including setting the ball speed and frequency as well as an oscillating head that can help develop a new player or an advanced player work on repetition.

I find this robot will get you hooked on robots and will make you want to upgrade over and over again as you progress as a player.
- Troy - 

My best ping pong friend's name is Alex :D
Level: Intermediate
Robot: Butterfly Amicus Prime
I would recommend this robot because of its versatility, a great number of combinations of spin, position and speed, plus the possibility of saving presets and its service function. I know many other top robots have similar features and performance, but here it comes a big component in my decision: the brand! Butterfly produces some of the best blades and rubbers in the industry, hence we can expect the same innovative principles and Japanese technology applied to this top "trainer".
- Alexander - 

Power Pong 5000 Table Tennis Robot 
Flexibility and features galore!

This robot has everything I wanted, including the ability to raise/lower the head, support for all kinds of spins, the ability to mix spins/placement/trajectory of shots in a drill, the ability to create/save drills on the control panel and also the app. Installation and take-down are a breeze. As an engineer, I appreciate the clean and thoughtful design of the head and the net+ball collection mechanism.
- Peter -