Repetition is the mother of all skills! WHAT? Yes, that is right. The more you practice, the more you improve. It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur or an advanced player. Everyone requires practice to enhance their skills.
Thus a table tennis robot is a great way to do this, and the Newgy Robo-Pong 1040 is perfect for that. It is specially designed for players who are getting slightly more advanced with the basics of table tennis and challenge themselves by improving their skills with more variety and having the skills to play anytime they want.
The Robot Pong 1040 will assist you with various shots coming at you, keeping your mind ship, and building up your reaction skills. This is important if you’re starting to build up confidence with the basics like forehand and backhand strokes.
Features of Newgy Robo-Pong 1040 –
| The Analog control box | Yes |
| Ball Bucket | with the capacity for 200 balls |
| Balls included | 48 Orange Robo Balls, 40mm in size |
| Warranty | Limited one-year warranty |
| Angle adjustments | low (serves) to high (lobs) |
| Shot range | chop, serve, push, fast lob, counter, lob, fast loop |
| Spins | Left sidespin, right sidespin, combination spins, topspin, and backspin |
1. Assembly
The first and the most fantastic thing about this robot is its assembly. The assembly of the Newgy 1040 table tennis robot is super easy and is a significant advancement over more complex table tennis training systems like the Newgy 2040.
The package of the Robo-Pong 1040 contains:
- Ball Thrower (w/Oscillation)
- Ball Bucket
- Bucket Extender
- Full-Size Control Box
- Transformer
- Connector CableOwner’s Manual
- 48 Orange 40mm Robo-Balls
There is no net assembly needed in this robot. The only thing that needs to be done is to unpack it from the box, place the robot on your table tennis table, and calibrate it before you are ready to start practicing.
2. Spin –
The Newgy 1040 robot appears with an easy-to-use rotating spin head. This makes it manageable to pick between one of eight various types of spin by just twisting the tool on the front of the robot.
I like the way above for selecting the spin as it can be modified easily. The Robo-Pong 1040 device is no higher than a meter, with a long, thick neck that fires out the ping pong balls.
Because of this, I could angle the robot down to shoot the ball into its side of the table. This is an excellent quality, and it’s easy to place the robot and fix the spin so that it is identical to the training partner. I could also angle it up to train to smash against high balls.
3. Compact and Portable –
I love this robot because it’s small, compact, and smooth to move around while playing, and storing the robot after the game is also straightforward. The Robo-Pong 1040 does not need a lot of setups as it comes as a whole, making it very easy to carry along.
It sits perfectly on top of the table tennis table and comes with a giant basket than the Robo-Pong 540. This gives me a more extended playing time before I start picking up the balls and re-filling the container to practice my shots again.
It is so easily portable that it lets you place the robot anywhere on the table or even in a position next to it. That way, the Robo-Pong 1040 offers you a lot of flexibility that many fixed robots don’t have.
For example, you can place the machine close to the net to give faster balls or well behind the table for long-range balls. People commonly put the unit onto a chair with height adjustment behind the table, offering more options and balls. It’s really up to you and your gameplay to use this robot.
4. More Number Of Balls –
The critical difference between the Newgy Robo-Pong 540 robot and the newly Robo-Pong 1040 robot is its 200 Ball basket holder and oscillation capacity. With a larger basket, you will get more balls while practicing and more playing time.
With a smaller basket, a lesser number of balls is meaningless practice time, and you’ll need to collect the balls and put them back in the basket more again.
5. Oscillation –
Oscillation is a newly added highlight proving my movement control over where I want the ball to go and helping me gain better reaction times on my feet. I can program the oscillation to go anywhere on the table.
The added spin feature will retain me on my toes and help develop my game in an accurate life match. The oscillation will eventually improve my reaction times, eye-hand coordination, and movements around the table.
Once we get a hold on basic strokes, the next level improves our skills as if we are playing against a real opponent.
Pros and Cons of Newgy Robo Pong 1040 –
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| 1. Extender cage or the additional giant basket that comes with the robot helps collect balls and extends the playing time a little more than usual. | 1. Balls get jammed with strident noise. |
| 2. Oscillation helps control the movement of balls helps in gaining a better reaction time. | 2. No memory settings |
| 3. Great for shots practicing to improve your skill. | 3. There is no control of the spin and speed separately because it has one single at the head to produce speed and spin. |
| 4. Easy to set up and operate well. | 4. No ball recycling |
| 5. It comes with 48 2 stars balls and a one year warranty | |
| 6. The adjustable angle helps you shoot balls in different directions at different levels. | |
| 6. Wide spin selection | |
| 7. The bucket extender is easy to attach. |
My Honest Review –
I have just upgraded from an Ipong basic, and it worked great for what it is. I wanted a machine with different spins and oscillations, and the Newgy 1040 came and looked great.
I had 200 balls that I had been using in my last robot. And when I fired it up, it was a disaster. It got jammed after every 8 to 15 balls. I even washed and polished the balls three times, trying to make the machine work.
I reread the reviews and couldn’t understand how some reviewers indicated that the machine was great and gave it five stars. Others said that it was a piece of junk. I couldn’t understand how this could be.
After trying everything I could think of and reading all of Newgy’s information, I called the Newgy Company up. I never heard back from the helpline, so I called the general information line.
I talked with a most helpful individual who was very patient with me and went over all of the possible reasons for my troubles. At last, he asked me what balls I was using. I told him I was using REGAL 3 star ITTF approved balls.
He indicated that they had trouble using those particular balls in their machines. He didn’t believe they were of 3-star quality. That evening I washed the new Newgy balls that came with the 1040 robot and dumped them in the machine.
From the very start, every ball worked fine. I have put at least 1,000 balls through the machine, and it has never jammed. It appears that many of the REGAL balls are oversized and don’t meet ITTF standards.
They are not 3 star balls! This may be why there is such a discrepancy in the ratings for Newgy robots. It is not the robot but rather a problem with the balls. I guess you get what you pay for in ping pong balls.
Compare what REGAL is charging for their 3 star balls to the other manufactures of 3 star balls. I would certainly recommend the Newgy 1040 for a reasonable step into becoming more than a garage ping pong player.
Frequently Asked Questions –
What is included with this robot?
The Robo-Pong 1040 includes:
- Ball Thrower with oscillation function
- Ball Bucket with Extender Cage that holds approximately 200 balls
- 48 of 40mm Robo-Balls
- Classic Analog Control Panel
- Owner’s Manual.
- Two sets of paddles.
What are the different spin, angle, and shot style adjustments available?
The different types of spins, angles, and shots offered by Robo-Pong 1040 are:
- Spins: topspin, backspin, left sidespin, right sidespin, and combination spin.
- Head angle adjustments serve from low to high.
- Shot selection: push, chop, serve, counter, lob, and fast loop.
Which Newgy robot works best for more advanced players?
The Newgy has other machines for more experienced players who want to move up to club level and become competitive. Within the newly Robo-Pong range, they have four Robot-Pong Robots:
• Robot-Pong 1050 (new model 1050+)
• Robot-Pong 2040 (new model (2040+)
• Robot-Pong 2050 (new model 2055)
The Robo-Pong 2050 is a top-of-the-range machine with an advanced level of programming on the Robo-Pong device.
How do we avoid jamming balls in this robot? Which balls are ideal to use?
For a while, I know many players were worried that the balls (old celluloid 40mm balls and the new plastic 40+ ones) wouldn’t work in their robots due to the slight increase in size – but they do.
But if you are still worried about jamming, I highly recommend using GOGO 3-Star 40mm Table Tennis Balls. These balls will not jam as often and provide a better practicing experience.
Conclusion
The Newgy 1040 is a solid middle-tier ping pong training robot that is a big step up from the Newgy 540 but is not a professional-quality training robot like the Newgy 2050. It provides a good feature set for a reasonable price.
It is significantly less expensive than many training robots out there and allows you to practice your skills effectively with minimal problems and complications. While it doesn’t have fancy features like a digital control system or a recycling net system, it offers a good playing experience for the price.
The Robot-Pong 1040 places the ball perfectly every time for you, giving you the ability to improve your stokes, skills repetitively, and all-around game. Also, it comes with an excellent one-year limited warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee.