Parrot expands Minidrone collection with five new models
Gadgets
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In 2014, connected device maker Parrot launched a pair of smartphone-controlled toy robots called Minidrones.
The line proved to be enough of a success that Parrot is back this year with five new models for the sky, land, and water.
Starting with the sky there are two new quadcopters the airborne knight and cargo.
The Knight has built in LED lights that blink and flash at your command and help you fly in the dark.
The cargo has a baseplate on top with six Lego-like studs for attaching figures or bricks.
Then on the ground you'll find the jumping knight and jumping race.
Like the airborne knight, the jumping knight has built in LEDs, so you can roll around in the dark.
The wraith is capable of reaching speeds up to 8 miles per hour, doubling the knight's top speed.
The jumping part of the name comes from a rear spring loaded leg that when retracted and released Launches it up to two and a half feet into the air.
for zipping across the water, Parrot created a hydrofoil.
Mount the included quadcopter on top to a hinged mechanism and spin up the props and it pushes the hydrofoil across the water.
You can also detach the quadcopter and fly it around.
All of the mini drones are controlled with a smart phone or tablet using the parrots free flight three app and while cameras tend to be a big component of consumer drones that's not the case here.
Only the jumping models can record video and only at VGA resolution.
The quad copters can take photo's from a camera on their bottoms But again, in VGA resolution only.
Also, as was the case with last year's models, battery life isn't great at only up to nine minutes for the quadcopters, seven minutes when pushing the hydrofoil, or 20 minutes for the jumping models.
Prices range from $99 up to $189.
And while there's no exact release date yet.
[UNKNOWN] Says they'll be in stores this fall.
I'm Josh Goldman with cnet and that's a quick look at [UNKNOWN] new mini droans for 2015.
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