Why You Can Trust CNET Pocket Drone by Odyssey Toys review: Looks like a smartphone, but it flies with ease
With its clever design and some nice extras including a built-in camera, this is nicer than your average toy quad.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
The Pocket Drone by Odyssey Toys is unique among pint-size toy quadcopters because it is actually designed to put in a pocket.
Pocket Drone by Odyssey Toys
The Good
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With just a simple twist of each motor mount, the Pocket Drone's propeller arms collapse into its body for travel, leaving you with just the main frame, which is essentially the size of a smartphone. The controller is about the same size, too, with control sticks that pull out and store in its body.
The design might be its most interesting selling point, but it's not the only one. Priced at around $100 (that converts to about AU$135 and £75), the quad has an HD 720p-resolution camera in front between its bright LED headlights. Buttons on the controller snap photos and AVI video clips, and everything gets stored on the included 4GB microSD card. The quality is good, but it's not going to rock your world, and since there's no stabilization, the video rocks with every move. There's no tilt, either, so you'll only capture what's directly in front of the drone.
The controller also has buttons to instantly start and stop the motors, one for auto takeoff and landing and another to trigger a headless mode, so the drone will always travel forward, backward, left or right when you move the sticks in those directions, regardless of which way the front of the drone is pointed. It also has an auto return feature that basically shoots the drone directly back at you, so you'll want to be careful when you use it. You can download the full manual to read more about its features.
The lightweight plastic frame feels a bit flimsy, but it held up well to crashes (I'd be careful not to sit on it, though). All of the features worked well and it can hold altitude -- unlike a lot of toy drones at this price -- letting you concentrate on directional flying and not keeping it from getting too high or low. Battery life is about 6 to 8 minutes from its removable 3.7V 550mAh (25C) lithium polymer battery. That's typical for a quad like this and extra batteries are inexpensive and readily available.
For quick stable flights indoors or outside, the Pocket Drone by Odyssey Toys is an excellent option for its features and cool, collapsible design.