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Parrot lays off 290 drone division employees
It was a disappointing holiday season for French drone maker Parrot. The company announced Monday that it will lay off about 290 employees -- or more than a third of the employees currently working on drone-related projects -- after it missed fourth quarter sales targets by about 15 percent.
Parrot's quirky toy drones are slowly growing up
There was a time when Parrot was the name in consumer drones. That's partly because, way back in 2010 when it launched the AR.Drone, the DJI Phantom was still some years away. Today, the landscape is a little different: DJI now dominates the skies, while its competitors can't seem to catch a break. Except Parrot. The French company remains unfazed by the large industry that has grown around it and continues to do what it's always done: make fun, accessible products.
Parrot brings fancy follow-me features to its Bebop 2 drone
With a price tag of $550/£440, Parrot's Bebop 2 drone is aimed at budding pilots who want more than a toy, but can't justify spending four figures and up on a flying camera. The problem with getting something in between, though, is you can't expect all the features of more expensive drones. There are a couple of third-party mobile apps floating about that add auto-follow features to the Bebop 2, but today Parrot is updating its official FreeFlight Pro app with what it claims is the "most accurate and reliable" implementation around.
Flying a drone is easier when the battery doesn't die right away
It just kept going until it was barely a speck in the sky. I was sure I had lost the Bebop 2 review unit Parrot had sent Engadget. The fact that the company's latest mid-level drone flies longer and faster than its predecessor popped into my mind along side the concern that it would just keep going and going. The onboard 14-megapixel 1080p camera would capture the entire flight. Of course that would be a moot point if it continued on its westward path and eventually lost power and splashed down in the Pacific. I squinted as the sun made it difficult to see the Bebop finally take a quick right turn along its pre-programmed path around San Francisco's Sutro Tower. My concern wasn't completely unfounded: Minutes earlier I had difficulty with the drone's WiFi connection with my phone after powering up. But at the end of the day, the Bebop 2 delivers on its extended battery life and speed even if it takes time to get it up in the air.
Parrot's Bebop 2 drone doubles flight time to 25 minutes
If you haven't already bought one of the hundreds of drones that seem to be filling the market, Parrot has a new version of its personal flying camera. The Bebop 2 now has a 25 minute flight time which is more than double the 12 minutes of the previous version. It sports a 14MP fisheye-lens camera and 8GB of onboard flash storage. To make sure the videos are sharp, all the image stabilization is done with an software image processor instead of mechanical to keep the weight down. The new quad-copter is also faster than its predecessor hitting 37 miles per hour. The first Bebop topped out at 24 miles per hour. All that speed and flight time will cost you though. At $550 it's not exactly something most folks would buy for their kids for the holidays. But if you're in the giving mood, the Bebop 2 will be available on December 14.
