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GoPro videos can now show native speed and motion data
When GoPro introduced the Hero5 Black, it came with a long overdue feature found on many other action cameras: GPS. The problem was, beyond tagging where your photos and videos were shot, it didn't really add much. That changes today with the introduction of "gauges." As the name suggests, you can add widgets on top of your action videos that show how fast you're going, your GPS path, current height/elevation and G-Force. And while the feature is available starting today (you'll need to download the latest version of GoPro's Quik for desktop), videos you already shot with GPS activated can also make use of the gauges.
ICYMI: Virtually globetrot in Google Earth
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google Earth just released an update that supports virtual reality, letting users teleport all around the globe, easily. So far it's free in Steam so anyone with an HTC Vive: Get going. Meanwhile Urban Aeronautics took its first pre-routed flight with a autonomous flying machine meant to be the air taxi first foretold in The Fifth Element. The 'ticking a GoPro on things' video from Sam and Niko is here, 'Quick, Draw!' is here (and God have mercy on your self-esteem if you ever play it). As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
GoPro recalls all Karma drones over safety concerns
If you recently picked up one of GoPro's long-in-the-works Karma drones, you should probably return it. The company has issued a recall for all devices (around 2,500 according to internal estimates) because "in a very small number of cases" the Karmas lost power while in use. Exchanges won't be offered, and GoPro says to take your device back to the point of purchase for a full refund. Once the issue has been worked out, shipment and sales of the drone will resume.
GoPro's production issues cut into its sales and stock price
Despite including the release of its new Karma drone and Hero5 camera, GoPro's quarterly earnings report had some bad news today. With sales falling to $240.6 million (compared to $400 million in the same period last year), and a forecast for the year that dropped from a range of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion, to $1.25 billion to $1.3 billion, shareholders sent its price diving to under $10 per share in after-hours trading. The company lost $104 million during the quarter, but founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman said: "Looking forward to 2017, we expect to return to profitability, driven by the strength of our new products." On a call about the earnings, Woodman said the company launched fewer cameras and drones than expected due to production issues that will also probably keep it from meeting demand during the holiday season.
GoPro Karma review: A decent drone with stiff competition
When Karma was unveiled last month, there were two main takeaways. First was the lack of much-expected "follow me" features; second was the inclusion of a (not-expected) hand-held stabilizer, turning Karma into a "kit." GoPro CEO Nick Woodman would declare Karma to be "much more than a drone," pitching it as a complete video-stabilization system -- one that can be worn, held and flown. The big question was, would that be enough for buyers to overlook what appeared to be a pared feature set on the drone itself? At $799 (if you "bring your own camera"), and $999/$1,099 if you want to include a Hero5 Session or Black, Karma is priced aggressively, undercutting DJI's Phantom 4 if you factor in the cost of the hand-held stabilizer (DJI's cheapest equivalent costs an extra $300). But then DJI revealed the Mavic Pro and set fire to GoPro's plans. It's smaller, similarly priced and bests GoPro across the spec sheet. The question now is: Will GoPro's claim of being more than a drone be enough to lure casual filmmakers away from DJI's technologically superior product? On November 8th, 2016, GoPro issued a global recall for the Karma drone following cases of electrical failures causing a loss of power during flight. GoPro advises that owners can return their units to GoPro, or their place of purchase for a full refund. No replacements are being offered at this time. Though this review is still live on Engadget's site for posterity's sake, we have elected to remove the original score. Should GoPro resume selling Karma, we will re-asses our review and score accordingly.
ICYMI: Sims yourself into a new VR social network
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A new social network for virtual reality just launched, geared towards users who will decorate rooms to their taste, then have online friends over to hang out in their rooms, sharing content and chatting in real time about whatever movie they might be watching. Meanwhile, a bike path in Poland is made of material that glows for 10 hours after being charged by sunlight. It's being watched through the winter and if it handles cold temperatures well, researchers will begin work on commercializing the material in the spring. Nissan's EV mobile office video is here, and if you're interested in that GoPro contest, the mountain biking video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
GoPro's Hero5 Black and Session bring overdue improvements
Recently, GoPro unveiled an entirely new product lineup. Not just the new Hero5 Black ($399) and Hero5 Session ($299), but also the Karma drone, a surprise hand-held gimbal -- known as the Karma Grip -- and a brand new cloud service called GoPro Plus. While it's going to be another week or so before we can get our hands on the Karma drone, I had a chance to spend some time with the new flagship Hero5 Black and its sidekick, the Hero5 Session. Both come with some exciting, long-awaited new features, which I'll lay out in detail below. With many of the upgrades addressing common pain points, it's clear that this year, GoPro was mainly focused on polishing the user experience.
Making Karma: Behind the scenes with GoPro's camera drone
A typical GoPro camera launch is much how you'd imagine it to be: Extreme sport athletes perform for the press at a beautiful outdoorsy location. But where I am today is not a typical GoPro launch. That won't happen for a few weeks yet, when CEO and founder Nick Woodman will present the company's much-anticipated Karma drone to the world. Karma's reveal will be the climax to one of GoPro's most scrutinized business moves yet. After multiple delays and much investor speculation, it's important that GoPro get this one right. Will Karma silence GoPro's doubters, or give them more to talk about? Engadget spent some time behind the scenes during Karma's crucial final stages to find out.
GoPro's new Hero5 seems to raise the bar for action cameras
Today was a busy day for GoPro. In addition to revealing its much-anticipated first drone, known as the Karma, the company introduced two new action cameras. Both the Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session are a major upgrade over their predecessors, with voice control and native waterproofing chief among the standout features. But let's start with the flagship Hero5 Black. It now comes with a 2-inch touchscreen, GPS and a sensor that takes up to 12-megapixel images. Like the Hero4, the Hero5 shoots 4K at 30 frames per second -- raise your hand if you wish it handled 60 fps.
A first look at GoPro's foldable Karma drone
It finally happened. After months of teasing its first drone, GoPro today revealed the Karma. As we've reported previously, the quadcopter features a sleek and compact design, with foldable blades that'll make it easy to fit into a backpack. We had the chance to check it out in Squaw Valley, California, where GoPro hosted a launch event for the drone itself as well as the new Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session. The Karma is quite simple to fly, thanks to its gamepad-esque controller and an easy-to-use interface.
This is GoPro's $799, foldable Karma drone
We knew it was coming, but after being delayed earlier this year, GoPro has finally unveiled its Karma drone. The new quadcopter is sleek, compact and foldable, designed to fit in most any backpack. To drive home that point, CEO and Founder Nick Woodman had it on stage all along in plain sight at the company's launch event today in Nevada. Karma also has a gaming-like controller with a built-in touchscreen for controlling the device. Additionally, living up to Woodman's "more than just a drone" claim, Karma's 3-axis stabilizer has a trick up its sleeve -- it slides out from the drone and attaches to an included handheld "Karma Grip" so you can record smooth shots on the ground, too.
GoPro's Hero5 cameras are cloud-connected and natively waterproof
It's no secret that GoPro had a new flagship action camera in the works, but you never know how rumors may pan out. Today, the company officially announced the Hero5 Black, featuring a 2-inch touch display, 12-megapixel photos (including RAW support) and, as leaks suggested, built-in GPS. What's more, GoPro's Hero has voice control (seven languages at launch, more later) and is waterproof without the housing to 33 feet (10 meters). There's also electronic image stabilization, which is a first for the Hero line. Like the previous model, it shoots 4K at up to 30 fps, as well as 1080p at 120 fps max.
Watch live as GoPro unveils its Karma drone
Earlier this month, GoPro teased that it would soon be introducing its highly anticipated Karma drone. And today, the company is hosting an event in Squaw Valley, California, where it will be showing it to the world for the first time. Of course, we're here to bring you the information as it happens, but you can keep up with the action via the livestream below. This is a GoPro event after all, so there's a chance we'll also get to meet the rumored Hero5 during the keynote. Don't go too far, because the event starts at 9AM PT/12PM ET.
The best tech for college athletes
Look, there's clearly more to college life than studying and partying. There's also sports! Before you hit the field, gym, rink or court it's probably worth taking stock of how you can improve your game with a little help from modern technology. An Apple Watch or Vivosmart can count steps and track your gym sessions, while Polo makes a smart shirt that offers seriously in depth data about your body's performance. There's also sensors that can help you do things like improve your swing in golf or baseball. And, of course, after a long day of training, there's nothing better than unwinding by watching your hometown team make a run at the World Series on MLB.tv. Oh, and don't forget to check out the rest of Engadget's back-to-school guide here.
GoPro's Hero5 camera could pack GPS
GoPro most definitely has a future planned beyond drones and virtual reality rigs. Both an FCC filing and an apparent video leak suggest that the upcoming Hero5 action camera will give you a couple of good reasons to ditch your Hero4. To start, the FCC entry makes clear references to built-in GPS. It's not certain how you'd use it, but it's easy to see the technology used for geolocating your videos or tracking performance. That same filing also hints at a thinner, lighter body.
GoPro already made a small VR camera and you can see it now
So far, GoPro's foray into VR cameras has been strictly for professionals. Earlier this year Nick Woodman, the company's CEO, hinted that a smaller, consumer-friendly VR camera could be in the works -- but that's all we knew. Except, it turns out, it already exists and you can look at it right now.
The 'world's smallest 4K camera' has big ambitions
If your sole guidance on an industry was the share price of the market leader, then you'd definitely consider it a tough 12 months for action cameras. That said, newcomer So Special Labs isn't put off. In fact, it thinks its Mokacam GoPro rival might just be the tonic the product category needs. The 4K action camera packs a dual punch of being small and reasonably priced. At $270, it's more than $200 cheaper than GoPro's flagship 4K camera, and it deliberately tries to improve on its rival pain points. With all of that going for it, is the diminutive Mokacam able to compete with the biggest name in this space?
GoPro and Ubisoft join forces to bring thrillseekers 'Steep'
Love watching amazing stunts recorded by fearless people with skis, snowboards or even wingsuits? Don't have the guts to do all those things yourself? Ubisoft wants to give you the power to experience some of the very same experiences without all the danger with the aid of GoPro in the form of their latest project Steep.
GoPro makes a seemingly inevitable deal with Red Bull
Red Bull's extreme sports adventures are practically tailor-made for GoPro's action cameras, so it would only make sense if the two got together, right? Sure enough, that's what's happening. GoPro has announced an exclusive deal with Red Bull that will have the two partnering on distributing and selling content. They'll share rights on co-produced content and share it across both of their online and TV channels. Also, each company gets a distinct perk: GoPro becomes Red Bull's sole action camera provider, while Red Bull gets equity in GoPro.
Google is working with IMAX on a cinema-quality 3D camera
Remember last year's I/O, when Google revealed JUMP? It was a VR content creation system consisting of a camera rig made from 16 GoPros and some incredibly smart cloud-based processing and sharing software. Fast forward a year later. Google's Clay Bavor revealed today at the company's developer conference that Hollywood was fascinated by JUMP too, and that Google is now working on a cinema-quality 3D camera rig in partnership with IMAX.
