Tello: A “toy” drone with advanced tech features from industry giants DJI & Intel

Say “Hello” to Tello for only $99

Costing only $99 and with a body that is approximately the size of a smartwatch, Tello looks like a toy drone. And it is. But it aims to transform what we think of as a "toy”. Created by Chinese startup Ryze Tech, the Tello drone incorporates advanced technology from DJI & Intel, enabling it to takeoff from your palm with ease, get the shot, and land back safely and quickly. Notable features include:

• 5mp stills/720p video camera
• 360° DJI suite of sensors
• Intel vision processing unit
• Programmable via Scratch SDK
• 13 minute flight time with low battery detection

Usually it’s wise to stay away from toy drones, but with all the tech and features Tello packs for for only $99 it seems like an easy purchase for any drone enthusiast out there. It’s available for pre-order now and should start shipping after March.

What can we expect from DJI at CES 2018?

The big question that is on everybody’s mind is whether DJI will announce any new drone at the CES 2018 event in Las Vegas?

In the past, DJI announced new products at the Consumer Electronics Show. For instance, in 2015, they announced the Osmo and other gimbals, in 2016, the Phantom 3 4K and the Inspire 1 Pro Black Edition, and in 2017, the Osmo Silver, a limited Phantom 4 Chinese New Year Edition and the CrystalSky Monitor.

DJI RELEASE DATES

To get a better idea of what we may expect, let’s take a look at the past release dates of DJI’s consumer drones and gimbals.

The DJI Phantom series release dates:

• The Phantom 1, originally known as the Phantom, was released in January 2013.
• The DJI Phantom 2 was released in December 2013.
• The DJI Phantom 3 was released in April 2015.
• The DJI Phantom 4 was released in March 2016.
• The DJI Phantom 4 Pro was released in November 2016.

DJI Introduces “DJI Goggles Racing Edition”

Despite costing $450 ($400 this Black Friday), DJI’s FPV goggles have been very popular. Now, they’ve released an upgraded version which comes with a few upgrades along with a new black/red color scheme.

• Redesigned facial pad & headband
• Sphere photo viewing
• Local video playback
• Analog signal/non-DJI flight controller compatible

The DJI RE Goggles will cost $549 purchased alone or $859 when purchased in a kit with DJI’s OcuSync Air System and backpack for the goggles. They should start shipping by the end of the month.

Best Black Friday 2017 Drone Deals

Black Friday, the holy shrine of all consumerism, is fast approaching. If you wish to actually get a good deal on something you want rather than crazily fighting for waffle irons in a Walmart at 5am, it's best to go in with a game plan. While TVs and video game consoles are often the most heavily discounted items, drones have begun to see more sales in recent years as they become more mainstream. So, to make your job easier, we have rounded up the best deals on each of the most popular drones below:

DJI Spark 

Percentage wise, the Spark is seeing the biggest discount for Black Friday of any of the DJI drones. Target, Best Buy, and several other major retailers will offering the controller-less Spark for $399, $100 off it's usual $499 price tag. DJI will also be offering the standard Spark for $399, but sweetens the deal by including a free landing pad, set of propeller holders, and hand guard — a total value of $36 purchased separately.
However, the best deal on the standard Spark is surprisingly from Kohl's. Though they can't offer it for any less than the $399 price, you'll get $120 in Kohl's cash with your purchase, which can go a long ways toward anything else on your holiday shopping list.
As for the Spark ultimate combo, you'll find it for $599 pretty much everywhere, though once again DJI is sweetening their deal by including the same three accessories.

DJI Mavic Pro

The DJI Mavic Pro is one of the most popular drones on the market today, and with good reason. It's extremely portable like the Spark, but also offers 4k, a 3-axis gimbal, and 28 minute flight times for less than the Phantom 4 series. Most retailers will be offering the

How To Download Any Instagram Photo On Your iPhone or other Mobile Device

Yes, there are apps that do this for you, but they tend to be filled with ads, watermark the image, or try to steal your login information. 

STEPS:

1.  Open the Instagram app and browse to the photo you want to save.
2.  Copy the link to the photo using the share buttons.
3.  Exit Instagram & open View Source or a similar app which lets you view a page's source code.
4.  Paste the share URL into the app and retrieve the page's source code.
5.  Scroll down and find where the link for the image is. Then highlight and copy it.
6.  Exit the app and open a web browser (Safari, Google Chrome, etc). Paste the image URL into the web browser.
7.  Press and hold on the image once it loads to pop up the "Save Image" dialogue. Tap "Save Image" and you are all set!

I also made a how to video detailing this same process so check it out below if you need any additional help.

Why Crowdfunding Doesn’t Work For Drones

Crowdfunding has opened the doors for many cool non-tech and tech related products. Exploding Kittens, Oculus Rift, Lume Cube, 3Doodler 3D Pen, iLumi LED Smart Bulb, etc. The list is quite extensive, and most of the companies have been successful enough to not only continue selling that product but actually introduce new ones. Even Pebble, which recently went bankrupt and had its assets gobbled up by FitBit, completed several successful campaigns and delivered on their products to thousands of backers around the world.

The history of new companies trying to launch a drone through crowdfunding is very different. Usually the product which is finally delivered to backers is an extremely dumbed down version of what was originally promised to backers, and that’s usually the best case scenario. Take the latest crowdfunded drone to fail and the once darling of the tech world: the Lily camera drone. Backers were promised a drone which you could simply release into the air and it would accurately track you

PowerVision Unveils PowerRay Underwater Robot

PowerVision Technology Group, a worldwide leader in UAV, robotics and big data technologies, and the maker of the consumer drone PowerEgg and the premium professional cinematography drone PowerEye, today announced PowerRay, an innovative underwater robot with ground-breaking features designed to revolutionize freshwater, saltwater, or ice fishing for today’s recreational fishing enthusiasts and casual hobbyists.

Delivering the most thrilling and effortless fish finding experience for consumers, PowerRay features an optional add-on component, PowerRay Fishfinder, which leverages sonar system to detect fish with precision and sends images of fish and underwater landscape, temperature data, as well as alerts to users through internal Wi-Fi to enable fishermen to make spontaneous decisions.  The PowerRay robot can dive as deep as 30 meters or 98 feet underwater.  The sonar system can detect fish up to 40 meters or 131 feet below the robot, making the total diving depth up to 70 meters or 230 feet with precision up to 10 centimeters or 3.9 inches.  The internal Wi-Fi system allows transmission of