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Comment by baddox | Hacker News Reader

I've built several "hobby grade" multirotors with GPS and first-person video, and while I find the process fun and satisfying, it's far from accessible to mainstream consumers. I was never impressed by Parrot's original AR Drone, but this looks much more promising as an accessible drone with a good feature set. The biggest problem with the AR Drone, the control latency over WiFi, is probably covered up by the Bebop's GPS stabilization.

It doesn't look like there's any pricing information for the Bebop yet. They should definitely be able to keep it under $500, and if so (and if it works as well as their demos portray) I bet they'll sell well.

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For another multicopter in the $500 price range, check out http://www.thepocketdrone.com - the most successful drone Kickstarter of all time (raised almost one million dollars). Disclosure: I work for them.

Didn't see any answer to what are, IMO, the two most important questions:

* What flight time does it have?

* If you pre-order today (not that I'm going to), when can you expect to receive it?

20 minutes with onboard camera (GoPro etc.) - longer without the camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYAKpmhMADI

Shipping is due to begin late summer, but Kickstarter orders will be shipped first. I've been told there is going to be a price increase sometime this month, although I'm not privy to the exact date.

Your website is a bit withholding for my taste.. clicked around looking for a decent flight time approximation (vs. weight, conditions etc.).. Found nothing.

unchill.

Here's a flight time test with onboard camera, at 17 degrees Fahrenheit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYAKpmhMADI

TLDW: 20 minutes. Without a camera you'd be looking at around 25 minutes.

You're right that this info should be on the website - I'll make sure that happens. Thanks for the feedback.

Are the blades proprietary? If so how much will they be?

I have quite a bit of quad/hexa-copter flying and the #1 problem I have had is replacing blades. Luckily my more expensive copter I have uses the same blades as RC planes so they can be ordered cheaply, but thats not the case with my other drone. I can foresee a huge headache for your users if the pocket drone uses proprietary blades.

I'm not sure whether the blades are proprietary, but I can find out if you like. A full set of matched and balanced blades currently sells for $19.95: http://www.thepocketdrone.com/store/p3/Pre-order_Spare_Prope...

I thought I read either in the comments the last time this was posted here or in the original article that they were aiming for $6-700. That seems right for the technology

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