Parrot, a US company founded in 1994 whose purpose is to create cutting edge products for smartphones and tablets, has recently released the second model of its original Bebop drone: the Bebop 2.

The basic design from the original Bebop was kept, meaning that the Parrot Bebop 2 drone is also a cylindrical main body which houses the camera and processor etc. and 4 arms extending from this body on the ends of which the propellers sit.

But despite the same overall look, the Bebop 2’s 12.9 inch by 12.9 inch span only results in a weight of 17.6 ounces.

And despite being this light, the Parrot Bebop 2 drone features a 14 megapixel camera with a fish-eye lens that is capable of a 180 degree view angle and also benefits from built-in 3-axis stabilization.

All of the drone’s functions can be controlled through an Android or iOS smartphone by downloading an easy to use free app. This includes adjusting the angle of the camera (which you can do with a few taps), taking 4:3, 16:9 and fish-eye ratio photos and 1080p video (which get sent directly to your phone’s screen) as well as actually flying the drone, the latter of which being made simple because of what the company claims is an intuitive, user-friendly interface.

For example, there is a button you can tap which controls the take-off and landing of the Parrot Bebop 2 drone.

Of course, if you want to make an upgrade, you can pay extra and get the Parrot Skycontroller which, along with allowing you to control the drone with even more ease and “feel”, by joysticks, and extending the range at which it responds to controls to 6,561 feet from the 984 feet it is capable of when it is controlled by smartphone.

And speaking of flight capabilities, the Parrot Bebop 2 drone can, in 14 seconds, reach top speeds between 13 -37 mph, depending on whether it is flying vertically or horizontally, respectively. It also stops pretty fast, meaning 4.5 seconds. And if you make it go vertically, it can reach 330 feet in a matter of just 18 seconds.

As a bonus, when controlling it by smartphone, you can pay 20$ extra to purchase, inside the app, a feature that allows you to plan your flights in advance.

And if anything happens to go wrong during said flight, the Bebop 2 also has a neat safety system in place, so that if its propellers hit anything they stop completely and automatically.

Possibly the most important upgrade from the original Bebop, its successor can fly for 25 minutes before its battery runs out, as opposed to the original Bebop’s 10 minutes. A marked improvement, indeed.

And the price tag for all the pluses that the Parrot Bebop 2 drone brings is 549.99 $ if you buy it without the controller, just 50$ extra from the Bebop 1. If you buy the drone + controller bundle, it costs 799.99 $.

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