[rwp-review id=”0″]
We’ve seen quite a few products from Parrot and they are flooding the market with drones ranging from the enthusiast to the hobbyist level and while Parrot has batted a few hit and misses. The Rolling spider is weirdly in a position that hits and misses for reason you will not be surprised as expected from Parrot. It’s an ideal toy for preteens who wants a primer on how to fly drones safely but while they may get some fun out of it, that fun’s short lived.
Design
The parrot comes with an ultrasonic sensor, 3 axis gyro and 3 axis accelerometer. There’s a vertical positioned camera too but this drone, among the few mini quadcopters I’ve seen is easy to maneuver. The “rolling”, of the rolling spider comes from the wheel attachment on the spider so you can use the extra lift and protects the propellers from getting damaged. I tried flying it without the wheels and the experience was more cumbersome. The problem with that is you’re going to invest in propellers since that’s the first thing that will come flying out in case of a crash. Packaged in box is the micro USB charger, personalization stickers to give your drone some identity and a battery.
Flying
There’s an app for that, all of Parrot’s drones are interfaced with the FreeFlight 3.0 app that’s now available across iOS, Android and Windows phone. I tested it on Android with HTC and the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra. You can connect most of their drones via wi-fi or bluetooth, in the case of the rolling spider it connects via Bluetooth and once it’s connected the app automatically opens to the launch controls and that’s it.
Flying’s fairly simple, taking off is done with a button and it will set the drone on hover mode which is why it’s a no brainer to operate. You can rotate, with dual joysticks which let you change altitude, rotation and flying direction. It’s got multiple modes, normal which is ideal for first time users and Ace which puts all the controls for one finger mode and you can do 90 or 180 degree turns. The app also lets your phone record your flights.
There’s no video capture, it does take low 640 x 480 snaps across. The side issue with trying to do more with the controls requires some tutorials which isn’t in the manual but rather as a series of tutorial videos on youtube through the app.
Battery
While Parrot makes great hardware, they certainly need to improve on their battery department, 8 minutes of playtime with a 90 minute charge means the novelty of flying a drone gets lost real quick. Especially for an audience that has varied attention spans. There’s not much to improve on here since other drones have comparable times, it’s imperative that Parrot gives you more out of your investment should you get their drone.
Verdict
Luckily, Parrot has a new range out that’s coming soon which promises better battery life. It’s a great starter drone for newbies but you’ll find yourself quickly moving on to bigger drones once you’ve mastered the basics. However the relative ease of manoeuvring and hassle free setup is a major plus with the Parrot Rolling Spider.
