Gadgets

In the present scenario, there are drones for everyone, for individuals at all experience levels, and for people of all age groups. Even your toddler can get it on the action now. There is a whole new range of best drones for children.

Drones for beginners or professionals are not always suitable for children under a certain age if the manufacturer targets them as mentioned. This is why it is always advised for parents when purchasing drones for kids, make sure the maker targets them at younger novice. This is because the purpose-built drones for children have designs that make flying them easier.

The last thing your kid wants to experience with his/her new drone is discouragement and frustration. But you can be rest assured that none of the picks in this ‘Best Drones for Children’ buying guide will cause these upsets.

Kids have been always fascinated with the flying objects. Kite flying continues to be popular and competing with paper planes is always fun. Now they have the next best thing in the form of ‘drones.’ Drones can help them learn about the mechanics and technology of a flying robot and don’t forget the fun.

#1  Holy Stone HS170 Predator Mini RC:

This neat little quadcopter is the perfect drone for your children or anyone else at the entry level. This mini quadcopter is the size of your hand and is recommended for the children above 14 years of age. This drone requires adult supervision and comes with a multitude of features and capabilities.

Features:

• Comes with a Carefree Mode or Headless Mode – meaning you don’t have to differentiate the drone’s front or back
• The drone has three-speed modes
• Boasts 6-Axis Gyro Technology and can easily perform impressive flips and rolls
• It is operated using a 2.4G remote controller for easy navigation
• The drone can fly up to 80m and for as long as 8 minutes after one hour of charging

PROS:

• Fun to fly
• Can upgrade the battery
• Crash-resistant
• Kids-friendly

CONS:

• No camera
• The control buttons are not marked

#2 GoolRC Scorpion T36 Mini Drone:

It is a cool toy-drone meant for kids of age 14 years and above. Due to its lightweight, this nifty mini-drone is compatible with indoor flying. The best thing about this product is that it requires no assembling, that is, it is ready to fly (RTF) straight out of the box. The drone is smaller than the size of your palm making it easier to control.

Features:

• Small size makes it compatible with indoor and open space drone flying experience
• The user manual perfectly explain the tuning of the drone, your kid will easily get the gist of flying it
• The drone offers fast and fiddle agility making it even more fun to fly
• The remote control looks exactly like a video game RC. Thus, your kids will easily get comfortable using the drone as well as the RC
• It sports a 6-axis gyro flight control system to deliver the best performance
• It has a control range of 30m and will give you 5 minutes of flight time

PROS:

• Powerful and responsive
• Quick battery charge time
• Bonus battery included
• Crash-resistant
• Includes a return to base button

CONS:

• Poor flight time
• Size too small, meaning it is easy to lose in the bushes

#3 Syma X5C-1 Explorers Camera Drone for Kids:

The next in our list is a bit a different drone both in terms of size and performance. Syma X5C-1 Explorers is one of the best drones for kids who want things little bigger and sturdy. This drone is bigger than the previous two drones we have discussed but is still lightweight and easy to fly both indoors and outdoors. The best thing about this drone is that it comes with an HD Camera.

Features:

• The drone is easy to use despite its bigger size and is a smooth flyer as well
• It uses 6-axis Gyro Stabilization technology for making the aircraft flexible and wind-resistant when in air
• It offers a flight time of 7 minutes for a 90-minute charge
• The remote control boasts an LCD screen that shows the status indicators
• The maximum control distance is about 30 meters from the transmitter
• It also has a small 2MP 720p HD camera

PROS:

• Steady flyer
• Crash-resistant
• Headless flight mode
• FPV upgrade potential
• High landing skids

CONS:

• Short flight time
• Long battery recharge time

#4 EACHINE H8 Mini Quad:

If you are looking for the best drones for children under a certain budget, then you should give a look at this beautiful piece of art. Not only it has an ergonomic design but it also comes in the list of the cheapest drones for kids. EACHINE H8 Mini Quad is recommended for kids above 12 years of age

Features:

• The drone comes with a propeller guard
• Headless mode makes it easier for the children to pilot the drone
• Offers 360° roll-overs for performing impressive rolls and flips
• Boasts four fancy LED lights for flying the drone in the dark
• Offers 6-7 minutes of flight time after a 45 minutes charge with a transmitter range of 30 meters

PROS:

• Fast battery charging time
• Great for kids flying for the first time
• Performs nice pirouettes

CONS:

• No camera
• Motors can get very hot after a short period of use
• High yaw rates

#5 Tenergy Syma X11C Drone:

Last but not the least; this is the final drone from our best drones for children list that you can avail for less than 50 bucks. The manufacturer is known for producing quality drones for kids and this product is for the children above 14 years of age.

Features:

• The drone comes with a 2MP camera that can be used even under blustery conditions
• The drone can make flight both indoors and outdoors
• It is durable and crash resistant, thanks to its solid plastic framework
• Offers 360° rolls
• Offers flight time of 7-8 minutes after a 40-minute charge with a transmission range of 30 meters

PROS:

• Stable and smooth flyer
• Wind and crash resistant
• Blade protection

CONS:

• The user manual could be confusing
• The camera works poorly in low light

Final Verdict

Don’t let the low price of these quadcopters put you off. It is remarkable to see how these low-budget drones fly robustly. These are the best drones for children you can look for.

Belkin Launches First Apple-Approved Portable iPhone battery pack With A Lightning Port Input

Belkin has just released the first Apple-approved portable power bank with a Lightning port input for charging the battery. This power bank is officially certified under Apple’s MFi licensing program, which assures that the product meets Apple’s standards for quality and compatibility.

According to Belkin, the new power bank is the “first MFi-power bank to recharge via Lightning connector”. The device is marketed directly at iPhone and iPad owners.

Called the BOOST CHARGE Power Bank 10K with Lightning Connector, it offers 10,000 mAh of charging power that can recharged over Apple’s Lightning connector either by using a USB-to-Lightning cable or a compatible Lightning dock, which is sold separately.

The Power Bank 10K features two USB Type-A ports as output, which means you can charge two devices at once. One USB-A port charges at 2.4A, which is for faster charging of iPhones and iPads while the other one is at 1A for slower charging. However, it does not come with USB-C. It also offers a button-activated set of four LEDs on the top of the Power Bank 10K that shows your current battery charge level. If required, you can use the button to toggle between charging input and output modes.

The power bank comes with an over-charging protection for safety as well as an auto-sleep mode to avoid unnecessary power loss. Notably, it does not support pass-through charging. The device measures 154.45 x 71.00 x 17.00 mm and weighs 240 grams. The case is made of plastic polymer and comes with a 2-year warranty. The Power Bank 10K will be available in two color variants: black or white with a two-tone satin and glossy design.

Belkin’s Boost Charge Power Bank 10K with Lightning Connector will cost $59.99 with the product shipping in early August. Currently, the device is available for pre-order from the Belkin website.

GoPro’s new entry-level ‘HERO’ is now available for $199

GoPro has announced their newest “go-anywhere, capture-anything” entry-level action camera known as ‘HERO’ that is targeted at the low-end consumer market. HERO is easy to use, durable, and affordable and intended “for people looking to share experiences beyond what a phone can capture,” claims the company.

“HERO is a great first GoPro for people looking to share experiences beyond what a phone can capture,” says Meghan Laffey, GoPro’s SVP of Product. “HERO makes it easy to share ‘wow’ moments at a price that’s perfect for first-time users.”

The HERO, which looks like the HERO5 and HERO6, comes with a 2-inch color touchscreen display on the back. It also comes with a tiny monochrome display on the front, which shows information like video quality, battery and storage remaining. The device has a built-in 4GB storage, which is expandable up to 128GB by using a microSD card.

The HERO features a single burst capture option (10 frames per second), as well as one time-lapse setting (0.5 seconds per shot). It takes 10-megapixel photos, instead of 12 megapixels, unlike its higher-end siblings. It can record video with a resolution of 1440p at 60 frames per second, which is just above the basic 1080p capabilities. However, it can’t shoot 4K or super-slow-motion footage. The device is water resistant up to 30 feet (1o meters) and can be used to shoot underwater footages.

GoPro also brings its digital video stabilization system to this new camera. It includes built-in hands-free voice control, which can start and stop recording, turn off the camera, and more. Additionally, it includes noise control that’s powered by three internal microphones. The HERO still uses an older Ambarella chip and not the GP1 image processor like the HERO6 Black.

The HERO is compatible with the GoPro app (iOS and Android) and can also auto-edit videos via QuikStory. In addition, it also has all the connectivity features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which makes sharing videos and images a lot easier. It is compatible with 30+ GoPro mounting accessories.

For those who are interested and want to take the camera to the next level, can subscribe to GoPro’s PLUS subscription service. According to GoPro, “cloud backup, damaged camera replacement, 20-percent off accessory discounts and more are included with a PLUS subscription for just $4.99 a month, cancellable anytime.”

Check out the video below:

The HERO waterproof action camera is now available for $199.99 and place orders on B&H Photo. The retail package includes a camera, rechargeable battery, mounting buckle, frame, curved & flat adhesive mount and a USB-C Cable.

Source: GoPro, The Verge

Huawei’s FreeBuds can function for 10 hours on a single charge, twice that of Apple’s Airpods

There is no denying that even the top smartphone manufacturers try to copy or clone some of the best smartphone features of its competitors and implement it in their devices so that they can attract more consumers and expand their market.

First, it was Apple’s iPhone X style notch design that was copied by few of its competitors, and now it is Apple’s AirPods – a set of wireless earbuds – that has caught the fascination of Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer company.

In a recently held launch event of Huawei’s most anticipated Huawei P20/P20 Pro flagship smartphones and the Mate RS, the company also unveiled a compatible audio accessory what appeared to be the most expensive AirPod ripoffs yet called as “FreeBuds”.

Huawei’s FreeBuds comes with 10 hours of playback time when fully charged, which is twice that offered by the Apple accessory on a single charge. It can be recharged when placed inside its charging case. According to Huawei, FreeBuds offers superior noise isolation when compared to Apple’s Airpods.

The FreeBuds will be made available in two color options: black and white. It will be priced at €159 (US$195), which is slightly cheaper compared to Apple’s AirPods, which is €179 (US$220).

The Chinese company also announced the Huawei Active Noise Canceling Earphones and a new DAC Headphone Amplifier, which uses an “audiophile-grade” digital-to-analog converter to get the best audio out of your smartphone.

What do you think about Huawei’s ripoff of Apple’s Airpods? Do let us know in the comments section below.

Source: The Verge

U.S. Navy launches submarine with an Xbox controller

In September last year, the U.S. Navy had confirmed that it would be replacing the periscope used on previous submarines and instead be using Microsoft Xbox 360 controllers to operate periscopes on its newest submarines, and Virginia-class submarines.

Now, almost six months since the announcement, the USS Colorado – the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest Virginia-class attack submarine – went into service last Saturday.

The USS Colorado is the first attack submarine to use an Xbox controller for maneuvering the photonics masts. Other submarines have joysticks. The controller operates two photonics masts, which house visible and infrared digital cameras on top of telescoping arms.

“The Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine, USS Colorado (SSN 788) is equipped with non-penetrating digital camera periscopes called Photonics Masts.

“Normally, submarines are built with two classic style periscopes. The Technical Insertion called TI-14, and Advanced Processing Build APB-13, allows the Photonics Masts the option to be controlled with wired video game controllers.

“Though others have tested prototypes, Colorado is the first submarine operating from the start with the gaming controllers,” states the US Navy site.

The high-resolution cameras on the masts can rotate 360 degrees and feed imageries to monitors in the ship’s control room.

According to Cmdr. Reed Koepp, the Colorado’s commanding officer, using off-the-shelf technology not only helps the Navy save money but it is also advantageous as many of the young sailors already know how to use the controllers.

The new submarine, which is 377 feet (115 meters) long, 34 feet (10 meters) wide and weighs approximately 7,800 tons when submerged, went into service from the naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut. It is the 15th member of the Virginia class of submarines to join the fleet.

Attack submarines are built in a partnership between General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut and Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia at a cost of around $2.7 billion apiece.

“USS Colorado is a true marvel of technology and innovation, and it shows the capability that our industrial partners bring to the fight,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Today’s world requires undersea platforms designed for dominance across a broad spectrum of regional and littoral missions, and I am confident Colorado will proudly serve in defense of our nation’s interests for decades to come.”

Facebook to launch smart home speakers with 15-inch display in July

Facebook is looking to take upon Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot, a brand of smart speakers developed by Amazon.com alongside Google Home and Google Home Max, by bringing its own set of smart speakers in the market.

According to a report in Taipai-based website Digitimes, the social networking giant is planning to enter the global smart speaker market by launching two speakers in July 2018 that are mainly aimed to allow family and friends stay in touch with each other through video chat and other social integrations.

“The sources said that the Facebook move is expected to further heat up the global smart speaker market, which has been crowded with heavyweight players, including top supplier Amazon and other tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Apple and many China players including Alibaba. According to estimates by market researcher Canalys, the global market sales of smart speakers are likely to double to over 50 million units in 2018 from 2017,” the report states.

Codenamed, Aloha and Fiona, both the speakers are designed by Facebook’s Building 8 R&D center and will have massive 15-inch LG Display touchscreens. Taiwan’s Pegatron is reported to be the sole contract assembler for the devices.

The model ‘Aloha’, to be promoted under the official name Portal, is expected to be the more high-end model and will use voice-controlled technology. Besides this, it will include “facial recognition to identify users for accessing Facebook through a wide-angle lens on the front of the device,” the report added. It will also have more social networking functions although details are yet unknown. On the other hand, the Fiona model is believed to have less advanced functionalities, but it will include voice commands.

Facebook has signed music licensing contracts with Sony and Universal Music for smart home speakers, which means both the speakers should offer music streaming services to enrich the device’s applications.

Facebook wanted to originally launch the devices in May, but then decided to delay the launch to perfect the acoustic quality and software, the report notes.

Both the devices are expected to form the base for Facebook’s long-term plan to build an ecosystem of video consumer devices that the social media giant plans to bring out during the next five years. The smart speaker is just the initial-stage product, with more terminal devices expected to be rolled out in the coming years, the report added.

Source: DigiTimes

Police in China wear hi-tech facial recognition sunglasses to nab suspects

Chinese police have found a unique way to identify potential criminals and fight crime. Police in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan Province located in east-central China have introduced high-tech facial-recognition sunglasses to arrest offenders in the province’s railway station, according to the Communist Party’s official newspaper People’s Daily.

Liu Tianyi, at LLVision, the firm that developed the GLXSS Pro smart glasses, says the glasses are so light that the police officers can wear them all day.

The special glasses are currently being used by four officers patrolling a crowded train station in Zhengzhou, Henan province during Chinese New Year, the busiest time for the country’s transport system. More than 389 million train trips are likely to be made between the peak period of February 1 and March 12, which is when people return home for holidays

The glasses have a small camera attached to a smartphone-like device that allows the officers to take photos of suspicious individuals and run the headshot in their database. Using the technology, the database can in real time provide individual’s personal details, including name, ethnicity, gender, address and criminal records. All the information would be transferred back to the officer’s glasses. It also informs officers whether the suspect, the hotel address where they are staying and even their recent Internet history.

“The glasses — which resemble Google Glass — are connected to a police database that can match passengers with criminal suspects,” said a report in the People’s Daily online.

“The facial information captured by the glasses will be sent back to a database for comparison with the information of suspects on the wanted list,” Zhang Xiaolei, an employee at the publicity office of Henan’s Department of Public Security, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

With the help of these high-tech sunglasses, police at the Zhengzhou East Railway Station have nabbed 33 suspects, of which 7 are accused of human trafficking and hit and runs, while 26 are accused of using fake IDs.

However, these programs have drawn strong criticism by human-rights groups and privacy advocates, who say that the implementation of this technology invades on people’s right to privacy.

“Chinese authorities seem to think they can achieve ‘social stability’ by placing people under a microscope, but these abusive programs are more likely to deepen hostility towards the government,” Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, had previously said about different facial recognition technology being used to monitor religious minorities. “Beijing should immediately stop these programs, and destroy all data gathered without full, informed consent.”

Clips camera now available for pre-order in the Google Play Store

Back in October 2017 at the “Made by Google” hardware event, Google had announced an AI (artificial intelligence) powered camera called “Clips” that captures images and video on your behalf. The tech giant has now quietly put the Clips camera on sale.

“This year, people will take about a trillion photos, and for many of us, that means a digital photo gallery filled with images that we won’t actually look at,” Google writes. “This is especially true with new parents, whose day-to-day experience is full of firsts.

“During moments that can feel precious and fleeting, users are drawn to their smartphone cameras in hopes of capturing and preserving memories for their future selves. As a result, they often end up viewing the world through a tiny screen instead of interacting using all their senses.”

It measures just 2.0” x 2.0” x 0.8” and weighs a mere 1.5 ounces. The lightweight, autonomous, hands-free camera that is tiny in size comes with Moment IQ, a machine learning algorithm that lets it figure out who’s important and the ‘right time’ to capture images based on expressions, lighting and framing.

“Google Clips is smart enough to recognize great expressions, lighting and framing. So the camera captures beautiful, spontaneous images. And it gets smarter over time,” Google’s website reads.

Google Clips camera has a low-light mode and automatically adjusts its resolution according to the situation. Further, the camera comes with a 130-degree lens to fit more of the scene in the frame and is protected with Gorilla Glass. It can capture up to 15 frames per second and later use machine intelligence to automatically select the best shots from that burst mode.

The square-shaped camera, which measures about 2-inch, comes with a 12-megapixel sensor and automatically shoots images and small video loops. There is also a manual shutter button and power can be controlled via twisting the lens. The most interesting part is that the camera comes with a clip stand, so that it can stand on its own. On the other hand, the camera can stand upright on its flat base even without the clip.

The camera comes with 16GB of internal storage, and a battery which can function for up to three hours of capture with a Wi-Fi Direct for transferring photos to the smartphone. Currently, the app’s smartphone compatibility is limited and is compatible with the Google Pixel, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S8 running on Android 7.0 or greater, as well as iPhones 6 and up running on iOS 10 and greater. The device includes Bluetooth LE and a USB-C port, wherein the latter is used to recharge the camera.

What is interesting is that Google starts its processing on the Clips camera itself, rather than in the cloud. Everything is saved locally unless you decide to share it online. Even without cloud processing, it can recognize faces and more.

The Google Clips camera is up for pre-order at $249 for the users in U.S. and the shipping is expected to start on February 27th or 28^th or early March.

Sgnl wristband lets you make calls using a finger

World’s first BCU (Body Conduction Unit) would now make it possible to receive phone calls through your hands. The technology is yet to be released this year post March and is going to bring revolution in the domain of wearable technology.

The product is derivative of Samsung’s C-Lab. Both of these devices with other similar spin-offs are currently being showcased in Las Vegas at CES 2018. People at the CES event who got a chance to use the device were able to listen to music by placing their fingertip near their ear while wearing the Sgnl device on the wrist of that fingertip. Although, the main motive of the device is not listening to music but to have a phone conversation.

The Sgnl works in few steps. It transmits vibrations from the user’s wrist to their fingertips via their bones. Yes, it transmits through bones. And when the fingertip is placed next to ear converts into sound which can be heard via the user and a phone call happens successfully. One advantage of this is that no one except the user will be able to hear the vibrations and the phone calls can be received safely. It means there won’t be any need to take out mobile phones from the pocket.

The Sgnl technology not only can make calls but do other important stuff as well. It can also work as pedometer, sleep monitor, fitness tracker and has many apps which can be integrated with it. Sgnl’s strap can be affixed with any traditional watch or wrist band.

It can store up to five contacts through which phone calls can made using the basic Sgnl’s interface. Although, later it’s assumed to get updated and store more than five contacts. It also means until that happens, user will have to take out phone for phones calls other than those five.

This device is compatible with both Android as well as iOS and is water resistant. It posses a battery life of four hours of call time and up to four days in the standby mode.

Right now, it’s in nascent stage but we all are excited for this new technology and waiting for its release.

Source: Sgnl via Engadget

Meet ‘MyLifi’, a desktop lamp that delivers secure internet via LEDs

Oledcomm, a French company, debuted the first-ever LiFi powered lightbulb that delivers super-fast internet via infrared light for consumer use at the CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

Oledcomm’s ‘MyLifi’, is an industrial-style desktop lamp that provides secure, wireless and radio-wave-free Internet access to any compatible device through the data-transferring power of LEDs. It uses a new technology called Li-Fi or Light Fidelity, which allows devices to connect to each other via LED lights.

Considered as an alternative to the traditional Wi-Fi technology, MyLifi connects your device to the internet using invisible LEDs and a special dongle. The data is transferred between the bulb and the dongle via invisible, blinking LEDs, which means the lamp doesn’t even need to be on in order to connect. It modulates and decrypts light signals transmitted from an LED light bulb and converts it into data that your device can understand.

The lamp delivers low latency, fast and reliable internet to any connected device, according to the company. It guarantees a top download speed of 23Mbps, and upload speed of 10Mbps. The lamp comes with one dongle and can be pre-ordered now on Indiegogo for $840.