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Parrot Bebop Lands in December for $499

Following its announcement of the Bebop drone back in May, Parrot today has said the copter will be available in December starting at $499 at Best Buy and Apple stores and online. Availability for the UK and Australia won’t be until the beginning of 2015 and pricing not announced, but the US price converts to around £320 and AU$570, although expect final prices to vary. Though its earlier models, the AR.Drone and AR.Drone 2.0, had cameras built-in, video and picture quality didn’t seem to be a priority. But with the Bebop it’s front and center with an f/2.2 fish-eye lens with a 180-degree angle of view and a 14-megapixel sensor.
It can capture video at 1080p full-HD resolution; the old AR.Drone 2.0 is limited to 720p. Video is recorded to the Bebop’s 8GB of internal storage (there’s no microSD or SD card slot) in MP4 format. Photos can be captured in JPEGs or Adobe DNG raw format. Parrot takes advantage of the extra resolution to let you digitally pan and zoom your picture as well as give you three-axis image stabilization. Though this might not be as good a solution as putting the camera on a gimbal, it likely allows Parrot to cut costs and keep the Bebop light — its maximum weight is 400 grams (14.1 ounces) — and compact too. It measures roughly 12 inches (28 cm) square and 1.5 inches (3.6 cm) tall.

Like its other drones, piloting is done with a smartphone or tablet. However, for those of you who want physical controls instead of just using touch, Parrot also has the new Skycontroller. This’ll give you more of a ground-control experience while also improving wireless communication thanks to its amplified Wi-Fi radio and four antennas, allowing you to fly farther and higher.

You’ll be able to pick up the Skycontroller bundled with a Bebop in December as well for $899 (£575 or AU$1,030 converted).