Testers Keepers wanted a Product Tester to review a Parrot Rolling Spider Drone. This review is from Kanan Hussain.
The quality of the drone is good and sturdy; it doesn't look poorly made. Sometimes it does feel lightweight and can feel fragile at times, especially when expanding the wheels, they do feel light and waiting to snap.
It's really entertaining for the size of it, although there are a lot of improvements that could be made regarding its operation.
This drone is somehow not an age restricted gadget to use. It can be used as a toy for kids or an adult gadget to take a picture or record a video, although not for a long time as the battery life has to be taken into consideration. For sure there is a better version of this gadget in the market, but is it in the same price range? Price is the other issue.
Based on the build and materials that were used for this drone the price is high. To challenge the market price and to attract the customers, it needs to be cheaper than the price now and will balance the look and the build or the material that the drone is made of.
It’s quite eye catching, but when it comes to the price this is the point when the customer's mind will have a second thought or thinking of comparing the gadget with another price-wise.
The jumping feature is awesome; it can jump on my working desk. I also used the mini-drone to jump up the stairs to the second floor and it worked. When it lands it straightens itself immediately.
The drone is very sensitive to the touch, almost like a pet, when you are about to touch it would make funny beeping noises. The camera is fun and good quality, great fun to spy on cats. You can capture your pictures and video using a micro USB flash drive.
It would be great if this product came together with a basic drone controller – I didn’t really like using the app as a controller. The drone’s instructions don’t reflect that the app name has changed to “free flight jumping” in instructions, it says you need to download “free flight 3” app which in this case is incorrect.
So, overall, it does take some time to set it up correctly. It was also frustrating when it comes to app updates; it took ages to figure it out. Also, it had not mentioned anything about updates and how to proceed with it in the instructions.
It means when you have new updates of the application you would need to connect the drone to your PC via USB cable and download the update from the Parrot website. If you do not update the app the drone won't work at all.
The other downside is the battery life, because 15-20 minutes of playtime is not enough. Also, when the battery is getting low the mini-drone can’t jump very high or jump at all. You need to buy some extra batteries to have longer playtime. This drone is mostly for indoor use only; it’s not made for grass or rocky roads. It especially doesn't like going over transitions from flooring to rugs.
I would rate this device four out of five, it is very cool and such a fun device to play with at any age. It’s definitely good for somebody who has pets or kids. It would also make an amazing gift for somebody who loves new technology.