Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Top Ten Reviews may earn money when you click on links. A sleek design, two high-definition cameras and compatibility with video games make the Parrot AR.Drone an impressive remote controlled helicopter. You must have an iOS (iPhone, iPad or iPod) or Android device to control the helicopter. If you're already an iOS or Android user, you'll enjoy this unique device. Editor's Note: This review has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it no longer ranks as a top 10 product. The original review is below, but check out our current top 10 about RC Helicopters here.The camera on the AR.Drone 2.0 displays video at a 1280x720 resolution on your smartphone or tablet while you flyParrot has updated its popular AR Drone, adding a 720p camera to the high-flying gadget. The camera on the device displays video at a 1280x720 resolution on your smartphone or tablet while you fly, and flight video can be recorded and saved onto your mobile device to watch later on.

In addition to the camera, the Drone also now has a new AR.FreeFlight 2.0 application which offers a new flight interface and flight options. These include:FreeFlight: Provides access to the piloting application. The pilot can record flights, take HD videos or photos and save them in the piloting device. All the flight data (altitude, speed, duration and place) can be saved, checked by the pilot and shared with the community.Guest Space: An overview of the AR.Drone 2.0, the best flight videos and practical information.Drone Update: Provides access to the AR.Drone 2.0's free software updates.AR.Drone Academy: Allows users to get geolocation data of the best flight zones, watch other pilots' videos and access their shared flight data.AR.Games: Applications/games available for the AR.Drone.Photos/Videos: Lets users directly access their own videos and photos, and watch or upload to YouTube.The Drone 2.0 also includes a new pressure sensor for improved stability while you fly, and light-emitting diodes (green in front, red in rear) positioned on the landing gear, to help you track the orientation of the Drone while landing.

Drone 2.0 will be available in the second quarter of 2012 for US$299.99.Hobbyists launched the era of personal drones decades ago with radio-controlled model airplanes. More recently, drones have become synonymous with covert military operations and sneaky law-enforcement activity. But now the era of drones has come home, and the flying machines are better than ever. There are several interesting drones available to consumers now. ar drone parrot joystickSome are little more than indoor toys. parrot ar drone mini helicopterAmong the most popular and capable drone for outdoor use is the Parrot AR.buy insect spy dronesDrone 2.0 quadricopter, an incredibly stable and capable flying machine that takes HD video and which you control with your Android or iOS smartphone.parrot ar drone quad

I was excited to unbox the AR.Drone 2.0 Elite Edition ($300) I'd bought as a gift for my 12-year-old son (and, honestly, for myself), because I’d read that it was easy to fly. I've never had good luck with remote-control flying machines (most were broken or shelved by the end of Day 1). Drone has some limitations and frustrating aspects, but this quadricopter is an absolute blast to fly, and even an old guy like me, who’s not a gamer and is totally inept with joysticks, found it simple to operate. Setting up the AR.Drone's physical parts takes just a minute or two. It comes assembled except for its two hulls, one of which includes protective foam guard rings that surround each of four rotors. The guard is meant for indoor use. Even if your first flight is outside. Unfortunately before you can fly the thing you'll have to charge the battery, which takes between 2 and 2.5 hours. While the battery is charging, I suggest watching the tutorial videos. They will teach you all the basics you need for your first flight.

If I'd watched the videos, I wouldn't have crashed the thing into the sliding door before we ever got it out of the house, and the three flights it took us to figure out the controls would have been reduced to one. You'll also need to download the app to your iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android device. The user manual calls the app AR.FreeFlight 2, but in the Apple App Store it's just called FreeFlight. The app's Piloting feature — which is the main thing you'll use — isn't accessible until you've paired it with the drone's onboard Wi-Fi, after the battery is charged and just before you make your first flight. [Photos from Above: 8 Cool Camera-Carrying Drones] The battery slips easily into the drone, and the hull snaps on (rather loosely, actually, but it works just fine). Wi-Fi pairing can take a couple tries, especially if your smartphone is paired with your home Wi-Fi; you might want to go into your smartphone settings and look for the drone's Wi-Fi. I strongly recommend that your first flight be outside, in an open area, on a windless day.

You can do it inside, but be careful. Easy to fly, if you read the directions Because my son and I failed to read the directions or watch the training video, our first few flights were frustrating. The drone took off just fine, hovered on its own, but we couldn't maneuver it. After watching the video, the fun began. One useful tip: In preferences, put the app in Joystick mode. That allows you to operate the controls by sliding your thumbs up/down and left/right. If you're not in Joystick mode, you control the drone by actually tilting your phone, and this approach felt less intuitive for a beginner. It was easy to get the AR.Drone 30 feet or more into the sky (you can adjust maximum height in the app). It was easy to fly it forward. It was easy to turn it. What was harder was flying while turning and going up or down all at the same time. And sometimes, for no apparent reason, the drone struggled with basic forward flying, but we're pretty sure that's just inexperience on our part.

The biggest shortcoming quickly became my lack of video game skills, not the capabilities of the drone or the app. My son, on the other hand, literally flew circles around me (I had to duck a couple of times). One of this drone's best features, and one to look for if you purchase a drone from another company, is its self-stabilizing state. Stop all attempts to control it, and it'll stabilize and hover. And if it gets low on battery and you don't bring it back, it'll land itself. (Note: If you're getting low on battery, good idea to fly over open areas only, and bring it back before the battery runs out.) Once you've mastered the basics, go ahead and remove the safety guard. The drone is then much more maneuverable, and not so affected by a light breeze. Another excellent feature of this AR.Drone 2.0 is its onboard 720p video camera, which faces forward, and a lower-res camera that faces downward. The app receives and stores video while the quadricopter is in flight. The video quality is surprisingly good, and it's a load of fun seeing the world from a fresh perspective.

You can upload videos directly from the app to YouTube. [9 Totally Cool Uses for Drones] There are many other advanced features. In preferences in the app, you can enable flipping, so that a double tap will cause the drone to do a well controlled flip in midair. And you can alter the maximum allowable speed and height (you will likely want to raise the height limit within moments of your first flight — it's very cool to take the thing a hundred feet into the sky and get a bird's-eye view of your surroundings). You can see all sorts of tricks demonstrated on the company's YouTube channel. Battery life: One serious frustration is the lousy battery life. The company claims eight minutes, and we got about that much in each of several flights. The battery charges back up in about two hours. That puts a serious damper on taking the drone out to use at some distant location. You can buy a second battery to double your time in the field, or even go for the company's HD battery ($60), said to have 50 percent more power.

Range: The onboard Wi-Fi extends only about half the length of a football field, and conditions can cause the range to vary, the company says. When the drone is out of range, it will self-stabilize, and you simply move closer and regain control. But it is a frustratingly short range. Fragility: You'll be tempted to fly the AR.Drone indoors initially, thinking that the controlled environment will reduce the chances of breaking the thing. That would be a mistake. Just when I thought I'd figured out the control system, I crashed it into our sliding glass door and it fell to the floor. The protective foam guard rings broke in four places. But the box includes double-stick tape to make repairs with. Make sure you check out this how-to video before you attempt repairs. If you do it right, it's easy and the drone flies just fine subsequently. Outdoors with the guard rings off, we got the drone stuck in a tree once and another time it hit a tree and fell about 7 feet to the ground. Neither crash caused any damage.

Wind: With the guard rings on, forget flying this thing in the wind. We tried in a modest breeze, and upon takeoff, instead of stabilizing, it was blown backward 10 feet into a bush. With the guard rings off, though, it flies well in a light breeze. You'll need to work harder to steer clear of trees and other obstacles, though, as a breeze will change the flight dynamics: When flying into the breeze, the drone will tend to lose altitude quickly, for example, unless your flying skills are developed better than ours were. The company recommends not trying to fly it in winds over 9 mph (15 km/h). All that said, if you got this far and are thinking seriously about buying a drone that's more than an indoor toy, and you're a relative novice so far as drone piloting goes, the AR.Drone 2.0 is a solid choice. Digitaltrends calls it the "quintessential 'starter' drone." to suggest you might want to start with a cheaper drone: "Better to crash the $40 model or leave it up in a tree," the advice goes.