Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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iFly Heli GYRO 3.5CH RC Helicopter
$25.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

These will be flying off the Woot! warehouse shelves at this price!

One day you guys are going to forget to put up that "You can't have our iProduct" text, and on that day, I WILL BE IN FOR THREE.

This would mean a LOT more to me if they were also Android compatible.

Apple....giving you LESS for MORE MONEY.

troller11 wrote:This would mean a LOT more to me if they were also Android compatible.

Apple....giving you LESS for MORE MONEY.

Can I get an Amen, brother?

troller11 wrote:This would mean a LOT more to me if they were also Android compatible.

Apple....giving you LESS for MORE MONEY.

If less let's you control a helicopter, I'll take less every time

troller11 wrote:This would mean a LOT more to me if they were also Android compatible.

Apple....giving you LESS for MORE MONEY.

Would have already bought one for me and a buddy if they did. Good job on bringing us a product that only appeals to a limited consumer base.

Here's a cool video.

So how long does this run on a full charge?

I've had one of these. They work pretty good for chasing the cat around the house, but the key words: IR, Infra-Red, not radio controlled! This means a) Forget about flying this outdoors and b) If the transmitter loses site of the 'copter, it will come down, fast! These are good for a few hard crashes, and you can also find replacement parts, plus instructions on how to fine-tune and adjust them, on many websites. But be warned that these are *not* a $200 RC helio. They sort of fly like a drunken moose - with practice, you can get them to fly fairly well, but a few good whacks on the ceiling causes the blades to bend/break, and then it flies like a pig, meaning not at all. Unless you call flopping to one side and crashing in seconds to be "flying". If that happens, start with a replacement tail rotor first, as it gets damaged more easily.

With the fact that you can get a Syma S107 for .50$ less, I'll pass.

...Time to fly my S107.

DMelton wrote:Good job on bringing us a product that only appeals to a limited consumer base.

Doesn't every product they sell only appeal to a limited customer base?

And did you complain similarly when they offered iPod/iPhone chargers/docking bases?

BTW, I saw these last week at Brookstone, for $99, marked down from $129.

OK, it says IR AS WELL AS RC!

IR is infared. It is transmitted by a LED, and is VERY line of sight, and also does NOT work in sunlight.

RC means Radio Controlled. RC is NOT line of sight, unless there is a LARGE METAL building in the way. RC also works VERY WELL in direct sunlight. (Since there are no illumination issues, with the treansmission.)

So, IR or RC?? Can't be both!

steve

http://www.hobbytron.com/GYROiFlyHeliMetal35CHElectricRTFRCHelicopter.html
It is compatible with any apple or android item that has app download capability

DMelton wrote:Would have already bought one for me and a buddy if they did. Good job on bringing us a product that only appeals to a limited consumer base.

Yeah...limited to the COOL customer base, that can fly their mini helicopter with their phone.

I don't know anything about these. Can someone tell me the difference between the woot offering and this - http://www.amazon.com/Syma-S107-S107G-Helicopter-Yellow/dp/B004A8ZRB0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329545056&sr=8-2

They look the same to me - but there must be some huge difference.

Thanks.

A Syma S107 is $22 on amazon and was actually $19 a week ago, a much better model.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A8ZRB0/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details

Is there any way to get this to work on an Android device? I really don't want to have to buy an iPhone just to play with a toy again.

those go about 2 feet then loose their signal its not worth the money!!!

This app makes it look like this will in fact work with Android devices:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.uprtek.rd2.icontroller.syma&hl=en

Also, the amazon listing here appears to suggest it works with Android:

http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Helicopter-Controlled-iPhone-Android/dp/B006GVYXO6

skou wrote:RC means Radio Controlled.

RC could mean radio controlled.

It could also mean remote controlled.

Sorry, but your argument is invalid. It's true that most hobby-grade R/C planes are radio controlled -- but many cheap toys are IR controlled. And a few really cheap toys have a wire -- but they're still remote controlled.

For an example of the ambiguity, if you look up R/C on wikipedia, the page says "radio control". But if you look up remote control vehicle it says "A remote control vehicle is defined as any mobile device that is controlled by a means that does not restrict its motion with an origin external to the device. This is often a radio control device, cable between control and vehicle, or an infrared controller."

Ultimately, the abbreviation R/C can and does mean both.

bmrbill wrote:Here's a cool video.

Not the same

I wouldn't buy squat from Hobbytron. We ordered a Helicopter from them for xmas. It came 5 days after xmas...DOA. Took 1.5 months to get a RMA. Had to pay to ship it back. Still waiting for the replacement. Do a Google search (which we should have BEFORE we bought from them) they have truly craptastic reviews.

As to the woot sale - the iphone controller sucks major balls (and not in a good way). A normal IR controller is bad enough, the iphone clip on and app is absolute crap.

Fun toys - just not this one.

troller11 wrote:This would mean a LOT more to me if they were also Android compatible.

Apple....giving you LESS for MORE MONEY.

I don't see why it wouldn't work....someone could reverse engineer the commands through the headphone jack.

How does this compare to the JADA battle machines copter? It has the two opposed blades and counter weight as well...and it was awesome to fly and control, until a kid hit it with a tennis ball and broke the counter weight, and lost a 'dogbone'......

Been on deals.woot a couple times.. lowest i have seen has been $38.95.+5 for shipping.

Good deal. And it does infact work with android. Uses your headphone jack to plug into

I wonder if this could lift a GoPro camera...

Maybe I overlooked it, but I wonder what the maximum flight range is from the remote control before you lose control???

Ceiling fans love to eat these things. Seriously, they are a blast.

Android app for these helicopters found here

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.uprtek.rd2.icontroller.syma

Good opportunity today also for Woot to sell iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad or Android devices to go with this good deal.

dpcollects wrote:These will be flying off the Woot! warehouse shelves at this price!

Pun intended lol?

ThunderThighs wrote:Can you be more specific about the iPhone controller? You've tried it? What did or didn't it do?

Next to impossible for any type of fine control. Simple hovering in place or landing on a legal pad is total luck due to the lack of anything close to precise control.

Remember, you'll be watching the helicopter fly, not the iphone. And there's little tactile feedback to where exactly you're moving the controls so it's hard to repeat as you learn the flight characteristics of the bird.

We've tried both the iPhone and Android versions (we're a engineering shop - so we have all the geek cubicle toys) - both are pretty much the same. You just can't perform the same control movement twice in a row.

Much better with the standard 3 channel IR controller (then they're a blast - you can get spare blades & parts for the S107 from Amazon).

As to the question about carrying a mini-video camera. Most likely that would be no. These things barely have enough power to lift themselves off the ground. They lift off at 5/8 throttle, and then as the battery runs down it slowly creeps up to full throttle just to stay off the deck. At full charge, maybe they could lift an additional 4 grams or so.

For our office races we strip off all the fancy stuff (main shell, landing gear, tail fins, flashing LED's, etc) Then they gain another few grams of lifting power (and are much faster in forward flight).

You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y95SOhxwAM8&feature=colike

On sale for $50 at hobbytron, regular price $75. Good Woot deal.

http://www.hobbytron.com/GYROiFlyHeliMetal35CHElectricRTFRCHelicopter.html

I had a similar styled helicopter (looks like the exact frame) CVS was selling over the holidays. It lasted about 10 min. before it took a hard landing, rolled on its side, and the main rotor never worked right after that.