Swann Quad Starship Brings RC Flight Back To Basics

Today's remote control vehicles – like the Swann Quad Starship – aren't like the simple wired-and-one-way cars of the past. What we've got now are machines that do just about anything, controlled with your smartphone or remotely, flying, diving, and driving like mad. The Swan Quad Starship only does a few of these things – it's essentially a return to the basics (with flight intact).

The Swann Quad Starship is certainly nothing like the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0. Not unless you count the four propellers that hold it aloft. The Quad Starship takes things in a different direction than the higher-end Parrot solution, here aiming for the lower end with just enough power and finesse to land inside the futuristic collection of gadgets and gizmos we chat about daily.

This device works with a Swann 2.4GHz wireless control. With it, you're able to command the Swann Quad Starship from a whopping 330 feet away. Once you're out of power, you'll be charging up using standard USB port technology. On the downside of this equation, you'll only be jamming through the wind at 8 minutes of flight per full charge.

In other words, you wont be making any extremely long treks with this module. On the positive side, you will be able to work with what's called "Easy-Fly Gyro" technology which will allow turns, dives, flips, tumbles, and stunts – Swann promises.

This is Swann's first flying copter sort of machine – they're generally in the business of creating do-it-yourself security systems and cameras of all sorts. They've just released it this month for a cool $79.99, ready to go to battle with the bigger guns right out of the box right this minute if not extremely soon.