What’s it like to use AOL dial-up internet in 2017?
Remember dial-up? It wasn’t so long ago that a 56K modem was the default method of getting online. The unforgettable sound of a successful connection. The undisputable inconvenience of occupying the phone line. The sheer sense of speed as web pages filled your screen piece by piece.
Rather than just buying a dial-up subscription, you need to opt in to a package that’s packed with junk that you likely don’t need.
However, dial-up isn’t completely dead. There are many areas in the United States where broadband infrastructure was never put in place, so residents are forced to stick with dial-up. On top of that, there’s a category of users who choose dial-up over broadband to save money. A 2013 report by the Pew Research Center indicated that three percent of Americans were still using a dial-up connection — a small, but significant slice of the population.
I wondered what it was like to use dial-up today. Is it too slow to get anything done? Or are we spoiled by the ubiquity of Wi-Fi and LTE, and dial-up internet isn’t that bad? Hug your modern router in close, and make sure you appreciate how good today’s internet service is, because taking a step back into yesteryear is no fun.
Please Hold
It was easy to subscribe to AOL back in the day. Installation disks flowed like an endless river, with households in the United States and further afield being subjected to an unending onslaught of these CDs and DVDs via their mailboxes.
Today, things are a little more complex. Dial-up internet access is just one component of the AOL Advantage Premium plan — which is not to be confused with other plans like Advantage Plus, Advantage Premium Plus, and Total Advantage Platinum Plus.
Bryan Ochalla / Flickr
All these plans contain a cavalcade of features and benefits, ranging from a discount on FiOS bundles, to a piece of software designed to “disguise your keystrokes so hackers can’t see the sensitive information you type.” Rather than just taking out a dial-up subscription, you need to opt in to a package that’s packed with junk that you likely don’t need.
The cheapest option I could find was priced at $14.99 per month. I signed up without issue, but once my subscription was active, there was no obvious way of taking advantage of the dial-up connection I was owed. Back in the 1990s, I would have expected to received an information packet in the mail, at the very least, but this is where the bloated package I subscribed to really came back to bite me.
My AOL Advantage Premium Plan had so many “added benefits” beyond dial-up, that informing me of how to use everything included would have been completely overwhelming. Instead, AOL gives users a drip-feed of information about their plan. In the weeks following the creation of my account, I received emails about activating various features. Perhaps, if I waited long enough, I’d get one about setting up my dial-up connection.
More: 83-year-old gets hit with $24,289 bill from AT&T by using AOL’s dial-up service
The assumption seems to be that anyone pursuing dial-up in 2017 probably knows what they’re doing, and doesn’t need any direction. Even though millions of people in the U.S. still rely on dial-up, that number is dwindling — while existing users continue to use their connections, there aren’t many new users joining their ranks.
I wasn’t entirely sure of what to do next, so I decided to call AOL support. I was connected to a courteous and diligent representative with no idea how to fix my problem. I imagine that the amount of calls that AOL receives that are related to dial-up connections is miniscule, so there’s no reason to continue training every member of support staff on how to troubleshoot this outdated technology.
Brad Jones/Digital Trends
Putting the fruitless phone call behind me, I attempted to set up a dial-up connection on a computer. Not my computer, because I knew that I needed to install AOL’s desktop client, and doing so on a computer than I rely on for work seemed tantamount to pouring acid into my eyes and hoping I’d still be able to see afterwards.
This is about the time that I realized the scope of what I was dealing with. Modern hardware makes internet setup close to a plug-and-play solution. Dial-up, a relic of the past, offers few modern conveniences.
Modem, Mo’ Problems
Naively, I thought there might be some way to use my current router as a means of forging a dial-up connection. Failing that, I was hopeful that I could scrounge up a PC old enough to contain an internal modem. That proved optimistic. After an unsuccessful test period, I was forced to admit I’d need to buy new hardware to make use of my new AOL subscription. A quick trip to Amazon.com yielded a range of low-cost modems that could connect to my PC via USB.
After an unsuccessful test period, I was forced to admit I’d need to buy new hardware to make use of my new AOL subscription.
Yet the confusion piled on. My first choice turned out to be an older model, and didn’t specify support for Windows 10. Likely, it would have worked just fine, but there was a chance that it might arrive, and prove to be unusable due to something as simple as a lack of updated drivers. I opted for an alternative that was confirmed to work with Windows 10.
Setting up the modem proved to be its own unique challenge. The device came with a free RJ11 cable, but to cut costs, it was only a few inches long. My computer, of course, wasn’t literally inches away from my nearest phone jack. In the end, I disconnected another telephone and used that cable, though it still wasn’t long enough, and I had to shift the computer tower closer to the telephone outlet. Which was rather annoying.
My struggles here were no fault of dial-up internet, or AOL. It was more a case of attempting to force a square peg into a round hole, like going to a furniture store in 2017 and expecting to find stands that will fit a tube TV from the 1950s. I was deliberately taking a step back into the past, so I could accept that things weren’t going to be as easy as they could be. But if the only way I could access the internet was via dial-up, I perhaps wouldn’t be so accommodating.
Access Denied
Having set up my hardware, and checked Device Manager to ensure that my modem was being recognized, I was sure that the physical components of my dial-up connection were in place. Now, it was time to wrestle with AOL Desktop.
Brad Jones/Digital Trends
As mentioned earlier, I had some apprehensions about this piece of software, so I chose not to install it on my primary computer. Knowing what I do now, I can safely say that the toll it took on me personally was much worse than anything it could have done to my PC.
My first stumbling block was the access number required to make a dial-up connection. Back in the days of 56K, service providers would supply users with a local telephone number that the modem would use to connect to the internet. The current version of AOL Desktop can source an access number automatically — but in my case, that didn’t work.
These numbers are listed online, so I keyed in my state and my nearest city to find one. But that number didn’t work, either. I tried a couple of different numbers that were local, just in case the one serving the small city I live in had been deactivated. No dice.
More: Think your internet is slow? It probably has something to do with where you live
I had no intention of calling support again, so I embarked upon an online chat with a customer care representative named Jack. I could be wrong, but based on his habit of starting every sentence with ‘could you please,’ and his complete reliance on AOL support documents in response to my questions, I’m fairly convinced that Jack was a bot.
Whether Jack was a bot, or simply an underpaid comp-sci grad working his way toward an IT administrator position, remains a mystery. Either way, the support documentation he sent me was of little help.
The first guide Jack sent me was a five-step guide to setting up a dial-up modem, which was apparently rewritten in October 2015, but still used images from February 2007. In theory, this would have been a great resource. In practice, the only information it offered that you couldn’t get from the AOL Desktop user interface was a method of choosing a generic modem profile — which turned out to be irrelevant, in the end.
The second guide Jack sent me was about troubleshooting a dial-up connection. This paranoid piece of documentation was largely concerned with other people, objects, and organizations that could be at fault; loose cables, telephone service providers, the user, and the phase of the moon (okay, we made that last one up). The most actionable advice on offer was to reboot the system and the modem, which I’d already done.
In fact, I’d read these two guides before ever speaking to Jack, because they comprise roughly half of the support content on the AOL website that’s related to dial-up connections. Confronted with this reality, Jack suggested that I call AOL’s support helpline, but I’d had enough.
Instead, I just kept trying to log on, as I had been doing at various points of the process. Sometimes I would make slight adjustments to settings that seemed relevant, like the access number I was using. Other times I wouldn’t change a thing. Eventually, it worked. Not off the back of some Eureka moment, just as the result of dogged persistence. Why? Honestly, I’m not sure.
I consider myself to be proficient with computers, and technology in general. Still, I hadn’t used dial-up in years, so I was constantly second-guessing myself while I was trying to make it work. When I was unable to connect, I assumed that I had done something wrong, and set about trying to fix the problem.
The whole experience reminded me of the temperamental internet that I used daily when I was younger. And getting online didn’t end my woes.
Waiting…
You can imagine my excitement when, after many attempts, I was finally given access to the promised land of dial-up internet. I was ready to run speed tests on the likes of Google, Facebook, and Digital Trends. Then everything ground to a halt.
Then and now: Login and front pages for AOL Dial-Up 2.0, left, and AOL Desktop 9.8.2.
AOL Desktop attempted to load a welcome screen, which caused the software to throw a major tantrum about a DNS error that spanned two separate windows. At this point, all I had done was click New Window, so I started to infer that this wasn’t going to be the most stable browsing experience.
Later, I would try and run a test on how long it took for this welcome screen to load. I stopped my timer at two minutes, with the task complete. However, clicking New Tab made the page load instantly, albeit with some images missing. As I wondered how to factor this into my testing, the software crashed, and I was forced to call upon Task Manager.
I persevered, and decided to load Google. It took around 30 seconds to load the search engine to a usable state, and around 45 seconds to load everything, including superficial components like the Google logo. It took a whopping one minute and 15 seconds for Google to carry out a search for ‘Digital Trends,’ and the results prompted a freeze that only Task Manager could fix.
Speed testing my dial-up connection seemed an exercise in futility. It’s like recording the time it takes a basketball to reach the net as I attempt half-court shots. Sure, I can record that information, but the number of shots that even hit the rim would be a more useful metric.
It took a whopping one minute and 15 seconds for Google to carry out a search for ‘Digital Trends.’
Constantly, my connection would drop without warning, seemingly at random. Even AOL’s browser seemed out to get me. I tried typing in “google.com” several times, and the address bar wouldn’t accept it. I incorrectly wrote “aol.colm” once, and my next three attempts to input text into the address bar were replaced by my misspelling.
I wrote a list of words in my notebook to describe my experience grappling with AOL dial-up — nagging, imprecise, fiddly, annoying, frustrating, inconsistent. However, more than anything, it felt familiar. I remembered my early internet usage. Connections failing at random, attempts to log on at certain times to see whether it worked better, confusion about whether I was doing something wrong, or whether the system was at fault.
A reminder of broadband’s importance
Today, accessing the internet is a straightforward process for a lot of people. Every stage of the process, from setting up your hardware, to making a connection, to surfing the web, has been streamlined.
My frustrating step back in time reminded me of how far we’ve come, and illustrated how important broadband is to everyday life. Imagine trying to apply for a job over dial-up. Or applying to renew your driver’s license. Or trying to view your bank account. These commonplace and arguably essentially tasks would prove almost impossible on an old-fashioned 56K modem.
It’s not just access to the Internet that matters. The speed of that access is important, too. Whether you’re reading this article on a broadband Wi-Fi connection, or via LTE on your phone, be thankful for the technology we have today. And if you’re reading this on a dial-up connection, well — my condolences.
Understanding ‘Assistant’ in Google Photos and what it can do for you
There’s lots to wrap your head around in Google Photos, but the new Assistant feature is here to help.
Whether you want to check up on the status of your photo backups, see the Creations that Google Photos has made for you, or be alerted of space to be freed up on your device, Assistant is the place to go. It’s just a tap, swipe, or click away from your photo library, and it’ll keep you in the loop with what’s going on in the Google Photos world.
It’s like an all-in-one notification center for everything that’s happening with your photos, and it’s quite useful. Here’s how you use it.
- What’s Google Photos Assistant?
- How to view Assistant notifications
- How to enable Google Photos notifications
- How to disable Assistant cards
What’s Google Photos Assistant?
If you just opened up Google Photos for the first time and got straight into viewing photos, you may have missed the Assistant area. You’ll find the menu in the slide-in left panel of the Google Photos app or website or by simply swiping to the right across the main gallery view.
The Assistant is appropriately named, as it’s the one place where you’ll get updates about what’s happening with your Google Photos library. You’ll get Google Now-like cards that show when photos are being backed up, whether the phone is waiting to charge before uploading, and when new “Creations” (formerly known as Auto Awesomes) are available to view and act on. You can even get notified when your device is running low on internal storage and with a single tap clear out local versions of photos that have already been backed up to Google Photos.
Cards will each offer you different actions, but in general they’ll be pretty basic — either act on the item with a tap on the function at the bottom, or swipe away the card to dismiss it. Some notifications in Assistant such as a battery upload warning can’t be swiped away but will clear on their own once the function has been completed.
How to view Assistant notifications
Open Google Photos.
Tap on the plus icon at the bottom left of your screen to open Assistant. Here you will see cards with new creations, and other notifications.
How to enable Google Photos notifications
Open Google Photos.
Tap the overflow button in the upper left corner of your screen. It looks like three stacked lines.
Tap on the gear icon to open settings.
Scroll down and tap on the toggle to turn notifications on or off.
How to disable Assistant cards
Open Google Photos.
Tap the overflow button in the upper left corner of your screen. It looks like three stacked lines.
Tap on the gear icon to open settings.
Tap on Assistant cards.
Tap on the toggle to disable the type of Assistant card you don’t want to see anymore.
With Assistant at the ready, you’ll never be left out of what’s happening in your Google Photos library.
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below.
Expect to see BlackBerry’s name (and tech) on more devices
A few years ago we had all the jokes about BlackBerry and licensing, but yesterday the company reported a higher profit than analysts were expecting and says that its licensing program will expand soon. Right now, BlackBerry licenses its name and Android-based software for devices made by other companies. In December TCL announced it would be the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of BlackBerry phones in most countries, but now BlackBerry says it’s pursuing “additional endpoints.” That could include “tablets, wearables, medical devices, appliances, point-of-sale terminals and other smartphones.”
On the company’s earnings call, CEO John Chen said (via Seeking Alpha) that “We are now expanding to the next phase of our licensing program. This will focus on a broader set of endpoints. What this might mean, and I make no promise, is that you may soon see a BlackBerry tablet, and it will also extend to cobranded handset with IoT and Enterprise of Things to EoT devices. These endpoints will run our software and security features and be cobranded Secure by BlackBerry.”
The exec was careful not to promise anything, but it’s clear where the company is going. With connected devices spreading throughout homes and offices, it feels the BlackBerry name and technology still provides a level of comfort and security. Wherever those smart devices go, a BlackBerry-branded and powered device could follow. The example Chen used was with medical devices, saying that “companies providing medical monitoring devices must protect health data on the device, guarantee it connects securely to the healthcare system, and most importantly ensure that it cannot be hacked, BlackBerry Secure helps solve this triple threat.”
Add in the well-received KEYone that’s due to launch later this month, and Chen’s plan to remake the company looks like it might be moving in the right direction.
Source: BlackBerry Q4 2017 Earnings, (2)
SoundCloud brings Chromecast streaming to iOS
With a new subscription tier and a fresh bank loan, SoundCloud is moving right ahead with business as usual. Today’s update brings a sorely missed compatibility so you can now play your SoundCloud mixes through a Google Chromecast from an iOS device.
SoundCloud was already compatible with Sonos devices, and Android folks had Chromecast integration for awhile now too, but Friday’s update means iPhone users with a SoundCloud Go+ subscription can finally stream their entire catalog to a Chromecast connected to a TV or speakers. Multiple users can also control what’s on with a shared playback feature. SoundCloud also says they’ve upgraded their mobile apps across the board and streamlined the whole experience for more consistent playback.
Source: SoundCloud
UK reports 70 drone near-misses at Heathrow in 2016
Heathrow is apparently a magnet for drone pilots fond of flying their devices near planes. According to the latest report from the UK Airprox Board, three planes narrowly missed drones roaming the skies near the airport last year. They’re separate incidents from the British Airways plane that struck what authorities believe was an unmanned flying vehicle in April. These particular near-misses happened within a three-week period from October to November 2016.
Two of the three were classified as “category A” or the most serious of near-misses. In one incident, the pilots of an A320 passenger plane saw a UAV flying below their vehicle’s right wing 10,000 feet in the air as they prepare to land at the airport. That’s about 9,600 feet higher than the legal altitude for drones in the UK. According to investigators, the UAV with multiple rotors seem to be custom-made and not something off the shelf. They also said that “providence had played a major part in the aircraft not colliding” with the device.
In the second category A incident, a pilot taking off from Heathrow spotted a drone around 150 feet away from his plane’s wing at 3,000 feet in the air. Authorities believe they “narrowly avoided” a collision, as well. The third drone sighting at the airport within that three-week timespan was less dangerous than the other two, but it still came within 200 feet of an aircraft.
Overall, the report says there were 70 near-misses between planes and drones in 2016 compared to the 29 incidents in 2015. As more people start flying drones as a hobby or for business, we’ll likely see that number grow unless authorities find a way to spot UAVs before they get too close to airports.
Source: AP, The Guardian, UK Airprox Board
DJI Mavic Pro review
Research Center:
DJI Mavic Pro
Portability is all the rage in drones right now – pilots want quadcopters they can pack up and take anywhere. Unfortunately, a compact form factor usually translates to fewer features and abilities. But with DJI’s new Mavic Pro, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In addition to being one of the most portable drones we’ve ever seen, the Mavic also happens to be one of the most feature-packed drones on the market right now.
But do portability and capability really coexist in the real world? We took it out for a solid week of hardcore flight tests to find out.
Features and specs
Without a doubt, the most standout feature of the Mavic is its portability. DJI went back to the drawing board with this drone, and it shows. Instead of a space-hogging fixed-arm hull, the Mavic features a set of folding arms and props that, thanks to their clever configuration, allow the drone to fold down into a neat little package that’s roughly the size of a standard brick (but not quite as heavy). This, along with the super compact controller, make the Mavic one of hte most portable drones we’ve ever encountered.
Up front, it’s also equipped with a 4K camera and super compact 3-axis gimbal. This allows the device to capture super stabilized video without the resolution cutbacks required for digital stabilization. Plus, behind the camera, the drone also has DJI’s ActiveTrack and Optical Flow software, which allow it to track objects and sense obstacles (respectively) using nothing but the camera and image analysis algorithms.
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Flight and range specs are also pretty impressive. DJI equipped the Mavic with an all-new video transmission system called OcuSync, which stretches the Mavic’s max range to over 4 miles and also boosts its resistance to interference. At shorter ranges, this tech can even stream footage to you at 1080p resolution, allow photo and video downloads at 40Mb/s – which is absolutely nuts.
To round out the package, the Mavic Pro also sports all the same Intelligent Flight Modes that DJI’s Phantom 4 has — plus two new ones. In addition to the standard Follow mode, Point of Interest, Waypoints, and Course Lock, the Mavic also has DJI’s new Terrain Follow and Gesture modes. It’s absolutely stuffed with features.
Build quality and design
Build quality is off the charts. The Mavic Pro is a sturdy little beast with one of the toughest hulls we’ve ever encountered. We crashed it a handful of times and it didn’t even seem fazed. Sure, it’ll complain and tell you “Ouch, you crashed me!” in a series of annoying beeps — but after a quick reset it’ll forget the whole thing ever happened and get right back to flying like a champ. We wouldn’t trust it to survive a big plummet onto a hard surface, but 30 feet onto a patch of grass? No problem.
When it comes to portable drones, the Mavic Pro has no equal — at least not yet.
Same goes for design. DJI deserves a Red Dot Award for this one — it’s nothing short of brilliant. I mean, we’ve seen folding drones before, but this one takes it to a whole new level. Thanks to a very clever hinge system, the arms fold up into a neat little package just smaller than the dimensions of your average brick, which makes it a breeze to stuff in your backpack or messenger bag and lug along on your adventures. It might even fit in a purse.
Another design element that we’re totally in love with is the portable controller. It’s not a measly little smartphone app that forces you to use virtual joysticks, and it’s also not a gigantic ground station that takes up half your backpack — it’s a thoughtfully designed hybrid that gives you the best of both worlds. When it’s all folded up, it’s roughly the size of a walkie talkie — but flip out the antennas and pop in your smartphone, and suddenly it’s a full-fledged controller with tons of telemetry data, an intuitive layout, and fantastic range.
More: Yuneec Breeze review
The only real flaw we could find on the machine was its 3-axis gimbal assembly. It’s impressively small and compact, but it’s also held in place with four small rubber bands that seem to be a bit fragile. If one of these bands snaps (which happened to our review unit while it was in the previous user’s possession), the camera will have trouble stabilizing itself, which ultimately means you’ll end up with shaky, “Jello-effect” video footage. That’s really the only design flaw we could find though — everything else on the Mavic is well-built and designed to last.
DJI Mavic Pro Compared To
3DR Solo Drone
DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Hover Camera Passport
Yuneec Breeze
Parrot DISCO FPV
eHang Ghostdrone 2.0
HEXO+
Horizon Hobby Chroma
Yuneec Typhoon H drone
Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K
Parrot BeBop Drone
dji Phantom 2 Vision+
Battery life and recharge time
Despite its compact form factor, the Mavic Pro boasts impressive battery life, and actually has one of the longest flight times we’ve ever seen in a quadcopter. It’s a bit of an oddity though — the rotor system is optimized for forward flight, so the drone can actually stay aloft longer in motion than hovering. DJI claims it can maintain a hover for 24 minutes, but thanks to its aerodynamic design, it can allegedly stay airborne for 27 minutes if you “fly at the optimum speed for energy consumption.”
To put these claims to the test, we ran Mavic through our usual series of endurance tests. First up was a straight-up hover test, where we let the drone hover until it drains the battery and automatically lands itself. Our hover test lasted for exactly 23 minutes and 19 seconds — which isn’t very far off from DJI’s claimed 24 minutes.
Next, to get a sense of how long it’ll last during normal flight, we recorded the flight times from every other flight test we conducted and averaged them out. Over the course of 14 different flights that went from 100 percent battery to emergency low-battery automatic landing, the Mavic averaged a flight time of 25 minutes and 6 seconds. That’s not quite as long as DJI’s claimed 27 — but it’s worth mentioning that we did log a few flights that broke the 26 minute barrier, so we can confirm that flying the Mavic around does indeed boost your flight times — which is pretty cool.
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
As for recharge times, a mostly-drained battery (around 10 percent remaining) will take about an hour to recharge. A fully drained battery (which isn’t normal, since the drone will auto-land before it reaches that point) takes roughly an hour and 15 minutes to juice back up to 100 percent. So generally speaking, you should expect a little over an hour for each recharge session — which honestly isn’t too bad for a battery that provides 25 minutes of flight time. Still, you’d be wise to pick up a spare if you plan on doing a lot of flying.
Flight performance, autonomy, and range
DJI has outdone itself with this drone. In terms of raw flight performance, the Mavic Pro is easily one of the best quads we’ve ever flown. Technically the motors aren’t quite as powerful as the ones you’ll find in the Phantom 4, but somehow the Mavic still manages to match — or in many cases even surpass — its big brother in a number of different respects.
The first of these are speed and agility. On paper, the Mavic tops out at 40 miles per hour — but our flight logs showed that we actually clocked speeds as high as 51 miles per hour under certain conditions. On a moderately breezy day, it cleared our 100-meter sprint test in 5.3 seconds, which suggests a top speed of about 42 miles per hour. Of course, your top speed will vary depending on the conditions you’re flying in, but as far as we can tell, the Mavic is every bit as quick and nimble as the Phantom 4 — if not more so.
The Mavic has all the same flight modes as DJI’s top-of-the-line Phantom, plus a couple extra. You can set the Mavic to orbit a point in space with Point of Interest Mode; repeat flights along a preset path with Waypoints; follow your movements via Follow Me mode, or even adjust the way it responds to joystick control with Course Lock and Home Lock. These modes are more or less the same in the Mavic as they are in the Phantom 4 — but Mavic has a few new tricks up its sleeve as well: Terrain Follow and Gesture modes.
In Terrain Follow, the drone uses its Downward Vision System to maintain a certain distance from the ground, which is fantastic for filming over terrain that varies in elevation. Gesture mode, on the other hand, allows you to set up and snap a selfie by doing nothing more than standing in front of the camera, waving your arms a bit, and then making a “picture frame” shape with your fingers. Basically, this makes it possible to take drone selfies without having your controller in the picture, which is pretty neat.
One of the Mavic’s standout features is definitely its range. It’s equipped with DJI’s new OcuSync video transmission technology, which stretches the drone’s maximum range and provides a live HD video feed from the camera from up to 4.3 miles away. The thing is, those numbers aren’t necessarily an accurate reflection of the distances you’ll be able to achieve in real-world conditions.
More: Parrot Disco review
In our longest flight test, we took it out to 11,000 feet (roughly two miles) before our feed stuttered, anxiety got the best of us, and we turned back. We didn’t push the Mavic to the absolute limit, but there are videos online of people taking it out over 17,000 feet before it loses signal and automatically returns to home — so we’re pretty sure that in any case, the Mavic’s range will be enough to satisfy even the most demanding users.
Camera, accessories, and upgradability
The camera on the Mavic is pretty impressive. Despite being considerably smaller than the camera on the Phantom 4, it basically has the exact same specs. It shoots in cinematic 4K, snaps 12.7 megapixel stills, and also supports features like burst shooting and exposure bracketing. It even has a super-compact 3-axis gimbal to keep the camera stable while you fly — a feature that’s notably absent in other portable drones like the Yuneec Breeze and Hover Camera Passport. The only real difference between the Mavic’s camera and the Phantom’s is field of view. At 79 degrees, Mavic’s FOV is slightly narrower than the Phantom 4’s, which is 94 degrees.
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
The camera is arguably just as important as the software behind it. Much like its big bro, the Mavic sports DJI’s object tracking technology (ActiveTrack), as well as its Optical Flow system, which uses image recognition to spot obstacles and track the drone’s position while flying indoors. As we mentioned before, it’s also equipped with gesture recognition software and adjustable focusing abilities — two features that the Phantom 4 doesn’t have.
As for accessories and upgrades, DJI doesn’t currently offer a particularly wide selection for the Mavic — but that will likely change in the coming months. The company recently unveiled its own FPV goggles, which will be compatible with the Mavic Pro when they’re released. Aside from that, all you can get right now is replacement parts, a carrying case, and a special hub that lets you charge up to four batteries at once.
Our Take
After flying it nonstop for a week, we’re convinced that the DJI Mavic Pro is the best drone you can get for $1,000. We wouldn’t even bother getting a Phantom 4 right now. In addition to being cheaper and faster, the Mavic also has more flight modes, a longer range, and a super portable design. So at the end of the day, it’s just more bang for your buck.
Are there better options available?
When it comes to portable drones, the Mavic Pro has no equal — at least not yet. The GoPro Karma is arguably its closest competitor, but it can’t match the Mavic in range, speed, compactness, or flight capabilities. The only upside is that Karma has a broader ecosystem of compatible devices, and the included GoPro Hero 5 action cam can be detached and used separately from the drone.
The DT Accessory Pack
Darkhorse Intelligent Flight battery charger
$70
DJI shoulder bag for Mavic Pro
$79.00
DJI Mavic folding propellers
$12
Other portable drones, like the Yuneec Breeze and Hover Camera Passport, offer similar levels of portability, and are also considerably cheaper than the Mavic ($500 and $600 respectively) — but they’re nowhere near as capable.
If you don’t care so much about portability, Yuneec’s Typhoon H is also a worthy contender. It boasts many of the same features, and has a 4K camera that swivels in 360 degrees. This, along with dual-pilot capabilities, would arguably make the Typhoon H a better choice for amateur filmmakers — but only if you don’t mind lugging your drone around in a giant backpack.
How long will it last?
Probably a few years or more. DJI constantly rolls out updates to its products, and we have no reason to think the Mavic Pro will be any different. Firmware updates come through on a regular basis, and DJI already has a suite of upgrades, attachments, and accessories in the works. So, assuming you don’t destroy it, the Mavic Pro should last you for quite some time.
Should you buy it?
Absolutely — unless of course you’re holding out for the Phantom 4 Pro.
Weekly Rewind: SpaceX’s future, Samsung Galaxy S8, and a Tonka truck for grownups
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from how Samsung plans to bounce back with its Galaxy S8 to the best movie soundtracks ever — it’s all here.
Samsung punches back
Digital Trends flew to Seoul, South Korea in early March and crisscrossed the country to learn how Samsung designed its new phone, the Galaxy S8. We learned how the mega manufacturer planned to continue pushing the envelope — and how it would ensure that nothing like the Note 7 fiasco ever happened again. Read on to see what else we picked up on our journey.
Read the full story here.
From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Interstellar,’ these are the best movie soundtracks of all time
To celebrate these cinematic musical masterpieces, we’ve put together a list of our 30 favorite film soundtracks of all time, in no particular order. Whether you’re a lover of the purpose-composed epics that propel your favorite films’ plot points, or a follower of the perfectly assembled song compilations that color their overall tone, you’ll find something to love below.
Read the full story here.
Toyota turns the HiLux pickup into a Tonka truck for the young at heart
One of the most brutally disappointing aspects of growing up is realizing the Tonka trucks you played with as a child aren’t street-legal. Members of Toyota’s Australian division must feel the same way, because they’ve worked day and night to transform the indestructible HiLux pickup truck into a real-life, full-size Tonka that starts and drives.
Read the full story here.
Elon Musk heralds ‘huge revolution in space travel’ after Thursday’s historic mission
It was one giant leap for SpaceX on Thursday evening when it successfully completed the first reflight — and landing — of an orbital class rocket. Elon Musk and his team have completed numerous rocket launches and landings over the last 16 months, but bringing a Falcon 9 rocket back home for a second time takes the development of its reusable system to the next level, as it continues in its quest to drastically reduce the cost of space travel.
Read the full story here.
More room to reply: Twitter excludes usernames from its 140-character limit
Twitter’s defining feature is the 140-character limit it imposes on tweets and retweets. It forces a level of succinctness that is sorely lacking from — ahem — unfettered social networks. But it’s also quite annoying sometimes, especially when you’re trying to reply to someone. Since Twitter’s inception, usernames have counted against the limit. But no longer. On Thursday, the company announced usernames will no longer count toward the 140-character maximum.
Read the full story here.
Weekly Rewind: SpaceX’s future, Samsung Galaxy S8, and a Tonka truck for grownups
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from how Samsung plans to bounce back with its Galaxy S8 to the best movie soundtracks ever — it’s all here.
Samsung punches back
Digital Trends flew to Seoul, South Korea in early March and crisscrossed the country to learn how Samsung designed its new phone, the Galaxy S8. We learned how the mega manufacturer planned to continue pushing the envelope — and how it would ensure that nothing like the Note 7 fiasco ever happened again. Read on to see what else we picked up on our journey.
Read the full story here.
From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Interstellar,’ these are the best movie soundtracks of all time
To celebrate these cinematic musical masterpieces, we’ve put together a list of our 30 favorite film soundtracks of all time, in no particular order. Whether you’re a lover of the purpose-composed epics that propel your favorite films’ plot points, or a follower of the perfectly assembled song compilations that color their overall tone, you’ll find something to love below.
Read the full story here.
Toyota turns the HiLux pickup into a Tonka truck for the young at heart
One of the most brutally disappointing aspects of growing up is realizing the Tonka trucks you played with as a child aren’t street-legal. Members of Toyota’s Australian division must feel the same way, because they’ve worked day and night to transform the indestructible HiLux pickup truck into a real-life, full-size Tonka that starts and drives.
Read the full story here.
Elon Musk heralds ‘huge revolution in space travel’ after Thursday’s historic mission
It was one giant leap for SpaceX on Thursday evening when it successfully completed the first reflight — and landing — of an orbital class rocket. Elon Musk and his team have completed numerous rocket launches and landings over the last 16 months, but bringing a Falcon 9 rocket back home for a second time takes the development of its reusable system to the next level, as it continues in its quest to drastically reduce the cost of space travel.
Read the full story here.
More room to reply: Twitter excludes usernames from its 140-character limit
Twitter’s defining feature is the 140-character limit it imposes on tweets and retweets. It forces a level of succinctness that is sorely lacking from — ahem — unfettered social networks. But it’s also quite annoying sometimes, especially when you’re trying to reply to someone. Since Twitter’s inception, usernames have counted against the limit. But no longer. On Thursday, the company announced usernames will no longer count toward the 140-character maximum.
Read the full story here.
Weekly Rewind: SpaceX’s future, Samsung Galaxy S8, and a Tonka truck for grownups
A lot can happen in a week when it comes to tech. The constant onslaught of news makes it nigh impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of this week’s top 10 tech stories, from how Samsung plans to bounce back with its Galaxy S8 to the best movie soundtracks ever — it’s all here.
Samsung punches back
Digital Trends flew to Seoul, South Korea in early March and crisscrossed the country to learn how Samsung designed its new phone, the Galaxy S8. We learned how the mega manufacturer planned to continue pushing the envelope — and how it would ensure that nothing like the Note 7 fiasco ever happened again. Read on to see what else we picked up on our journey.
Read the full story here.
From ‘E.T.’ to ‘Interstellar,’ these are the best movie soundtracks of all time
To celebrate these cinematic musical masterpieces, we’ve put together a list of our 30 favorite film soundtracks of all time, in no particular order. Whether you’re a lover of the purpose-composed epics that propel your favorite films’ plot points, or a follower of the perfectly assembled song compilations that color their overall tone, you’ll find something to love below.
Read the full story here.
Toyota turns the HiLux pickup into a Tonka truck for the young at heart
One of the most brutally disappointing aspects of growing up is realizing the Tonka trucks you played with as a child aren’t street-legal. Members of Toyota’s Australian division must feel the same way, because they’ve worked day and night to transform the indestructible HiLux pickup truck into a real-life, full-size Tonka that starts and drives.
Read the full story here.
Elon Musk heralds ‘huge revolution in space travel’ after Thursday’s historic mission
It was one giant leap for SpaceX on Thursday evening when it successfully completed the first reflight — and landing — of an orbital class rocket. Elon Musk and his team have completed numerous rocket launches and landings over the last 16 months, but bringing a Falcon 9 rocket back home for a second time takes the development of its reusable system to the next level, as it continues in its quest to drastically reduce the cost of space travel.
Read the full story here.
More room to reply: Twitter excludes usernames from its 140-character limit
Twitter’s defining feature is the 140-character limit it imposes on tweets and retweets. It forces a level of succinctness that is sorely lacking from — ahem — unfettered social networks. But it’s also quite annoying sometimes, especially when you’re trying to reply to someone. Since Twitter’s inception, usernames have counted against the limit. But no longer. On Thursday, the company announced usernames will no longer count toward the 140-character maximum.
Read the full story here.
Blizzard’s first eSports stadium opens for ‘Overwatch’
Blizzard had a formative role shaping the strategy and MOBA titles that dominate eSports today. But the studio didn’t really dive into competitive events until it started devoting floorspace to its own tournaments at BlizzCon 2009. Now the gaming titan is moving up from its annual weekend convention to open its first permanent competitive gaming space, a plush eSports arena fronted by a snack bar and memorabilia shop. And it’ll be in Taipei.
The Blizzard eStadium, as it’s named, seats up to 250 fans. Our Engadget colleagues got a tour of the event center, which the company will use to host both local matches and international tournaments for the Asia-Pacific region. While we only managed to snag photos of the company swag up for sale at the venue’s shop, it’s a good bet that their snack bar will be stocked with jokey goods matching Blizzard’s particular sense of humor.
Blizzard will break in the eStadium on April 8th with the first games in the Overwatch Pacific Championship, the studio-run competitive league based in Taipei. Eight teams from Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Thailand will compete for 11 weeks, with the top three advancing to the playoffs and, eventually, this year’s Overwatch World Cup. The venue will expand to host matches from other games in Blizzard’s competitive retinue, like Hearthstone and Starcraft 2. Maybe one day, we’ll even see the remastered Starcraft: Brood War grace its fresh gamer halls — a perfect mix of old nerdity and new.
Via: eSports Insider
AIVAnet 