That's f-n huge, the big drones we were getting so far like the DJI Phantom are also Chinese but they market them selves and charge people like they were made in Switzerland and designed by clones of Wernher von Braun.
If Xiaomi gets into the game we can expect many more high quality Chinese drones at reasonable consumer prices.
Xiaomi has officially said they have no plans to enter US markets with their phones at least and considering this "depends" on their phones for now I don't think any time soon, at least officially.
Unofficially, of course, you'll be able to order it off AliExpress/eBay/etc in a few weeks after release and I'm sure someone will reverse engineer it a bit and produce a modified apk that can be used to control these things.
The press release said that the Mi phone was used as the view finder, that's an Android phone no where in the article did it say that it would not be compatible with other Android phones in the least.
I would really surprise me if Xiaomi would even attempt at locking this to it's phones only, it makes absolutely no sense for them that said since many Mi phones cost less than 150-200$ and most people i know that fly DJI's have a dedicated tablet for it, it still would be considerably cheaper than the DJI phantom if it could manage to come close to it performance wise.
They have an english site but nowhere on that site do they sell phones to the US. They may sell some other products (for example, their headphones, I know they offer warranty in the US on them at least, but I can't seem to find a store page on their site).
They said "uses your Mi smartphone as its viewfinder". Hard to say for certain, but that line makes me think they're trying to lock it. Other manufacturers have done similar stupid things, so it wouldn't really surprise me.
Again I don't know much about the US market, but they do have FCC approval and it seems that they do have direct marketing sales in the US.
The biggest problem I see is that their phones for the most part are EU/ASIA focused which means that LTE won't work on most US networks, and US only bands won't be supported either.
I used to be bullish on Xiaomi. Not any more. They seem to get into any hot sectors very quickly, but never manage to grab a big piece of pie and keep it. I wonder if Xiaomi has spreaded itself too thin.
They're only successful because of government protectionism. Google android services aren't allowed in China and this Android fork using homegrown services is. They don't pay patent or licensing fees so that cuts the price of the phone significantly and they more or less ripoff Apple for design:
They're cheap and work "well enough" but I wouldn't buy a drone from them until there are a lot of reviews. Even then, it probably wont be available in the states if they still license fee dodge. The pricing is in yuan and a straight conversion to dollars is pretty much meaningless. There's always going to be a higher price in the states, or to any country they export to, for a variety of reasons.
I'd rather pay a little more and buy a DJI. They're reputable and have great reviews. The $500 model has a 2.7K HD camera and 4.5 stars on Amazon and I can get it here via Prime in two days. There's a lot of competition in this space already. I'm skeptical they'll break through.
> They're only successful because of government protectionism.
Protectionism exists across the board in the EU and the US, especially in agriculture. In fact, it has been stated that if there weren't protectionism in the EU and US poorer countries in the world could trade their way out of debt and in a very real sense the protectionism in the US and EU is keeping those places poor and relying on handouts.
I only _wish_ the EU was more protectionist about tech. Because the EU hasn't been we have home-grown no Googles, no Apples, no Microsofts, no Amazons, … you name it. It's actually smart of China to protect their tech sector from being steamrolled over.
I get it though. When we act in our self-interest, it's normal and reasonable. When others do, how dare they.
> I'd rather pay a little more and buy a DJI
Article states that 4k model of DJI is over $1000, Xiaomi 4k model is $460. That's the first time I've seen 'a little more' mean 'greater than twice the price'.
>It's actually smart of China to protect their tech sector from being steamrolled over.
Yet there's no homegrown Android, no Chinese OS, etc. Just lazy Linux distro derivatives and lots of pirating of Western software. I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
Europe's lack of innovation has more to do with its high regulatory environment, high taxes, expensive labor entitlements, and anti-entrepreneurial attitudes. How well is protectionism working in Brazil, which has absurd import taxes? They need to import that things they can't make, which are significant, and Brazilians pay absurd tariffs on these goods.
The benefits of open and free markets are obvious.
>Xiaomi 4k model is $460.
Again, that's not the US price. There is no US price yet, or ever. The US/EU price will include import costs and patent/licensing fees for technology they are using. There's a reason you can't get Xiamo phones in the West. The DJI price includes all of that and the 4k Phantom 3 is $649.
> Yet there's no homegrown Android, no Chinese OS, etc.
Not yet, but seeing how they have taken over the hardware industry, I can see them taking on hardware very soon.
Their mobile apps are getting to be quite innovative, with Facebook copying many WeChat features.
> I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
If you read the book, "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism" you'll see that protectionism and IP theft played a major role in helping all modern Western nations develop.
Like the US stealing British tech to fuel their own industrial revolution, and not respecting patents until it benefited tem.
For a more recent example, take a look at South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. All of them are protectionist until just 25 some years ago.
>The benefits of open and free markets are obvious.
All "developed" countries were heavily protectionist in their formative years. Only now that they have some economic power in the world, they're trying to impose asymmetrical "free trade" agreements on nations which are not developed and force them to abandon protectionism. These are just the facts.
>I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
Ah that link is interesting. I was wrong about the price differential, wasn't trying to be disingenuous, I was going by the article (and ended up comparing apples to oranges by mistake) so I didn't know where you were coming from.
I don't think I've ever seen a Xiaomi phone in the wild and I've only ever seen a single OnePlus v1.
Again, I think it is in China's interests to protect their markets as they see fit, within reason.
First they took on the smartphone market, then GoPro, now drones. I, as a consumer, am very excited about this. If the first test results show it's capable and the quality decent, I will instantly order one.
The spelling is correct for American and Canadian English, but the grammar is not. Saying "people could utilize" is correct, as is "people could have utilized", but (for whatever reason, and not that it matters) "people could utilized" is never utilised (alternative British Spelling). Also, "would" is arguably better than "could" in this sentence, but it should be clear to the reader either way.
> a remote control that uses your Mi smartphone as its viewfinder
This seems like a strange limitation, unless of course this is just trying to push Xiaomi's other products, which wouldn't be so surprising considering this article is essentially an ad.
I hope the prices remain the same upon release, as I've been wanting to get one of these for a while.
Does anybody know of inexpensive drones that can be used just for hacking? Ideally, I'd like something with a remote API, a bit like the AR Parrot Drone 2, though it doesn't need to be as good (or expensive) as this would just be for experimenting.
Definitely not using it for work; youtube videos at best.. love my P3S. Was able to fly for the first time within an hour at a tennis/golf retreat. Would only upgrade to get the further range.
If you want more range for the Wifi look at Wifi boosters for the DJI P4, other than that I don't really think you will get more range.
I know people with both and the flight time is pretty much identical 25~ min or so, even tho the P4 has officially 2-3min longer flight time it doesn't seem to really express it self that much in reality.
30 comments
[ 12.7 ms ] story [ 1435 ms ] threadIf Xiaomi gets into the game we can expect many more high quality Chinese drones at reasonable consumer prices.
May hold on upgrading from my Phantom 3 Standard to Phantom 4 in lieu of an alternative at 1/3 cost..
Xiaomi has officially said they have no plans to enter US markets with their phones at least and considering this "depends" on their phones for now I don't think any time soon, at least officially.
Unofficially, of course, you'll be able to order it off AliExpress/eBay/etc in a few weeks after release and I'm sure someone will reverse engineer it a bit and produce a modified apk that can be used to control these things.
P.S. While I'm not an American Xiaomi does has a US store http://www.mi.com/en/
They said "uses your Mi smartphone as its viewfinder". Hard to say for certain, but that line makes me think they're trying to lock it. Other manufacturers have done similar stupid things, so it wouldn't really surprise me.
Again I don't know much about the US market, but they do have FCC approval and it seems that they do have direct marketing sales in the US. The biggest problem I see is that their phones for the most part are EU/ASIA focused which means that LTE won't work on most US networks, and US only bands won't be supported either.
http://www.cultofandroid.com/66569/xiaomi-dont-copy-apple/
They're cheap and work "well enough" but I wouldn't buy a drone from them until there are a lot of reviews. Even then, it probably wont be available in the states if they still license fee dodge. The pricing is in yuan and a straight conversion to dollars is pretty much meaningless. There's always going to be a higher price in the states, or to any country they export to, for a variety of reasons.
I'd rather pay a little more and buy a DJI. They're reputable and have great reviews. The $500 model has a 2.7K HD camera and 4.5 stars on Amazon and I can get it here via Prime in two days. There's a lot of competition in this space already. I'm skeptical they'll break through.
Protectionism exists across the board in the EU and the US, especially in agriculture. In fact, it has been stated that if there weren't protectionism in the EU and US poorer countries in the world could trade their way out of debt and in a very real sense the protectionism in the US and EU is keeping those places poor and relying on handouts.
I only _wish_ the EU was more protectionist about tech. Because the EU hasn't been we have home-grown no Googles, no Apples, no Microsofts, no Amazons, … you name it. It's actually smart of China to protect their tech sector from being steamrolled over.
I get it though. When we act in our self-interest, it's normal and reasonable. When others do, how dare they.
> I'd rather pay a little more and buy a DJI
Article states that 4k model of DJI is over $1000, Xiaomi 4k model is $460. That's the first time I've seen 'a little more' mean 'greater than twice the price'.
Yet there's no homegrown Android, no Chinese OS, etc. Just lazy Linux distro derivatives and lots of pirating of Western software. I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
Europe's lack of innovation has more to do with its high regulatory environment, high taxes, expensive labor entitlements, and anti-entrepreneurial attitudes. How well is protectionism working in Brazil, which has absurd import taxes? They need to import that things they can't make, which are significant, and Brazilians pay absurd tariffs on these goods.
The benefits of open and free markets are obvious.
>Xiaomi 4k model is $460.
Again, that's not the US price. There is no US price yet, or ever. The US/EU price will include import costs and patent/licensing fees for technology they are using. There's a reason you can't get Xiamo phones in the West. The DJI price includes all of that and the 4k Phantom 3 is $649.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1208608-REG/dji_phanto...
That's a real product you can buy today, not a disingenuous yuan to dollar conversion.
Not yet, but seeing how they have taken over the hardware industry, I can see them taking on hardware very soon.
Their mobile apps are getting to be quite innovative, with Facebook copying many WeChat features.
> I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
If you read the book, "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism" you'll see that protectionism and IP theft played a major role in helping all modern Western nations develop.
Like the US stealing British tech to fuel their own industrial revolution, and not respecting patents until it benefited tem.
For a more recent example, take a look at South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. All of them are protectionist until just 25 some years ago.
All "developed" countries were heavily protectionist in their formative years. Only now that they have some economic power in the world, they're trying to impose asymmetrical "free trade" agreements on nations which are not developed and force them to abandon protectionism. These are just the facts.
>I think you're overplaying the perceived benefit of protectionism.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1843310279
I don't think I've ever seen a Xiaomi phone in the wild and I've only ever seen a single OnePlus v1.
Again, I think it is in China's interests to protect their markets as they see fit, within reason.
Go Xiaomi!
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something, or maybe it's to drum up publicity for their crowdfunding site, but it just seems very confusing to me.
[0] http://home.mi.com/shop/detail?gid=186
Not to nitpick but there's a typo. ;-)
This seems like a strange limitation, unless of course this is just trying to push Xiaomi's other products, which wouldn't be so surprising considering this article is essentially an ad.
I hope the prices remain the same upon release, as I've been wanting to get one of these for a while.
Does anybody know of inexpensive drones that can be used just for hacking? Ideally, I'd like something with a remote API, a bit like the AR Parrot Drone 2, though it doesn't need to be as good (or expensive) as this would just be for experimenting.
Said video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mucjAyPrKOU