PowerUp 3.0 Bluetooth Controlled Paper Airplane from TailorToys & a Surprise
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2015-05-07
·
1,550 words · ~7 min read
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Sometimes we get so focused on the most extreme computers on the planet around
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here, like the upcoming part two of our oil submerged cool PC build log thing
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that we'll be showing off. Make sure you you're subscribed for that. That I think
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we forget that some of the most interesting computers today don't have
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processors made by Intel or AMD, aren't
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powerful enough to solve the economic crisis, and don't require as much power
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to run as a closed dryer. Today's computer, by contrast with the oil cool
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thing, is this tiny battery powered affair that may not be able to tackle
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global issues, but it can let you fly a
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paper airplane around with your smartphone, which is also pretty cool.
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The Cooler Master Neptune 240M features an exclusive pump design and their new
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Sencio fans to provide impressive near silent performance. Click now to learn
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more. The unboxing experience was actually pretty fun because you get a
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whack ton of stuff. Taylor Toys includes the wireless strap-on motor module
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itself, a micro USB cable and 1,000 mAh
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battery bank. four folding templates, although you can print your own later.
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One waterresistant Tyvec Da Vinci style
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template for the Nakamura model plane, spares for the propeller and rudder, and
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finally the user manual, something you will need. The module itself might not
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really look like anything special, but there's actually a ton of technology
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inside. At the rear is a propeller on a variable speed motor and a rudder that
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you'll control later by tilting your phone left and right. Following the
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lightweight carbon fiber stem towards the front, we'll find the processor,
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battery, 55 m range Bluetooth module with antenna, power switch, and micro
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USB charging port that are all protected by a sweet transparent housing that
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clips onto the front of the plane nice and tight like so, and features a soft
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foam nose to protect it during crashes. Now, setup might be a little bit
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intimidating for some people when they see the 48page one language. Yeah, it's
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all one language user manual, but since the battery takes 20 minutes to fill
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anyway, throw it on the charger, and then spend half an hour reading the
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documentation once, folding two templates for the beginner invader plane
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and the more advanced Nakamura. Install the app on your phone. Watch a couple of
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their tutorial videos, some of which are great and some of which are surprisingly
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unprofessional, like the one where the host sneezes in the middle of folding
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the plane and they don't even bother to cut it out. And then you will be ready
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to head to the park and give it a whirl. I'd recommend bringing the manual with
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you for your first few flights because there are some details, particularly
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with respect to the initial fine tuning of your paper airplane, that you might
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want to refer back to. But the gist is you do a test flight with the motor off.
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Make sure it goes straight. Another test flight with the motor on at around 60%
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more if it's a windy day. Although I'd recommend going out on a day that has as
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little wind as possible. And then as long as both of those are satisfactory,
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straight flights, then you're ready to rock. And let me tell you, this thing
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kind of well rocks. Even though it was windier out than I would have liked,
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which made gaining altitude kind of tough for us. Both my cameraman and I,
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uh, this was our new guy, Burkel, shooting this, by the way, had a total
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blast flying this thing around. In the first few test flights that we did, we
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weren't able to achieve the level of performance that the manufacturer shows
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off in their promotional video. But even as an inexperienced, you know, aircraft
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builder and pilot, I was able to have a ton of fun. And the more success we had,
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the more improvements we made, the more I wanted to keep trying so that I could
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get that level of performance out of it because I think it's very doable. You
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just I I think the key to having a great experience with this toy is just
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experimentation. If you just want instant success out of the box and you
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don't feel like working on your plane between crashes to get solid performance
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out of it, then this product might not be for you. But if you're a tinkerer by
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nature and you're looking for something, you know, interactive and engaging to
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do, you know, I don't know, by yourself or with your kids or even with your
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buddies, it's worth every penny. You'll have a blast. Um, back to boring review
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stuff again. I guess range is as advertised. So is battery life. And the
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Android and iOS apps both worked great for us with an Xperia Z2 and iPhone 6.
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Although, guys, double check your phone for compatibility because it does use
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Bluetooth smart or whatever. So, you have to have a newer Bluetooth chipset
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on your phone. Um, but overall, I think Taylor Toys did a great job of
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delivering what they said they would. I do still think there are some things
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they could improve, though. I mean, I would love to see a beefed up version with a more powerful motor and or a
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bigger battery for longer flights. I mean, I hope they continue to invest R&D
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resources into this idea cuz I think it's really cool. Um, but I also think
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the out ofthe-box experience could be a bit better. The manual is excellent, but
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their site navigation is poor and so is the organization of their tutorial
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videos on their YouTube channel, which made things a little bit more difficult
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for me as a novice user than they needed to be. I mean, here's a here's a couple
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of examples. They don't have any letter size templates for letteriz plane
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designs, even though they refer to them and say you can build them. So, if you're in one of those backward
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countries that doesn't normally use A4 printer paper, then you'll have to go
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obtain some somewhere. Um, there's also the completely unnecessary add a $0
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template download thing to your shopping cart and then check out on their site in
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order to even fold more planes on your own and get the templates. Um, so that
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that was kind of annoying, but I mean I guess there there is good news. They do
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have these cool Tyvec Da Vinci templates. Um, I grabbed a 10 pack of
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them when I backed the Kickstarter, so it's not all bad. And really, these are
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all minor complaints. I think overall the conclusion should be this. The
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PowerUp 3.0 know is a great gift idea
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for a son, nephew, co-orker, uncle, or
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female version of any of the above who loves little electronic gadgets and
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paper airplanes. By the way, guys, speaking of
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electronic gadgets, I'm back now. We've
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partnered with Anttech to bring you guys an awesome giveaway. It is the
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ultimate silent gaming PC package. The
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winner will get an 1100 V2 case, an Edge
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750 W power supply, a Cooler 1250 CPU
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cooler, one accent lighting kit, and the winner can choose the color, one pair of
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Pulse headphones. The winner chooses the color, and all of that stuff can be
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yours. It's actually very simple to enter. All you have to do is sometime
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between November 3rd and November 10th, head over to the Linus Tech Tips Ant
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forum topic that is linked in the video description and follow the instructions
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there. Huge thanks to Antech for sponsoring this giveaway and sponsoring
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today's video because without our sponsors, it's hard for us to make
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videos. And of course, guys, you know, there's all the usual goodwill. So,
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thanks Anttech for doing cool stuff like giveaways and all that. So, make sure
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you check out their site if you're looking for a new cooler case, power supply, or any of the other number of
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actually they have really great fans as well. So, any of the other number of
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awesome products that they make. Thank you, the viewer, for watching. Like this
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video if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Leave a comment letting me
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know if your feelings are more complicated than this or this. Also, check out the link in the video
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description. A so you can enter the giveaway for this. And B, if you want to
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support us, you can give us a monthly contribution, buy a cool t-shirt like this one, change your Amazon bookmark to
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one with our affiliate code. So whenever you buy powerups for people or, you
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know, power supplies or whatever else, we get a small kickback. That kind of
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thing helps us out a lot. Thanks again for watching and as always, don't forget
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to
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subscribe.
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Heat. Heat.