Do you remember that sliding arm drone we were excited about from InterDrone 2017? That was the new GDU O2, a compact quadcopter that is about as portable as a drone can be.

It was supposed to hit the market a couple months ago now, but we’re not mad at GDU for the delay. Actually, we’re super impressed by GDU for holding things up, let me explain why.

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Here at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, I met briefly with GDU at their booth. I was pleasantly greeted with some great news about the O2 drone. It was an apology, of sorts, but it was exactly what a consumer wants to hear: they held the drone so they could make it better.

Specifically, I was told the story of how the company CEO was flying his O2 one day, at full speed he tilted the 3-axis gimbal straight down and noticed a wobble. The camera was fine, so he tested a couple other O2 prototypes as well, sadly, the same camera wobble was present.

If you’ve pre-ordered the GDU O2, or are looking to do so now, there is a brand new camera gimbal installed. It’s still the same camera innards, with 4K video and more, just a new outer casing and brand new support system.

This was very exciting news to me. Delays are never fun, but knowing that a company is doing everything they possibly can to deliver the best possible product, 5 stars from me. Or two thumbs up, whatever your metric is.

Stay tuned, with the GDU O2 nearing delivery (later this month for pre-orders, into February for new orders,) we’ll have more to say on this portable drone soon. Also, we’re still at CES 2018, watch for an update video interview from GDU, they are willing to take the time to talk to you directly, to explain the situation and get us all hyped for what comes next. Next version of the Byrd drone, anyone?

Did you order a GDU O2? If so, would you have preferred a problematic drone sooner, or do you agree with me that it was worth the wait?

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