Griffin Launches iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch-controlled Helo TC Helicopter

By Kelly Montgomery August 17, 2011

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Today Griffin announced a new device that will surely be on the holiday wish-lists of many iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners. The Helo TC Helicopter ($50) is a small recreational indoor helicopter, which isn’t anything new. What is new is the fact that this particular helicopter can be controlled via your iOS device with a Helo TC app. The twin-rotor helicopter has a black polycarbonate body and comes with a flight deck module that plugs into your iOS device’s headphone jack, then beaming infrared commands from your device to the helicopter.

The high-tech toy can use one of two flying modes. In Touch Control mode, users control the helicopter using the throttle and joystick on the app’s multi-touch display. In Tilt to Steer mode, users can simply direct the Helo TC using the accelerometer on their iOS devices. The app can also record up to three different flight plans so that you can re-fly your favorite patterns over and over. A built-in battery recharges via USB port and 4 AAA batteries keep the flight deck module alive and running. At such an affordable price, we’re assuming that this will be a must-have for anyone who likes both tech toys and Apple devices.

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Kelly Montgomery

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kelly Montgomery is a magazine journalism graduate from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications…

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