If I were somebody choosing the name for the first drone offering of GoPro, Karma is what I would not have chosen it to be. When it was first released last year to much fanfare, it had to be recalled as it tended to lose power in flight. Such a problem made its biggest competitor in DJI, to surge ahead with its feature packed and affordable Mavic Pro.

As announced prior to CES 2017, GoPro announced that problem causing the loss of power was due to a faulty latch mechanism that disconnects the battery and that they have corrected the problem and promised to release the drone in February.

Promises need to be kept and they announced yesterday that they are now taking orders for the Karma Drone. The drone will be returning back to selected dealers and international buyers will have to wait until Spring to get theirs. The Karma drone will retail for US$799.99 or if bundled with the Hero5 Black, it will be US$1099.99. It is compatible with the GoPro Hero4 Black and Silver action cams as well.

The Karma Drone is an easy to transport drone with the rotors folding into the body so it can be packed away. What also makes this unique is that it has a removable grip that it can used as a handheld gimbal when the drone is not in use, giving smooth videos in places where a drone is a no go. DJI has the comparable OSMO, but it cannot be mounted on any their drones.

Now the big question, will the Karma Drone be able to get market share that the DJI Mavic Pro has taken, given that they are of almost similar offerings? The Mavic Pro is more compact (you can even holster it to your belt) and has obstacle avoidance features. Good luck to GoPro and hopefully they got another drone on the drawing board that can offer more than the Karma, as well as picking a better product name.