Kudos to GoPro (GPRO) execs for finally generating some badly needed product buzz.
Unfortunately for the camera maker, the buzz around a new drone will only mask lingering problems about the company for a short while. Make no mistake, though, the Karma drone is a pretty cool gadget that will probably be on the holiday wish list of rich kids.
Going on sale on Oct. 23, the drone will cost a hefty $799, or $1,099 with a new Hero 5 camera ($999 with a Hero 5 Session). GoPro made the drone foldable for easy storage for those adventure seekers who are often quickly on the go out in the wild. On one side of the device's controller, there is a touch-screen display and, on the other, two joystick buttons. Overall, a minimalist design that shouldn't make it too intimidating for people shopping for a drone that doesn't require hours of training to fly.
Investors initially embraced the product news from a company that has battled nothing but bad news for over a year. Shares spiked as much as much 9.9% on Monday but ended up giving back most of those gains. That pullback is quite telling as to how Wall Street truly feels about GoPro's product lineup and longer-term outlook.
A couple of issues at hand...
It's a drone, yawn: GoPro rose to fame -- and eventually became a public company -- because its camera was something nobody else had done before. Couple that with a treasure trove of digital content emanating from people using their cameras, and GoPro was seen as the next Disney (DIS) . Another drone sitting (and two-camera as well) on the shelves of a crowded drone market isn't the type of game-changer that suggests GoPro is back to being a big-time innovator.
