Comparing the DJI Tello vs Parrot Mambo

Most Drone enthusiasts would agree – the DJI Tello and Parrot Mambo are the top dogs when it comes to the “micro drones” market. Both models are in a similar price range, are about the same size, and have comparable features when it comes to flight time, range, camera, and programming capabilities. Even if you’re new to the Drone market, you are likely (becoming) aware of DJI’s supremacy in the skies. When it comes to consumer Drones, DJI has put forward a superb fleet of Drones for all ranges of users; from educators, hobbyists, videographers, and surveying professionals. Parrot Drones has a reliable reputation for professional-grade Drones, and though sales of the Parrot Mambo have been discontinued in the consumer market, the Mambo is still utilized in Educational settings. Here at DroneBlocks, we use Micro Drones as an educational STEM tool to equip educators in teaching coding, math, and computer science…so we have tested and inspected both models scrupulously to ensure engagement, flight performance, and reliability as well as ease of use. Here’s how they stack up and why we chose DJI’s Tello series to lead our curriculum.

Technical Comparison

The Tello outperforms the Parrot Mambo here in quite a few categories. Both share the same quality for video output and recording, however, the Tello’s still camera has 5X the resolution of the Mambo, in fact, we found the Mambo’s photos come out extremely grainy and pixelated for this day and age. Another thing to note is the flight time, where the Tello has a clear advantage with an overall stronger battery. All this examined, it seems like a no-brainer when the Tello comes in at a much lower price point than the Mambo, especially as the price grows exponentially when purchasing bundles for a classroom.

Classroom Compatibility

Both the Tello and the Mambo are ideal for classroom use because of their small size, safety features and ability to be programmed. The Mambo can be programmed using popular programming languages such as Tynker and Python through a Bluetooth connection. This is where the Tello really begins to break away from its competition…Not only can the Tello support DroneBlocks, Python, Open-CV, Swift, JavaScript, Node-JS, and more through a (significantly more reliable) Wi-Fi connection, but DJI took it one further. In 2018 DJI established an education division and launched the Tello EDU which leans into its educational use cases by expanding the capabilities of the drone. The Tello EDU pulls back the curtain on certain gesture controls that were previously un-programmable. With the Tello EDU, DJI introduced a new Vision Positioning system supported by an Intel Movidius processing unit that allows for swarming, measurements, metrics, and the incorporation of mission pads. This is all in contrast to the Parrot Mambo which is still using a primitive time-frame measurement system that corners students into calculating with only increments of time spent flying in a direction rather than using inches or centimeters. We found this extremely limiting when incorporating simple math lessons.

The Robomaster TT

In 2021 DJI released yet another Tello Drone from its Education division called the Robomaster TT or the “Tello Talent.” The Tello Talent. This drone is jam-packed with new hardware and software to be explored by students and educators alike. The most notable feature upon viewing the Tello Talent is its programmable Red and Blue LED dot Matrix screen that sits atop the chassis like a billboard. Inside is a 5.8 GHZ Wi-Fi module, an infrared Time of Flight sensor that enables obstacle avoidance, and a powerful ESP32 microcontroller board that supports Arduino and MicroPython. All major upgrades from even the original Tello model. Did we mention the sheen cherry red paint job? This drone truly is the king of the hill when it comes to utilizing Drones in the classroom, partner it with a DroneBlocks enterprise license and you’ll be at the top of your class.