Aquabotix HydroView: Smartphone-controlled submarine

The Gadget Show  Thursday 24 November 2011

For when radio controlled cars and boats just won’t cut it, there are gizmos such as the Aquabotix HyrdroView – a James Bond-esque submarine you can control with your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet.

The Aquabotix HydroView, which may as well have come from Q’s infamous gadget lab, will even record full 1080p high definition video from its nose mounted camera.

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Lucky owners can command the Aquabotix HydroView over Wi-Fi, via an iPad, iPhone, Android phone, tablet or laptop and a box that connects to the water-roaming robot by a 50-foot cable. There is also an option for an extended cord to allow for a maximum 75 feet.

While that’s hardly enough to explore the Titanic, the ability to capture full HD video may appeal to water sports fanciers and scuba divers hoping to share their soggy memories with friends over social networking websites.



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The Aquabotix HydroView has a two-hour battery life, but should you go for the pro model, that has a three-hour battery and a deeper 150-foot maximum diving distance.

It is pricey, currently listed at on the Aquabotix website for $2,995, but that doesn’t seem to have put amphibious gadget fans off, as the Aquabotix HydroView is currently sold out. But if you’ve saved up enough, the Aquabotix HydroView beats any radio controlled water toy out there.