On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

French drone maker Parrot announces a foldable addition to its portfolio-- the Anafi, a drone weighing all of 320g customers can fold into a slender package for easy carrying.

Named after the Greek island, the Anafi carries a 21MP camera on a 180-degree tilt gimbal able to record 4K HDR video at 30fps (or 1080p video at 60fps). The extra resolution sensor allows for lossless 2.8x or 1.4x digital zoom when recording in HD and 4K, respectively. Further camera features include a hyper-lapse mode allowing one to speed footage up to 240x, slo-mo and a high frame rate mode up to 60fps. Video and photo storage comes on microSD card.

Global wearable device shipments total 25.1 million units in Q1 2018, IDC reports-- a Y-o-Y increase of just 1.2%, far lower than the 18% Y-o-Y growth seen in Q1 2017, a slowdown caused by a decline in basic wearables.

According to the analyst basic wearable shipments are down by 9.2% Y-o-Y. However higher-priced smart wearables from the likes of Apple, Fitbit and numerous fashion brands are up by 28.4% Y-o-Y, meaning customer preferences are shifting towards smarter devices.

"With the move towards smarter devices, we're also starting to see hints of where the wearables market is headed," IDC says. "Additional sensors, years of underlying data, and improved algorithms are allowing pillars of the industry like Fitbit and Apple to help identify diseases and other health irregularities. Meanwhile, roughly one third of all wearables included cellular connectivity this quarter, which has allowed new use-cases to emerge."

The BlackBerry Key2 is an unusual device for 2018-- the sequel to the 2017 KeyOne features a full physical keyboard, bringing fond memories of what one thinks of as the traditional BlackBerry device.

As BlackBerry license holder TCL puts it, the goal of the Key2 is to "capture all the traits that have made BlackBerry smartphones iconic, while introducing new innovations and experiences." It features a slimmer design compared to the KeyOne, even as smaller bezels allow for slightly wider keys. Construction is in glass and aluminium, and the 4.5-inch display retains the unusual 1620 x 1080 resolution (making a 3:2 aspect ratio) of the previous model.

Amazon combines 4K streaming with Alexa voice-based control as it launches the Fire TV Cube-- a shiny cube-shaped sequel to the Fire TV box featuring a built-in Echo Dot speaker and IR blasters.

The Fire TV Cube carries x8 far-field microphones laid in a front-facing pattern, allowing users to call out controls just as with any Echo device. However it does not handle any communications, meaning no texting, messaging or video calling from the TV. However it does handle most of the other Alexa "skills," allowing for smart home control, and can even play music (if poorly, with the same audio quality as the Echo Dot).