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Surprise: This $20 home monitoring camera actually doesn’t suck
Most of the low-end connected cameras you'll find on store shelves will run you at least $50, and more feature-rich options like Amazon's Cloud Cam and Logitech's Circle 2 are north of $100. The prospect of kitting out your house with connected cameras doesn't need to be that expensive, though. On the opposite end of the price spectrum sits the WyzeCam, a super-cheap connected video camera ushered to market by — who else? — a handful of Amazon alums. Each camera will set you back a whopping $20, but don't let the price tag fool you: the WyzeCam is a surprisingly capable bargain.
FTC lawsuit over D-Link’s lax router security just took a big hit
In January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took D-Link to court over its incredibly insufficient security. The FTC claimed that the company failed to protect its routers and IP cameras from unauthorized access, exposing them to use in botnet attacks or outside viewings of camera feeds. But this week, the FTC's case against D-Link took a hit as a judge dismissed three of the commission's six complaints.
Qualcomm to enable 'conscious' security cameras at lower costs
Just as all eyes are on Qualcomm's next move after its recent realignment, the company threw a surprise by announcing its entry into the security camera market by way of a reference design. But what for, you ask? Well, it's all about reducing the bill of materials while offering powerful features -- including 4K video and LTE radio -- at the same time. On paper, this Snapdragon 618 IP Camera platform co-developed by Thundersoft is very much a mid-range smartphone packaged differently: It contains a six-core 64-bit CPU (dual 1.8GHz Cortex-A72 and quad 1.2GHz Cortex-A53), Adreno 510 GPU, LTE Cat 7 radio (300 Mbps down / 100 Mbps up), 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS. Compared to conventional solutions using multiple chips, the full integration on the Snapdragon chipset means lower manufacturing costs.
Samsung's SmartCam HD DIY security cameras do 1080p video indoors or outdoors
Just in case the NSA isn't keeping a close enough watch over everything, you can use Samsung Techwin's latest SmartCams (previously seen in 2012 and 2013) to do your own surveillance. The SmartCam separates from its competitors by recording 1080p video to an internal SD card, and has a version designed to work outside. That means that unlike Dropcam, for example, it's not constantly uploading video to a remote server for storage and doesn't require an add-on subscription to work. While that cuts out some of the cloud-based security Dropcam can offer, it combines with Samsung's compression tech to enable these to use about 30 percent of the bandwidth other cameras require, and still lets owners tap in remotely for a peek whenever they like. Both connect over WiFi, and can be configured from Android or iOS devices using the SmartCam app and WiFi Direct. Both claim excellent low-light video quality, and while the indoor version has a range of about 16 feet, the outdoor version extends to 50 feet. Beyond its extra viewing range, the outdoor version is ruggedized for the elements, and comes in two parts, keeping the power and WiFi module securely inside your home, connected to the camera outside via a network cable. The SmartCam HD and SmartCam HD Outdoor should hit shelves around March for $179 and $229, respectively. Dana Wollman contributed to this report.
Dropcam Pro launched with better optics, dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth for $199 (hands-on)
Before 2012, Dropcam was a software outlet famous for integrating its camera tech into other people's hardware. However, it knew that in order to grow, the company needed to get into the hardware business as well. So, it hired some of the team behind Cisco's Flip video cameras to create the Dropcam HD -- one of a few IP shooters on the market that offered 720p video at an affordable price. Little did the Dropcam folks know, of course, that the device would be a big hit, pushing revenues 500 percent higher than it'd ever experienced. The Dropcam Pro, then, is version two. The new unit is a considerable upgrade from its precedessor, with an entirely redesigned optical system that includes a six-element all-glass lens. This is still a rarity in WiFi cameras -- even the HD lens is mostly glass with plastic making up the rest. "There's a limit to how good of a resolution you can get with plastic... it's just not as exact as glass," CEO Greg Duffy tells us. There's more to the Pro than just the glass lens of course, and we'll detail more of what's new about the Pro and give our hands-on impressions after the break.
Y-cam's HomeMonitor and Cube camera helps you monitor babies, burglars from the cloud
The downside of a consumer society is that we need to protect our smartphones with as much vigor as our babies. Fortunately, the price of freedom isn't eternal vigilance, but $200, paid straight to Y-Cam, makers of the WiFi Baby. It's releasing the HomeMonitor, a secure, cloud-connected camera that lets you stalk / observe your offspring or prized possessions over the internet with a smartphone or tablet. An indoor variant is $200, while a weatherproofed version for scanning the frontiers of your home will set you back $350 and both will drop shortly. At the same time, you can pick up the Cube, a night-vision IP camera designed for professionals that'll cost you between $200 and $350, depending on the resolution you plump for, when it arrives in February.
Swann DVR4-2600 kit is 4 cameras and 500GB worth of remotely-accessible home security overkill
We've seen IP cams before, inexpensive ones like the DCS-930L from D-Link that get the job done with no frills, rather fancier ones like the Logitech Alert system that offer a premium feel -- at a premium cost. But nothing quite like this. It's the Swann DVR4-2600, a system that comes with four separate cameras, each offering a "high resolution" VGA that are about 10 years past a time when VGA could reasonably be called "high resolution." They do, at least, offer 65 feet worth of night vision and all-weather functionality. There's also a 500GB DVR included that can be connected directly to a TV or accessed remotely from a plethora of mobile apps covering everything from Android and iOS to Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian. You can get e-mails whenever your prisoners guests move and, the pièce de résistance, the kit includes four theft deterrent stickers. If those don't keep the crooks away, maybe the rottweiler* will. Full details in the PR below. %Gallery-116998% *Rottweiler not included.
D-Link DCS-930L Wireless N Network Camera review
After we reviewed the DropCam Echo a few weeks back and found ourselves generally unimpressed, we received an e-mail from someone at D-Link saying something to the effect of: "Dude, you have to try out our thing, because our thing is totally better than their thing and costs a heck of a lot less too." We took them up on that offer and, while unfortunately D-Link's thing has a much less catchy name, DCS-930L Wireless N Camera hardly rolling off the tongue, the sub-$100 device does indeed live up to its billing -- for the most part. %Gallery-108739%
