baby monitor
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Eufy's two-camera baby monitor kit is $50 off again at Amazon
Eufy's popular baby monitor kit is back down to its lowest price
Eufy's two-cam baby monitor kit is cheaper than ever on Amazon
Eufy's two camera baby monitor kit has never been cheaper
Nanit launches a Pro version of its smart baby monitor
It has a slimmer design, and a 1080p camera.
Eufy's Spaceview baby monitor is 25 percent off on Amazon
Eufy's one and two camera Spaceview baby monitors are $40 off on Amazon.
The KamiBaby monitor makes it easier to see your child's breathing
This small, cone-shaped speaker topped with a camera lens wrapped in bunny ears. It's adorable, but hiding behind the facade of cuteness is some serious AI computing.
Cubo AI's baby monitor will alert you if your child's face is covered
There are plenty of smart baby monitors on the market, and some are better than others. Cubo AI is hoping to join the pack with a baby monitor that can alert you if your little one's face is covered. The AI-powered face detection technology could come in useful if your baby rolls onto his or her stomach or is covered by a blanket.
The best baby gadgets for new parents
The road to parenthood is paved with endless anxiety and preparation. You have countless choices to make, and in the heat of the moment, they all seem like life-and-death decisions. That makes would-be parents an easy target for the baby-gear industry, which is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2025. If you thought buying a new phone or laptop was hard, just wait until you're confronted with countless "smart" baby gadgets that promise to prevent SIDs, track every bowel movement and make sure your child isn't screwed up for life. That's basically the life I've been living for the past year. But now that my daughter Sophia is nearly six months old, I have a better sense of the gear she actually wants to use and what's a waste of money.
D-Link wants to invade your home with security cameras and leak sensors
Night-vision baby monitors, pan-and-tilt security cameras and water leak sensors? D-Link's smart home product division loves CES, and an earlier connected home hub leak showed that it would be especially active this year. The company has formally revealed its first hub (the $80 DCH-G020) to support both WiFi and Z-Wave devices, along with some peripherals to go with it. As expected, it plugs into a regular router and lets you control a raft of either Z-Wave or WiFi accessories using the mydlink app for iOS or Android devices. Giving the hub some utility are the $40 Z-Wave DCH-Z110 open/close and $50 Z-Wave Motion sensors, along with the DCH-S160 WiFi water sensor and DCH-S220 WiFi siren ($60 and $50, respectively). All of those devices will be available sometime next quarter.
Withings launches a CCTV baby cam that'll monitor your air quality
It might have started out just making connected weighing scales, but Withings is now serious about making your home a healthy place to be. That's why the company has launched Home, a connected baby cam that also pulls double-duty to ensure that you're as healthy as you can be. The cause of some physical strife, so it claims, is VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds in the air. Thanks to the rise in double glazing and a desire to conserve energy, people aren't leaving their windows open as much as they should, leading to a deadly rise in these VOCs in the air.
Sproutling's new wearable tracks your infant's sleep patterns
Baby wearables. With the boom in fitness trackers, you must've seen them coming, right? Now, a pair of ex-Apple and Google employees has launched the Sproutling baby monitor, a device the company likens to Nest in terms of design and simplicity. Unlike the Withings Baby Monitor camera, however, it's meant to be worn around your baby's ankle. That way, it can monitor parameters like heart rate, skin temperature and body movement, while also tracking the room's temperature, humidity and light levels. All that data is sent to a smartphone app, which crunches it to create simple notifications. For instance, it can tell you whether her heart rate is higher than normal, if she's sleeping on her back, if it's warmer than ideal in the room or whether she's now awake and not in a good mood.
Baby Monitor 3G makes watching your baby much easier with new OS X version
Having a baby requires constant vigilance -- morning and night you are watching over your little one to keep them safe and happy. One indispensable tool for parents is a baby monitor that lets you watch over your child from afar. If you have an old iOS device lying around, then you might want to skip the traditional audio- or camera-based monitors and take a look at Baby Monitor 3G and its new OS X version to see if this software package fits your baby-watching needs. Baby Monitor 3G from TappyTaps works like a standard baby monitor system with an iOS device serving as a monitor in the baby's room and a second device as the parent's listening station. You can use two iOS devices as the baby-parent station pair or add in a Mac now that the latest version of the Baby Monitor 3G software includes an OS X app. The system works best over WiFi, but you can configure it to work over 3G as well. In my case, I set up an old iPhone in the baby's room as the baby station and configured both my iPad and my Mac to be parent stations that let me watch my child while I am downstairs. Setting up the software is a bit more complicated than just install, launch and go. You have to pair your devices before the two can connect as a baby and parent station. Pairing is easy and requires you to enter a code from the baby station into the device that is the parent station. A video within the app shows you how to pair the two devices if you are confused by the setup. Once the devices are paired, you don't have to pair them again unless you uninstall the Baby Monitor software. The OS X version of Baby Monitor 3G serves as a parent station and is very similar to the iOS app. The app launches as a normal-sized window that takes up half the screen on my 13-inch MacBook Pro. It also can be configured to display in a small square that you can place in the corner of your screen. To save battery life, Baby Monitor 3G lets you listen to an audio stream of your baby. Just like the iOS version, the OS X app lets you turn on live video so you can watch your child and make sure he or she is safe. Live video works only on WiFi; you will view a still shot over 3G/4G. If you need additional lighting at night, you can tap the flash button on the parent software and turn on the baby station's camera flash. Be prudent in using the flash as the LED is bright and can startle a half-asleep baby. I found this out the hard way one night at 3 AM. When your baby cries, the monitoring software turns red and you can hear the crying over your speakers or headphones. If you are using your iPhone as the parent station, you can also get a vibration alert. There is no support for notifications, so you do have to listen for your child or keep an eye on the software. The app keeps track of when your baby last cried, so you can glance at it and see that your child cried x number of minutes ago. If you want to soothe your child, you can speak to them using the speaker on the remote device. The only detractor that I found was a pairing limitation that allows the baby station to connect to only one parent station at a time. I could listen to my baby while downstairs on the treadmill, but my husband couldn't connect at the same time on his iPad in the living room down the hall. The connection was just for one baby station and one parent station only. This limitation doesn't dissuade me from using Baby Monitor 3G, but you should keep it in mind when comparing this software with other systems like this audio-only one from Vtech that has one baby station and multiple monitors. Baby Monitor 3G is available for the Mac and costs US$4.99 in the Mac App Store. The iOS version is available for $3.99 in the iOS App Store.
Ask Engadget: best video baby camera?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Berry2Droid, who wants to geek-up monitoring his first-born. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "My wife and I are having a baby soon and need a video monitor. We'd like it to be compatible with our Android phones, rather than having a separate screen in the package. We'd also like some sort of visual aid as my wife is deaf so she would need some sort of other signal. If there was any ability to add additional cameras, that'd also be great. Thanks for your help!" We could certainly point you in the direction of Samsung Techwin's Video Baby Monitor or Y-Cam's offering, both of which are infrared-and-internet capable cameras that pump the picture straight to your mobile device. We came a little unstuck on the visual warning element for your wife, however, but that's why we'll turn this question over to our faithful group of commenters to see if their knowledge stretches further than our own. Dear friends, help out a lovely couple as they embark upon the majestic (albeit fraught) journey of parenthood and provide some wisdom in the comments below.
WiFi Baby is a first-class remote video monitoring system for your baby
Parents with a young baby know how hard it is to check your little one while he or she is sleeping. You try to quietly tip-toe into the room, but inevitably the baby senses your presence and wakes up from his slumber. One solution that'll let you watch your child without disturbing their sleep is the US$279 WiFi Baby video monitoring system. Unlike other video monitoring systems, the WiFi Baby works over your home's WiFi network and is compatible with your iPad, iPhone and Mac. It also supports off-site viewing so you can check-in on your children when you are outside the home. We reviewed an earlier version last year, and will take a look at the latest version of the WiFi Baby in this review. This updated unit now supports WiFi N, has a microSD slot for recording and an easier setup process. Design The WiFi baby is a compact camera that's 3.4 inches wide, 3.4-inches high and 1.2-inches deep. It includes a mounting bracket/stand that adds an inch or two on to the height of the unit. The bracket has an adjustable mount so you can position the camera as needed. The camera itself includes a 1/4" CMOS sensor for daytime viewing and 30 IR LEDs that provide the unit with night vision. It'll easily let you see your baby from across the room, but works best when it's a few feet away from the crib or playpen. The WiFi Baby has an integrated WiFi 802.11 b/g/n antenna on the side of the unit. Though it doesn't look as stylish as the cameras that use a removable antenna, I prefer the design of the WiFi baby. I've owned several remote cameras with the removable antennas and they break or get lost when packing/unpacking the unit. With the WiFi Baby, the antenna is always attached and won't break unless you damage the unit by dropping it or stepping on it accidentally. Based on external appearance, the WiFi Baby appears to be a Y-Cam camera that's bundled into a parent-friendly package. Functionality The WiFi Baby includes all the hardware and support necessary to setup the monitor in your home, but it's not the easiest process in the world. After you unpack the camera and attach it to the mount, you then need to connect the device to your Mac and configure the unit to connect to your home WiFi network. The process is straight forward for a tech-savvy user, but it can be tricky for those who are not familiar with WiFi router settings and IP addresses. WiFi Baby, however, provides detailed written instructions, video instructions and a telephone/online support service that's top notch. Customer service reps will talk you through the setup process and can even connect remotely to your computer if you require the additional assistance. Once the WiFi Baby is connected to your home wireless network, you must install the viewer apps on your iOS device or Mac. In this review, I used an iPhone and an iPad about 90 percent of the time. The free Mac app works well, but it has some issues with audio on Lion and Mountain Lion. Lion and Mountain Lion require you to change the audio on the camera from AMR format to AAC format. The AAC format works great on the desktop, but it won't work on your iPhone or iPad. You either have to keep switching the audio format back and forth or decide to go with either the Mac or an iOS device as your primary viewing device. I decided to stick with iOS as it is much more convenient to pull out my iPhone than it is to login to my Mac. The WiFi Baby does not ship with the software required to view the video stream on your iOS device. The company recommends the $12 Baby Monitor HD app from SunshineApps GmbH and has worked with the developer to get a profile for the WiFi Baby camera included in the app. The app was easy to configure thanks to this pre-installed profile. You can use any surveillance app to connect to WiFi Baby camera, but without a preset profile, you'll have to try a bunch of other camera profiles to get the WiFi baby to work. There's also an Android app that I tested and works equally as well as the iOS version. The Baby Monitor HD app lets users connect to their WiFi Baby and receive both live audio and video from the camera. When in video mode, the app disables auto lock so you can have an always-on video feed. I used the video mostly in the morning when I was writing and my son was starting to wake up. I could keep the video running and watch him as he started to stir. It was convenient, but my iPhone's battery life did take a small hit. The app also includes an audio-only mode and works in the background, so you can still listen to audio from the camera while you check your email or browse the web. The audio-only mode is also great for night time use when you want to hear your baby crying, but don't need to see him because you are sleeping. Once again, running the app all night has an impact on battery life. To get through an 8-hour sleep, I needed to start the night with a fully-charged phone or charge my phone while I sleep. Baby Monitor HD app supports up to four cameras and includes alerts that'll notify you when your baby starts crying or making noise. The app-camera combo also supports multiple authorized users so Mom and Dad can watch the baby at the same time. The quality of the video coming from the camera over my WiFi network was superb. The color video during the day was detailed, while the night vision was crisp and clear. The video was clear enough that I could see my child breathing. The camera also has a wide view so you can see the baby's entire crib or the corner of room in which they sleep or play. This view almost makes up for the fact that you can't pan or tilt the camera remotely. The WiFi Baby is a fixed camera, so you can't move it when your child moves. This is a small drawback that makes the camera useful for a child that is confined in their crib, but not one that is walking all over a room. The microphone on the WiFi Baby was sensitive enough that you could hear crying, but not breathing noises. This level of detection is perfect for parents who want to be alerted when their child wakes up or is upset, but not one that needs to monitor every breath. You can also configure the WiFi Baby to record automatically when a noise is detected or at an interval. You can record a video or grab a still that can be save to a microSD card or to a NAS (Network Attached Storage). I found the video recording feature to be very helpful with my older daughter. She snores and we were able to use the camera's recording feature to capture her snoring. We did this for a few nights and then watched the recorded video clips to see if it was a normal snore or sleep apnea. While most users will use the WiFi Baby to monitor their child from the comfort of home, there are times when you'll want to view your child when you are outside your home WiFi network. In these cases, the monitor can be configured to send its video signal to your mobile phone. This scenario requires you to open up a port on your router that is used to send and receive the camera feed. WiFi Baby has detailed instructions that'll show you how to setup port forwarding on your wireless router and how to use their dynamic DNS service to detect any changes in the external IP address of your cable/DSL modem. Once again, WiFi Baby's customer service is there to walk you through the setup process and will continue to work with you until everything is working correctly. Once you get the settings correct, the video over a 3G connection is fantastic. It's not HD quality, but it is good enough for you to watch your child while he is sleeping or playing. It's perfect for when you leave your child with a baby sitter or want to check in on things when you are away on a business trip. Conclusion The WiFi Baby is an excellent video monitoring solution for new and seasoned parents. I used it with my one-year old during naps and at night. Before I went to bed every night, I would fire up the app on my iPhone and check in on my one-year-old son to make sure he was comfortable. When he cried at night, I would launch the app and see what was wrong. Usually it was a quick night-time cry in his sleep, but sometimes I discovered he was upset because he dropped his blanket outside the crib. It was extremely convenient to be able to check on him without going into his room. When he was sleeping, it was also comforting to be able to see him breath. I also used it for my older kids as noted above and even used it to keep an eye on the dogs when we went away for an afternoon. This latter scenario led to the discovery that the dogs like to sleep on the couch when we go out and hop off when we pull in the driveway. The quality of the video coming from the WiFi Baby was fantastic, but I wish you could pan and tilt the camera. I would love to be able to use it to watch my baby sleeping at night and then turn it remotely to focus on my 3-year-old while he plays in the room. It's a trade-off, though, as competing cameras that support pan/tilt don't have the high-quality optics of the WiFi Baby. The WiFi Baby video monitoring system is available for $279. This price includes free tech support and free shipping. It does not include the iOS or Android apps, which are an extra expense. The WiFi Baby is an expensive video monitoring system, especially when compared to standalone surveillance cameras like those from Dropcam and Loftek. This extra cost is likely due to WiFi baby's customer service, which is superior to the customer support offered by other camera manufacturers. Pros Quality video and audio feed. Setup is made easier by excellent customer support. Compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and the Mac. Can setup the camera to record automatically, which is great for diagnosing sleep problems. Cons Expensive. Apps are an extra cost. Camera is fixed and can't be tilted or panned remotely. Who is it for? Any parents who want to keep a close eye on their children while they sleep or play.
Belkin WeMo Baby monitor lets you listen to Junior via an internet connection and an iOS device
Belkin's line of WeMo products is all about home automation, and its latest addition, the WeMo Baby, lets you listen to the cooing and crying of your offspring from afar. The device is a WiFi-enabled microphone that streams audio of your baby to up to six devices simultaneously -- provided they're running iOS 5 or higher and the free WeMo Baby companion app. That app's powered by Evoz's baby monitoring service and it works over a 3G, 4G, or WiFi connection. So, absentee parents can keep tabs on their bundle of joy whether they're in another room or sneaking a cold one at the pub round the corner. What's the price for such parental freedom? $90 when it goes on sale early next month. Full PR and an app screenshot can be found after the break.
Withings Baby Monitor works with iPhone, isn't cheap
The Withings Baby Monitor is finally available in the US, and it's one expensive iPhone accessory. First teased in January, the gadget is on sale for US$299. The corresponding iPhone app is free. What does it do for three hundred bucks? It monitors the humidity in Junior's room, lets you know when he's awake and even has night-vision mode. Plus, this goes without saying, it's a huge leap beyond the audio-only set I used when my kids were little. Withings makes other cool goodies, such as an Internet-connected scale and an iPhone-connected blood pressure cuff. Your little princess is worth a $300 baby monitor, right?
Withings Baby Monitor makes its official, expensive US debut
The Withings Baby Monitor has already been available in the UK for sometime now and recently made a splash over at the FCC. Now the iOS accessory is finally for sale here in the good ol' US-of-A, for the rather staggering price of $299. That's right, this sensor-packed web cam probably costs more than your handset. Then again, that $20 set of audio-only monitors you picked up at Walmart can't keep you abreast of the temperature and humidity in your child's sleeping quarters or let you watch your newborn sleep with the aid of a night vision mode. You can get the associated WithBaby app for free in the iTunes App Store now. The only question is, whether or not you love your baby enough to spend $300 on an iPhone accessory. We won't judge you either way. Check out the PR after the break.
Withings Smart Baby Monitor drops through FCC's chimney
Baby monitors. If you're in the market for one (er, congrats) and you run an Apple-flavored household, then this Withings device looks sufficiently over-specced for your needs. It's been out in the UK for a couple of months already priced at £269 ($425), and judging from the FCC filing it's coming to the US too, where it'll face sibling rivalry from the likes of Samsung, Evoz and the Exmobaby bodysuit. The base station fixes to the side of the crib, hooks up over WiFi or Ethernet, and streams audio and three-megapixel video (with night-vision mode) over the web, so you can access it via the iOS app using 3G or any good internet connection -- not only when you're within range of your router. It's even said that if you turn the mic's sensitivity right up, you'll hear the sounds of your old life, calling to you.
Samsung introduces WiFi SmartCam and video baby monitor (update: hands-on!)
For those keen on observing from afar, Samsung's just unveiled two WiFi surveillance cameras. Both can easily be paired with routers that support WPS and offer remote tracking from Sammy's SmartCam website. That video feed is 640 x 480 at 30fps and encoded in H.264. Alternatively on the WiFi SmartCam, footage can automatically be uploaded to YouTube based on predefined activity. And both'll survey in complete darkness thanks to built-in infrared -- up to a few meters at least. Catch either in March when they go on sale for a cool $149. PR, per usual is after the break.Dana Murph and Daniel Cooper contributed to this post.
Exmobaby links up with AT&T, lets you keep tabs on sleeping babes
Ask any parent of a newborn what they miss most and they'll almost always mention sleep. That particular baby-borne exhaustion can take an even greater turn for the worse if said rents happen to be worrywarts. But wouldn't it be nice if bleary-eyed Moms and Pops could outfit those fussy babes with bio-monitoring pajamas and catch up on Zzzz's? It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. Exmovere's already introduced tech along those very lines and, now, the company has AT&T as a partner to push its Exmobaby onesies forward. The transmitter-equipped pjs work by collecting critical data from sleeping tots -- like heart rate and temperature -- that can be sent as alerts to phones, tablets and even PCs running the appropriate software. There's no launch date announced for the washable scifi duds nor has pricing been set at this preliminary stage, but chin up -- those night sweats should soon be a distant memory.
WiFi Baby 3G baby monitor: Watching your baby from afar
Most parents want to keep a close eye on their baby, especially when he or she is sleeping in their room down the hall. Rather than check obsessively, which is what I did when I had my first baby, products like the WiFi Baby 3G let you easily watch your child from afar. Best of all, you can see and hear them without stumbling into their room and accidentally waking them up. The WiFi Baby 3G is a small color and infrared camera housed in an attractive white or black shell. The camera comes with a mounting bracket that lets you attach it to a wall or a stand. The camera has a solid square body with an antenna that is enclosed in thick plastic. It definitely can sustain a fall without breaking. The front of the camera has a color camera, a cluster of IR sensors, a microphone, a power indicator and a light sensor that'll switch the camera from color view to infrared view. It's made by Y-cam and is a quality camera. Unlike most baby monitors which send audio over the same 900MHz bandwidth used by cordless phones, the WiFi Baby works over your home WiFi network. To set it up wirelessly, you must first connect it to your router using a network cable and use the included software to setup the IP address, camera login credentials and other initial features. The setup is extremely easy, and there's an excellent customer support option that'll walk you through the process one step at a time. If you still have problems, a customer service rep can even connect to your computer using a screen sharing tool and set it up while you watch. If you have a plug-n-play UPnP router, the WiFi Baby 3G will be configured for outside access, which lets you view the camera stream using your cell phone's 3G connection. If you don't have UPnP, you will have to configure port routing manually on your router. I tested the WiFi baby remotely, and the video streamed nicely. There was some lag, but it's not really noticeable until someone starts moving the monitor at home. One nice feature is the time and date stamp on the video. This is fed from the baby monitor and is included to let you know the monitor is still working. The WiFi Baby 3G has lots of viewing options for parents that stay at home and for those on the go. There's a viewer for the Mac, the PC, iOS and Android devices. I tested both the iOS app and the Mac app; both worked extremely well. On first launch, both apps will scan the network for the camera and pull down the IP address. You will have to enter your username and password to connect to the camera and receive the audio and video stream. These settings are then saved for future use. The iOS app works on the iPhone and the iPad and lets you watch video and listen to audio on your device. In normal view, the video stream appears in a box at the top of the screen, and the audio levels are below. You can tap the video feed or the audio to mute it and then tap it again to turn it back on. The app has lots of settings to change what you see. You can customize the audio to display either a 5, 10 or 20 minute history or set up alerts for when the baby starts to cry. You can also change the appearance of the app by selecting a pink, blue or night theme. The Mac app is very different from the iOS app. It's from Y-Cam and is general surveillance app. It's not as pretty as the iOS version, but it has several features the iOS version lacks. Because it's a desktop app, the video window is much larger, and the audio is much louder. The video clarity is a bit grainy when you are viewing it at this larger resolution. It's still viewable, just not as nice as the iOS app. With one click, you can record a video stream or take a snapshot which is saved to the hard drive. The app even supports more than one camera feed. We tested it with only one WiFi Baby 3G, but you could use it with several more if you wanted. The WiFi Baby produces a clear video stream and loud audio. It's great as a color camera and even better in night mode. The video at night is nice and bright, and lets you see your little one while he or she sleeps. If you position it correctly, you can even see your baby breathe. It's a real pleasure to use a camera that doesn't cut costs by making it pretty on the outside and then slapping in a low-quality lens and sensor. You can tell from the moment you turn it on; the WiFi Baby is built from the ground up to be an exceptional surveillance camera. Speaking of the position, that's my only complaint about this monitoring solution. Unlike the rival iBaby monitor which moves, the WiFi baby is stationary. You can use the mount to get the right angle, but once it's set, the WiFi baby can't be changed remotely. You can't pan it left or right or scan up or down using your iPhone or computer. This isn't a big deal if you are watching a baby that's sleeping, but it could be a problem if you are trying to follow a toddler playing in his room. The camera partially makes up for its fixed position with a lens that captures a wide part of the room. I set it up in the boy's room, and I was able to see about 75% of the space. It was only the extreme left and the extreme right that I could not see. If you don't mind this limitation, then the WiFi Baby is an excellent choice for a video-enabled baby monitor. The audio and video are excellent, and, best of all, it's easy to configure and use. You can read about the WiFi Baby 3G and watch some demo videos on WiFi Baby's website. There's also an unboxing and setup video from WiFi baby embedded below. The wireless monitor costs US$279 and is available from WiFi Baby's online store. %Gallery-140169%
