People like their smartphones and, well, they also tend to like their babies – so, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that we’re seeing an increasing number of baby monitors that transmit live video to parents’ phones. Recent examples have included the Smart Baby Monitor and BabyPing. The iDevice-based iBaby is the latest such system, although it’s notable in that instead of just offering a locked-off shot, the camera can be remotely panned and tilted.
Besides its motorized base, iBaby also features infrared night vision, an alert system that notifies users whenever their little one moves or cries, a photo capture feature, and two-way audio that allows parents to listen, talk and/or sing to their baby. Additionally, up to four different users on different devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch) can access the video/audio feed at once. Connectivity is via WiFi or an Ethernet cable.
Using the interface on their mobile device, users can pan iBaby 350 degrees, or tilt it up to 70 degrees. Of course, if the baby is confined to a crib, all that camera movement might prove unnecessary. The company, however, suggests that “babies” could also include dogs or cats – essentially, anything that users might want to check up on.
iBaby is currently listed on its own website as “coming soon,” at a price of US$199.95.
When looking at cameras like this, the key question to ask is: how "open" is the video feed? Do I have to use a proprietary web site if I'm accessing it via a PC/Mac, or can I host my own server?
the quality of the screen was awful and the night vision was practically pointless.
not worth it.