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Pro Built-in siren
The siren is very loud - rated at 105dB (louder than a snowmobile or motorcycle). It's loud enough to scare off virtually any intruder.
Pro Tracks the weather
With a temperature and humidity sensors on-board, the Piper NV can give you a good idea of what the interior 'weather' is like. It can also track outdoor temperature, and will warn you of local weather alerts.
Con No web app
Web apps can be handy if your phone is dead or misplaced at the time. They also allow access from any computer using just a login and password, which can be useful if you've run out of data on your phone and are out of Wi-Fi range. This also means that Windows Phone or Blackberry devices won...
Con No removable local storage
There is no removable local storage available on the Piper NV - all media is immediately uploaded to the Piper cloud. This online storage is free, but is limited to 1000 clips before it starts overwriting old clips. If the camera is offline when a clip recorded, the video is stored on the device a...
Pro Quality video, even when dark
The Canary has a viewing angle of 147 degrees, letting it see more than competing products. The 1080p resolution is crisp, and allows for digital zooming up to 3X. There are 12 infra-red LEDs that work as part of the night vision to keep recording even after the lights have gone out.
Pro Automatic recording
The Canary can utilize your phone's GPS to turn on and off automatically depending on where you are (when you're at home it will enter private mode, but when you leave it will activate). If you live with others, all they need to do is install the app and it won't activate when they'...
Pro Air quality sensors
There are sensors which help determine the quality of the air, including: temperature, humidity, and particles in the air. While it can't do anything about these itself, it is a useful tool for monitoring.
Con No local storage
All of the recordings are stored directly on the cloud, and there is no local storage available.
Con Not mountable
This system will need a table or stand to sit on - there isn't an included wall or ceiling mount. You perhaps could fashion your own, however remember to mount it upright as the camera doesn't rotate.
Con Expensive subscription plan
The free plan is limited - your history will only go back 12 hours, with 5 available bookbarks and you can download 3 videos. The $5/month ($49 annually) plan increases this to a 2 day history, 25 bookmarks, and unlimited downloads. For $10/month ($99 annually) you get 7 day history, 100 bookmar...
Pro Scheduling
You can schedule the camera so it isn't constantly recording your everyday activities, or sending you alerts.
Pro High quality video, even in pitch black
The 1080p resolution allows plenty of detail to be captured, and because it's a wide-angle lens you'll get a wide 130 degree picture. If you need to, you can zoom up to 8X to investigate small details. The night vision feature works surprisingly well in low light, or even pitch black. The...
Pro Integrates with other smart phone appliances
If you own a Nest thermostat, the Nest Cam will automatically turn on when you set the thermostat to 'away'. If your Nest Protect (the smoke detector) goes off, your Nest Cam will activate to show you what's happening although the placement of the cam may or may not be useful. Nest Cam...
Con Inconvenient viewing of previous recordings
Previous recordings will be kept in the cloud for up to 10 days (30 days with the subscription), however when viewing these recordings there is no option to scrub through the video, leaving you no option but to view the entire clip.
Con False alarms
While not frequently occurring, some false alarms will happen. On a particular windy day, trees blowing in the wind may cause an alarm, and sometimes the sun lighting up sections of a room can also cause false alarms.
Con No local storage
All video is immediately uploaded to the cloud, and there is no local storing happening on the Nest Cam itself.
Pro Wireless
The camera itself contains a battery, and is totally wireless when not charging. It's battery can be charged when placed on the wired charging ring.
Pro Portable
The Logi Circle is small, and can be taken virtually anywhere. It weighs just 9.6oz, and measures 2.5x3x2.5" (6.5x7.6x6.5cm).
Pro Speak and listen capable
There is a microphone and speaker built into the camera, allowing for a conversation between yourself and anybody on the other side of the camera.
Con Disappointing battery life
While it's convenient that it can be taken away from the charger, it would be even more convenient if the battery lasted longer than 2 hours. There is a power save feature which can extend the battery to last around 10 hours, but this cripples the resolution.
Con Low resolution camera
While 720p is sufficient for most media, a security camera benefits significantly from a higher resolution. More resolution allows for more digital zooming - in the case of an intruder, you can see exactly what they are doing.
Con No local storage
All videos recorded go straight to the cloud, as there is no local storage on the Logi Circle.
Pro Locally stored data
All data is stored locally on an SD card - included is an 8GB card. Even better - the slot is push activated, meaning it will spring out when you push it in again. This is an example of the good attention to small details. The SD card can only hold so much video though, and once storage space has...
Pro Inconspicuous design
At first glance, you wouldn't expect this to be a security camera. that means that it's easy to place it in plain sight without being an eye-sore.
Pro Facial recognition
While not a reliable source of security, the Netamo Welcome can sometimes get faces right. It has trouble differentiating between bearded folks, but other than that it does a decent job once it's sufficiently learned the different faces (it can take up to 2 weeks).
Con Limited positions available
There is no included mount, and it isn't supposed to be pointed at windows or areas with too much light. This limits where you can place it, as it has to be on a table or ledge of some sort, and facing in a specific direction.
Con Visible light when in night mode
When night mode is enabled, there is a glowing red light. This defeats the purpose of its stealthy design, and feels obtrusive when you are walking around your house in the dark - almost like something is watching you (because you are indeed being watched).
Con Sub-par camera quality
While rated at 1080p, the quality of the video doesn't quite match that of other 1080p home security cameras. This might just be optics they used, but the overall quality of the video leaves some to be desired.
Pro Customizble features
You can manually adjust the speaker and microphone volumes, as well as wide dynamic range settings to balance the brightness of the video. Sensitivity of both motion and audio sensors can be adjusted as well.
Pro Night vision
The SmartCam HD Pro is equipped with infrared LEDs. These illuminate dark rooms for the camera, while being invisible to human eyes.
Pro Speak and listen capable
You can have a conversation with somebody through your phone while they're in front of the SmartCam. This is useful as it allows you direct communication with babysitters, contract workers, house sitters or anybody else around your camera.
Con Legacy designed app
The app looks like it was created more than 3 years ago. There are different tabs and menus, and often times features aren't where you'd expect them to be. There are also few labels - icons dominate the app, and it isn't always obvious what the icons do.
Con Uninspiring build
The design of the SmartCam HD Pro is polarizing. While it looks functional from a distance, getting closer to it will reveal its physical shortcomings. It's bigger, chunkier, and feels like it's made out of cheap plastic. The glossy plastic front panel makes it feel much cheaper than it act...
Con Sub-par video quality
While it has a 1080p camera, the recordings don't match the same quality as other slightly more expensive 1080p cameras. This makes detail harder to make out, although it's usually still clear enough to figure out what's happening in the picture.
Pro Very easy setup
Instructions can be found in the app, or in the printed manual. The steps are very simple - plug it in, connect it to the internet, and install the app on your phone. After that, you just have to worry about registration and your personal settings.
Pro WeMo compatible
WeMo is a home automation system by Belkin. The NetCam HD+ is compatible with this system, which means it can integrate with other WeMo compatible products such as the Belkin Wemo smart bulbs. If you own compatible products, they can interact with each other. For example, you can configure the syst...
Pro Multi-platform controls
There are apps for both iOS and Android, as well as a web app for any computer or other operating systems. This allows split households (in terms of operating systems) to control their smart camera with ease.
Con Subscription required for cloud video storage
The subscription is almost required - without it you won't be able to see recorded video (only a live feed). You will also only receive email alerts without the subscription - it also unlocks app notifications. The subscription is $10/month (or $100 if billed annually), and it will allow vide...
Con Low field of view
The NetCam HD+ has a 95 degree vision in front of it. This is more than adequate for monitoring a small corridor or a single doorway, however other options offer a much wider field of view and will be able to see more surroundings.
Con No local storage
All videos are uploaded directly to the cloud, and there is no local storage on-board.
Pro Can also work as a baby monitor
This security camera has built in features that make monitoring a baby easier. It can provide a nightlight, and also has a lullaby setting where it will play soothing music to help the baby fall asleep.
Pro Includes environmental sensors
These sensors include: ambient light, sound, temperature, and humidity. Average temperature and humidity can help you realize how to reduce your heating bills. There's also a VoC (volatile organic compounds) sensor which reads the amount of particles in the air - a measure of air quality. If t...
Pro IFTTT compatible
IFTTT (IF This Then That) is an app that allows for custom automation. It combines triggers and actions to create recipes that are easy enough for just about anybody to create. IFTTT allows you to automate things like when you receive a specific text message from a specified number to start/stop re...
Con Homekit support is not yet available
We've reached out to Withings, and they have said that HomeKit support will be coming with iOS 10, expected around September 2016. You can find more information here.
Con Low quality picture
While rated for full HD (1080p) video recording, this camera looks noticeably grainier than most 1080p cameras. It still provides sufficient resolution to see what's happening, although the clarity is a bit disappointing.
Con iOS only
There is no web page, and no Android support either. You can only control it from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.
Pro Very configurable
If you are getting false alarms often, you can configure the sensitivity and even choose which parts of the frame to watch and which to ignore (the app can divide the picture into 25 different zones, and you can select zone by zone which to watch and which to ignore).
Pro Facial recognition support
When you get notified of movement, the Simplicam will be able to tell you who it is so you know if you can ignore the notification or not without needing to open the app. This feature requires the subscription.
Pro Android and iOS support + web app
Some cameras only support Android or iOS, but that is very inconvenient for families that have members using both major mobile operating systems (you're still out of luck with Windows Phone unless you use its browser). Lucky, this camera has support for both Android and iOS. There is also a web...
Con Low resolution video capture
At 720p, the video is usable, however it isn't crisp and depending on the distance of the movement you may not be able to make out exactly what is happening.
Con Relatively small field of vision
While the 107 degree field of vision should provide enough sight for most installations, other cameras offer up to 180 degrees of vision which covers a lot more ground. With this camera, there may be blind spots depending on where you install it and which way its facing.
Con Face detection could use some work
Face detection is technically a beta product, and doesn't work very well yet. It can confuse people for each other sometimes, and can have a hard time distinguishing between known faces and unknown people. This feature is getting worked on, and is promised to get better with time. At this point...
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