There’s a new smart camera in the wild and this time it’s coming from abode, the company behind the iota all-in-one security/smart hub. Already a successful hub solution that features so many options built into a singular device (including a camera), they have been hard at work to expand their line of add-on products that allow you to branch out with solutions all throughout your home. This being the latest.
Similar to many modern smart security cameras, it is a 1080p (30p) camera that features the ability to mount both indoors or outside and comes with mounts to make it possible. It can also sit flat on a shelf or other similar location. It has a motion sensor and IR for vision at night (or other low-light scenarios). You have two-way communication between the built-in microphone/speaker and your mobile device.
It offers IP65 water resistance, which should protect it from many elements. However, it would be best to mount it somewhere it won’t be in direct constant abuse by said weather and absolutely not immersed by flooding or anything.
It has a 152-degree field of view, which will cover a lot of ground. Much better than your typical cheaper 90-degree options and slightly less than your average doorbell camera (which is usually around </=170-degrees).
There is a power cable (USB), so you do have to run it near an outlet somewhere. If you don’t have an outlet nearby, you can integrate it into your doorbell’s low-voltage path (transformer is usually located in the garage and feeding doorbell and sometimes the small lights on your address plaque).
You have the option of integrating it with their hub as part of a full ecosystem of devices, or you can simply use it by itself as a single camera (no hub required).
They plan on updating the camera’s firmware in the future to offer more advanced person or object detection, allowing you to create various different scenes or alarms depending on if you get a new package, a pet running loose, and so forth.
The abode collection of products is good for those who haven’t jumped into other brand ecosystems since it is an enclosed system (their branded products only work with their hub, or in this rare case, by themselves). Although they won’t work with other hubs, the abode hub does work with other products (ie, Z-Wave devices), making it pretty versatile.
It’s currently available for pre-order via their website and will likely make it to other outlets after its launch. The pre-order price is $159, and the MSRP will eventually be $199, shipping next month (November).
Since the model isn’t wireless, it does make it a little expensive for a single smart camera competitively speaking, but at least you don’t have to keep charging it all the time as many of these wireless solutions do *not* last (battery life) as long as they claim to.
