Dropcam announces massively improved Dropcam Pro
posted Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 2:31 PM EDT
Today, Dropcam announced the Dropcam Pro, an upgraded home security camera for keeping an eye on your house when you're not around. This new version significantly improves image quality from the original thanks to the introduction of an all glass lens, a wider viewing angle, and more.
Dropcam made a name for itself creating a house camera that was easy to setup, and that easily streamed video over a local Wi-Fi connection to be watched online. But with the new version, it seems Dropcam has dramatically upped its game, not just in terms of the quality of the video and audio it captures, but of feature to.
The big addition this time around is the inclusion of an all glass lens system, which earlier iterations did not have. The company is claiming that this, alongside a larger sensor, provides twice as sharp video during the day, and "7x better performance in low-light conditions and at night." The new design also features a larger, 130° field of view, and better audio pickups.
One interesting new feature, as described by Gizmodo, is the ability to zoom and enhance. Since the streaming video is downsampled to save bandwidth, you can zoom in on individual quadrants, and retain detail the way you wouldn't be able to otherwise.
The Dropcam Pro also features Bluetooth LE on board, with a planned API, so that it can be tied to other devices to trigger its recording, rather than being set to go at certain times.
The device itself will set you back $199, while last year's model drops to $149. Live streaming from the Dropcam is free, but if you want cloud based recording, it'll set you back $9.95/month for a week of recording every month, or $29.95 for a full 30 days.
So if you're worried about security, keeping an eye on your pets at home, or just want an eye on what's going on around the house, it looks like the Dropcam Pro offers a pretty solid product.