I had an opportunity to review the Motorola Blink1 Wi-Fi Baby Camera. If you read my blog on a regular basis you know that I don’t have babies. In fact I have teenagers (my youngest will be 14 this week. Sigh…). My kids may be teens but that doesn’t mean for one moment that I don’t worry about them and what they are doing.
When I am not home and my kids have to walk home from the bus stop I worry about them. We live in a very busy condo/townhome complex and there are plenty of people coming and going all the time. About 10 years ago a young boy was followed home and almost kidnapped IN OUR COMPLEX. Needless to say I don’t want that to happen to my kids.
Being a stay at home/work from home mom provides me with the opportunity to be there for my kids when they get on and off the bus. Sometimes that is not possible. Sometimes I am out of town or at an appointment. Both of my kids know to text me when they are safely inside, but often they totally forget. They are too busy devouring everything in the kitchen and texting their friends to remember to shoot their worried mom a text too.
The reason why I wanted to review the Motorola Blink1 Wi-Fi Baby Camera is so that I could visually see my kids from my Smartphone, any time and from anywhere. All I need to do is access the FREE Monitor Everywhere App that I used to set up the monitor and I can actually see what is going on at home. I currently have the camera positioned on the top of my desk and pointed towards their room and part of the living room. The bathroom is in the same general area so I would be able to see them if they are in the room, walk past the camera to use the bathroom or walk from the living room into the bedroom and vice versa. I wish I had another monitor to cover the living room and/or kitchen, but for now the one is just fine. My kids spend most of their time in the room.
I should mention that this works with Android Smartphones and iPads too.
My kids were NOT happy that I was able to “spy” on them. Now they don’t even think about the monitor being on.
Setting up the camera was a bit tricky. I couldn’t seem to get things to connect property (between the app and the device). Thankfully after playing around with it a bit my hubby was able to figure it out. I have an iPhone 4 and it works fine on my phone.
I must say this is VERY cool. You truly can view what the monitor is pointed at from your phone. I’ve been able to check out what is going on at my home from anywhere – the grocery store, a doctor’s appointment – even upstate at my father’s house (I can peek in and see what our dog and cats are up to. :-)).
The image is not the best quality. It’s a bit grainy. Even so you can still see what is going on. You can even take screen shots and video from your Smartphone.
I’ve only used the monitor and app to check in during the day time when it’s well lit. I have peeked in at night just for the fun of it and you CAN see what is going on at night too. It’s almost like you have night vision.
As a parent I WISH they had a device like this when my kids were babies/toddlers. We had a regular monitor and whenever either of the kids would make sounds we’d jump up and go in an check on them. Often we woke them up. The sounds they were making were done in their sleep and by going into the room we would wake them up and then they would be awake and we would have to help them to get back to sleep again. That wasn’t such and issue for our daughter but our son was a horrible sleeper and once he woke up he was up. He could run on no sleep. If we had a monitor like the Motorola Blink1 Wi-Fi Baby Camera we would be able to see that our child was making the sound sin their sleep and NOT awake. That would have helped us to prevent sleepless nights (which we had many of them).
I also think this would have been great to have to peek in on my kids when they were quietly playing in their room. Sometimes when kids are being quiet it’s not always a good thing. They could be getting into mischief. Being able to visually see what is going on without having to step inside the room can give you peace of mind and not disturb your child or children from playing quietly.
Being able to access the footage from your phone is even better. You don’t have to worry about getting up and going over to the monitor to see what is going on. You just have to look at your phone. That means you can check out what is going on from the kitchen, bedroom, basement, outside or at the neighbor’s house.
From your smartphone and the app you can also zoom in and out pan up/down and left/right so you can get a better visual.
Other great features include the ability to monitor the temperature in the room so that you know if it’s too hot or too cold without stepping inside the room. There is also a lullaby function. I never tried that out with my teens for obvious reasons. LOL!
There is also a two way audio feature so you can actually talk and be heard. Every now and then I have verbally told my kids to get their home work done. They certainly DON’T like that feature. Ha Ha.
Over all I think this is a nifty device to have, whether you have babies or teenagers. I think it could also be fun to check in to see what your pets are doing throughout the day. It could also be a great way to peek in on the babysitter or nanny to make sure they are not doing anything wrong.
I would not recommend this for home security simply because a would be burglar could easily disable the device by turning it around or breaking it.
The only downside is that it’s a bit pricey (around $299) and occasionally it didn’t seem to work flawlessly when I was out of my network (but that might just be a connectivity thing).
I love this device. I think it’s a must have for any home with babies and children (even teens). I truly wish that this was available when my kids were babies.
This would make the perfect baby shower gift!
The Motorola Blink1 Wi-Fi Baby Camera is available at many retail locations.
For more information visit the Motorola website.
FYI… I did not use any screen shots (aside from my iPhone) because I didn’t want strangers to see the layout of my family’s home for safety reasons.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Patty White says
They sure have come a long way since my kids were babies!! And its so nice you can check on them with your phone (and the babysitter)!
Beanybopp says
We have an Angelcare monitor for our son. I would have never slept without it!! But now that he is bigger ,and soon will be in a big boy bed, it would be nice to have a way to actually keep an eye on him without sneaking in or stopping what I’m doing. This would be perfect because when you look into home security ones but you usually you can’t get just the camera. This, or something similar, is something that my husband and I will def be looking into.
Auriette says
You mention it would have been nice to check on baby at night without going into the room. What kind of lighting is needed to get a clear picture at night?
Shar says
I wish I would have had something like this when my kids were babies. This is so nice! I also like that you can do screen shots and video from your Smartphone.
Tammy S says
This would be a must for any new mother. I think it is amazing that you can do this from your cell phone. I would have loved to had this style when my kids were babies. Next baby shower I go to this is what I am getting them. Beyond cool!