By Scott Kramer
As you’re probably well aware, there are plenty of home security cameras available that you can control through a smartphone app. Many seem to have their own hook, if you will, that makes it unique in the crowded marketplace.
Such is the case with Guardzilla’s 360 Outdoor unit ($230). Meant to withstand the rigors of being outside — heat, cold, rain, snow and wind — it features a camera that surrounds the circular part of its body, to let users monitor and record movement in 360 degrees in high definition. Thus, the company’s hook: “Other outdoor cameras monitor less than a third (<120 degrees) of your outdoors, leaving large areas unprotected. Only the Guardzilla 360 Outdoor delivers 360 degree live video to your phone. Watch the back door, the kids playing in the yard, the garage and the driveway all from one camera.”
You get the picture. You can mount it to a wall or ceiling via one of the most-powerful and clever magnets I’ve seen, or just set it onto a table or even the ground on its included little stand. It’s a breeze to set up. Essentially, you download the free app, power up the camera and sync it all via your home WiFi and your phone’s bluetooth. It’s fairly self-explanatory and took me less than two minutes.
Once your smartphone connects to it, you can bring up the live camera view and swipe your finger on the phone screen left or right, up or down, to see everything in view of the camera. Or like those virtual reality cameras, you can just physically pan your smartphone in any direction. Its adjustable motion sensors detect movement in 360 degrees, capturing 360-degree video of the event and instantly sending alerts to your smartphone by email or text message. And the unit is armed with night vision, so that infrared sensors let you see clear video images at night and in dark, shaded areas. Just don’t rest it against a wall, like I unknowingly did at first. Apparently that can wreak havoc on the sensor so that the field of vision away from the wall comes out all cloudy and gray in the dark. But with nothing around it — say, if it’s mounted to a patio awning — and the contrast and clarity is pretty good.
The unit also features two-way talk, which company officials say lets you conduct live conversations through the speaker and mic. As for power, it operates through the included 10-foot AC power cord or via a built-in rechargeable battery. If you see someone breaking into your place, but aren’t home to stop them, you can trigger a loud 90dB siren by pressing a button on the app. What’s kind of cool is that you can also take a snapshot with it at anytime, which comes out in 360 degrees.
Scott Kramer is veteran, Southern California-based writer primarily versed in golf and personal technology. Studying Computer Sciences in college, and then working as a programmer/software engineer for about a decade, triggered my passion for today’s high-end, high-tech gadgets. I can’t help myself whenever I see any kind of cool new personal technology. I feel compelled to further check it out and see what it’s all about. And even if I have no use for it personally, I’m always thinking who it might best suit. There are exciting new innovations emerging daily that are shaping the future and simplifying life. And I hope to be your eyes to that world, through the words of this column.