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Abstract
When it arrived last fall, the iZON was almost hopelessly buggy and underperforming. After a firmware update and new version of the connection app in early April, the iZON is only slightly buggy. Once set up properly, it's a relatively low-cost monitor with no monthly fees.
The iZON needs a broadband connection with upload speeds of 2 megabits per second. (To check your wireless network's upload speed, visit speedtest.net.) You'll also need an iPod Touch, third generation or later, an iPhone 3GS or later or an iPad for remote monitoring.
Because its wireless signal operates on the 2.4-gigahertz bandwidth, any device like a cordless phone on the same frequency could cause interference. The iZON, as in "eyes on," is activated through the app. Turn it on, download the app, then hope for a connection. It took me three attempts, and several minutes of suspense each time, before the iZON came alive.
Full text
There's a little spy in all of us, but even the best needs the right tools. Here are a couple for your starter kit:
The iZON Remote Room Monitor ($130) from Stem is a no-frills wireless camera with noise and motion sensors that streams live video to a compatible iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad and video clips to your YouTube account.
When it arrived last fall, the iZON was almost hopelessly buggy and underperforming. After a firmware update and new version of the connection app in early April, the iZON is only slightly buggy. Once set up properly, it's a relatively low-cost monitor with no monthly fees.
The iZON, only 3.25 inches tall, looks like a Botoxed tube of lipstick mounted on a magnetic oval base. It has an indicator light, switchable on or off via the free app, to show if it's connected to your home network.
The iZON needs a broadband connection with upload speeds of 2 megabits per second. (To check your wireless network's upload speed, visit speedtest.net.) You'll also need an iPod Touch, third generation or later, an iPhone 3GS or later or an iPad for remote monitoring.
Because its wireless signal operates on the 2.4-gigahertz bandwidth, any device like a cordless phone on the same frequency could cause interference. The iZON, as in "eyes on," is activated through the app. Turn it on, download the app, then hope for a connection. It took me three attempts, and several minutes of suspense each time, before the iZON came alive.
The iZON camera has a single resolution, low, as in 480 by 320, and no zoom or pan-and-scan features. On the small screen of a Touch or iPhone and even the iPad's larger screen, however, the video was relatively smooth and seldom pixilated.
Lower-light levels was something entirely different. The iZON's images quickly deteriorated or disappeared when the lights finally went out. For security purposes, an overnight light would be essential for the iZON to send video footage.
Depending on the home-network's speed, video also will be delayed. If I said "iZON" while facing the camera and watching the video feed simultaneously on an iPad, the "live" action arrived 18 seconds later.
Sensor-activated video uploads five minutes of footage to your YouTube channel - no one will see it without your permission - where, expanded on a computer screen, it will look grainy and soft. For security, that shouldn't matter. You can also record live video, up to 30 seconds, by pressing the app's record button.
Stem says it can accommodate up to 200 iZONs on a home network. I set up my own deep-undercover, single- iZON test near a litter box to determine which of the household's two cats were using a new litter. Most alerts - I activated both the motion and noise sensors using the app - were my own visits to the area to check for signs of clumping.
Last fall, though, a woman in Boynton Beach, Fla., used an iZON to catch a neighbor stealing her medication. She showed the stored video to local police.
So the iZON works. Just remember that you'll never catch a thief in the dark.
SMILE, IT'S THE PENCAM
Swann has kept alive the old camera-in-the-ballpoint-pen ruse, its latest versions the HD PenCam ($100) and the PenCam 4GB. Both shoot high-def, 720p video (1280 by 720) and still-image JPEGs through a tiny camera eye just above the pocket clip.
The HD PenCam, which I tried, holds up to 16 gigabytes on a micro-SD card (not included). The other PenCam has 4 gigabytes of built-in storage.
The fat-boy pen writes too. The button at the top, though, controls the camera. Video quality was excellent, still images not bad, but audio was often muffled and, really, how does one aim and frame a PenCam shot?
When unscrewed, the top half of the pen acts as a jump drive but it was recognized by neither a Windows laptop nor a MacBook. To see the video and photos, I had to remove the micro-SD and use a card reader.
A warning to anyone who actually buys an HD PenCam for undercover purposes: Don't let the perp see the glowing blue light on the pen when the camera starts rolling.
Photo (color); Caption: iZON Remote Room Monitor
(Copyright 2012 by The Daily Press)