Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFinally A Solid Camera, Awesome Night Vision, Great Integration, Great App & Simple to Setup Camera!
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2015
Awesome camera, good features, easy to use app, simple setup and makes home automation simple.
I have wanted a camera for the home for a while but was on the fence for some time. I currently have the Nest Thermostat and a few Nest Protects in the home, which I have been really pleased with and when Nest came out with the camera it was a no brainer. I have to say I am very surprised by the negative reviews, which I don't understand.
So these are my thoughts:
Pros: Easy to setup, clear picture, awesome night vision, great app, easy to use app, love the notifications and full integration
Cons: The unit gets a bit warm, an outdoor version would be nice
If you are on the fence about getting a camera this is the chance you've been waiting for, or at least it has been for me. The price is what it is, at this time they are $200, but all things considered that is great I think. With it being new I think they can get away with charging $200 but $150 would be just right. Take a step back and realize what you are getting... a tiny camera, that hooks up to wi-fi, small foot print, gets awesome wide views and great picture... all while delivering it straight to your phone... that is phenomenal. Think about where this possibility was 10 years ago or even 15... the setup, hardware and it was terrible... now for a small cost you get a tiny footprint, small hardware, great video quality straight to your phone all while being able to set it up yourself in less than 30 seconds!!! What else do you want?
Are there other products like this? Yes. Are they cheaper? Yes. But I would put my money on Nest and Google as a company to put some serious R&D and continue to add features to it and believe they will do a better job than any competitor out there. If they don't then they'll probably buy them out, LOL.
Let me say this though about the complaints I have seen, specifically with connection issues. Before I set off on my home automation journey I realized I would have to have a killer wi-fi connection in order to pull this off, no taking short cuts on this at all. The wi-fi router in my opinion is the heart of the system you want to install. I went with what I thought was the best router out there at the time which was the Linksys WRT AC1900 dual band wi-fi router. http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Dual-Band-Wireless-Anywhere-WRT1900AC-FFP/dp/B00K91DB7Y It is not cheap but you don't want to go cheap in this category and if you even begin to think that your cable provided router is good, it is not. You have to realize whatever they provide you are light years behind the Linksys by far. When I had the Verizon provided junk router I kept having connection issues with my Nest Thermostat and the Nest protects. In the evening with the family on their devices we would have two iPads, two iPhones, computer and all the wireless systems (printers, Nest Protects, Thermostats, Camera, cloud drives) and always had issues because of the demand on the router. Now with dual bands, I setup automation on one and family devices on the other and the system is flawless.
I can't stress to take your router in to consideration when you hear these complaints. If you want a good experience not only with this camera but whatever you do with home automation the router quality will have to be at the heart of the system, invest money there. As for folks who say they have 75/75 internet, lets be real... that is at best... after that the signal has to be put out thru your router and that is the weak point, you don't actually get the true power.
I hope this review is helpful to some and answers your concerns posed by others.
Thank you!