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Monitor your baby from anywhere with the WiFi Baby 3G

by David Winograd Dec 6th 2010 at 3:30PM

My daughter is about four weeks away from having a baby, so I am really interested in the WiFi Baby 3G ($US 279.00). This Wi-Fi enabled baby monitor can let you see and hear your baby on any Mac or PC. Just plug it in, and any browser will let you check in from anywhere whenever you'd like. The device, manufactured by Y-Cam and created by a small husband and wife startup to watch their own baby, can display HD quality color video and audio during the day, and thanks to its array of (infrared, we assume) lights that turn on when it's dark, it shows you black and white video at night using night-vision technology.

The WiFi Baby 3G is part computer and part webcam since it stands alone and doesn't, as most other solutions, require you to plug a webcam into a computer. Although expensive, it's quite ingenious. Some of its features include:
  • the ability to record video or still pictures
  • the ability to send email alerts or send alarms to a mobile device
  • if the built-in motion detector is triggered, an automatic light sensor that will adjust the light array to the light conditions of the baby's room
  • and of course, the ability to work both on Wi-Fi and 3G networks
There are two options to monitor your baby from a mobile device. The cheapest (free) is also made by Y-Cam, and it's called the Y-Cam MultiLive iP Camera Viewer. The limitations here are that this app doesn't supply audio, and it's a non-universal app without native iPad capability. The better option, according to the manufacturers of the WiFi Baby 3G, is the Baby Monitor HD ($9.99), a universal app that does transmit audio. To save battery life on your mobile device, this app gives you the option of turning off the video stream. There are also mobile solutions available for the Android. The WiFi Baby 3G is available in either black or white. Take a look at it in action by clicking below.

[via GEARlog]


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My daughter is about four weeks away from having a baby, so I am really interested in the WiFi Baby 3G ($US 279.00). This Wi-Fi enabled...
 

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Nathanial Thelen

I just got mine and as of right now, cannot figure out how to enable "3G". Only place in manual, settings screens, or website that is say the word "3G" and "network" at the same time is in the graphic on this page: http://wifibaby.net/product/wifi-baby-video-monitor-faqs/. Elsewhere it says "3G" is "3rd Generation". BAD MARKETTING

December 17 2010 at 11:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Nathanial Thelen's comment
Nathanial Thelen

So the contact I got from them is that you can use a iPhone to monitor it over the iPhone's 3G but the camera always connects to the home network, not a 3G network. I guess I should re-read everything but I feel like it made it sound like it works the other way.

December 17 2010 at 11:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
david

Doesn't the D-Link 930L do almost all these things, at under $100? (except for the infrared)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/03/d-link-dcs-930l-wireless-n-network-camera-review

Let's also remember that no matter how good the baby monitor, you're still not going to leave the house...so as long as the baby monitor is transmitting locally, that's the most important thing.

December 07 2010 at 1:21 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
junkie

I don't understand why these Wifi cams are so expensive now. I have 2 that I bought last year for under $100. One by Swann has night vision and is decent - though limited to Wifi-g. The UI is web-base and not so easy but it has many of the features listed here for way way less.

The picture is not perfect but I don't use it for that. +$200 seems crazy to me.

December 06 2010 at 9:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Victor

Our solution at home, consisted on two things based around the same amount:

When our baby is sleeping in the bedroom, we monitor her using FaceTime. A MacBook Pro is running a program called AutoAnswer (google it, came from a previous TUAW tip) so either me (on an iPhone 4) or my wife (on an iPod touch 4G) can start the stream without disturbing our baby sleep.

In case we need to move around the house, my wife places the iPod Touch on a Gorilla Pod and from her iPhone 3GS, monitors the baby using Fring (which now does near full screen video).

I can even monitor the baby from work throughout the day when I miss her quite easy.

At night our bub sleeps in the same room so we don't require a night feature.

So my advice is, if you or your partner have at least an iPhone 3GS, you could buy for the same amount than this product an iPod Touch 8GB 4gen and use Fring to monitor your baby.

December 06 2010 at 5:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kidTruant

I like the idea (as I'm looking for a camera solution for my soon to arrive baby)... pricey, but I'm a sucker for sure. The video though is awful... they need to find a marketer to reshoot that video and then watch the money roll in.

December 06 2010 at 4:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SoloMalee

Hi,

Had to add...I have one of these in an external enclosure, the IR nightvision is pretty good in absolute darkness. From a height of about 7m (25 feet), the IR illuminates the ground below and shows a pretty good black and white picture. (Good enough to see the critters wandering around down below).

The camera auto switches for daylight and night vision.

Well worth the money in my opinion.

Thanks

Solo

December 06 2010 at 4:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to SoloMalee's comment
SoloMalee

...except my camera is the YCam Knight

December 06 2010 at 4:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brent

I wish I had a baby just so I could use this.

December 06 2010 at 4:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lsc

The UI on the iPhone app is atrocious.

December 06 2010 at 4:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ozbone

Yeah, agreed, but at that price its definitely more than a "little extra".

December 06 2010 at 3:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Greenie

Very cool heads up.

I know there are cheaper cameras out there, but this one seems to be the easiest plug-and-play. I'll pay a little extra for that.

December 06 2010 at 3:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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