X

CES: MobiCam monitors home, not just baby

The MobiCam Internet Kit transmits audio and video from almost any video monitoring set-up to a PC or cell phone for real-time monitoring of one's nursery, home, office, and more.

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is based in Portland, Oregon, and has written for Wired, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include climbing, billiards, board games that take up a lot of space, and piano.
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
2 min read
Mobi

LAS VEGAS--At the Consumer Electronics Show, there is a little corner of not-terribly-busy booths underneath a sign that reads "Mommy Tech."

Which is where an assortment of companies you've probably never heard of is hawking its mommy-centric wares, from bulky belts that tell you if your unborn baby is happy to digital thermometers and some kind of embroidery machine that sews, right there in front of your eyes, whatever you type into the machine, in a slew of interesting colors, in cursive. (Interestingly, this was a popular booth, although most onlookers were in suits, scratching their heads, mouths slightly agape until their vibrating pockets brought them back to their real purpose at the show.)

So it was something of a relief, even after checking out the baby monitors from Withingsand Samsung, that I stumbled upon the Mobi booth.

Because the MobiCam Internet Kit is not trying to dress up as just a baby monitor, which the others, in spite of their sleekness, are. The wireless monitoring system is, as Mobi puts it, "Monitoring Made Easy!" Not just of babies, but of whatever one might want to be monitoring, such as one's own bed with one's own partner in said bed while one is trying to get to sleep in Vegas. If one knows what I mean.

Mobi

Of course, the MobiCam Internet Kit ($59.95 plus $9.95 monthly service fee) is an obvious choice for baby monitoring with its night vision and remote viewing capabilities. But the ability to add cameras (additional monitors set you back $10 each) turns this into a full-on home surveillance kit with built-in motion detection and text or email alerts, compatible with Skype, Google talk, Yahoo!, and more.

Also worth checking out: Mobi's digital thermometer, which takes readings from the ear or forehead as well as room temperature readings in just two seconds. It also features a clock, calendar, mini flashlight, and an audio readout option for the vision-impaired.