Why You Can Trust CNET Get a Logi Circle home security camera for $99.99
Priced at least $179 elsewhere, the Circle isn't perfect -- but it's admirably easy to set up and operate. Plus: send in the drones (again)!
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You'll always be Logitech to me, Logi.
I know a lot of you were excited about yesterday's drone deal, but unfortunately it sold out before everyone could get one. Fear not: I guarantee you the Elfie will (heh) rise again, and of course I'll let you know when/where to score another great deal on it.
In the meantime, I've got a drone bonus deal for you today ("dronus deal"?), and another great one coming soon. Yeah, obviously I'm very excited about this product category. I'll try not to go overboard, though (cough, Bluetooth speakers, cough).
Today's deal raises a question I've asked before: Is it easier to overlook a product's flaws when there's a hefty price drop on that product?
Here's the deal: TechRabbit has the refurbished Logi Circle wireless security camera for $99.99 shipped when you apply promo code CNETLC30 at checkout. That's $30 off the regular price, and $80 off the lowest price of a new one. (It lists for $199.)
Both the black and white models are available.
Logi? Oh, right, Logitech. I don't see how that new name is any kind of improvement. Indeed, why abandon an established, well-regarded brand? Whatever.
The Circle debuted about six months ago, offering security-minded live video streaming in an easy-to-use package. A recent update added a "person detection" feature designed to send you alerts when people -- as opposed to, say, pets or cars -- enter its field of view.
Not bad, right? It kind of depends on who you ask. CNET awarded the Circle three stars, dinging it for mediocre battery life and lack of integrations. PC Mag was a little more forgiving, offering four stars, while over 230 Amazon customers rated the camera 3.9 stars on average.
All those ratings and reviews were based on a price that's nearly double. So again I ask: Does this deal make the Circle's flaws easier to overlook? Would it rate higher if it was priced lower?
I can't say, because I haven't used the product. I do think CNET was maybe a little overly harsh regarding battery life, because any wireless camera is going to need to be recharged frequently. Me, I'd just set the thing up on its charger so it has full-time power.
That said, you should definitely read the reviews in detail before pulling the trigger on this. I've focused mainly on the negatives, but the Circle appears to offer a lot of great benefits: ease of use, solid video quality, two-way voice communication, free cloud recording and storage and so on.
Plus, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a comparable security camera anywhere near this price. (But this isn't my area of expertise, so if you know of one, by all means share.)
Your thoughts?
The Zerotech Dobby is an amazing little drone that folds up for easy portability.
Bonus deal: Just yesterday I mentioned the Dobby, arguably the most feature-packed pocket drone you can buy. It captures 4K video, tracks faces or other targets, orbits or follows those targets and so on. But, ouch, it's pricey at $399.99.
For a limited time, however, Best Buy has the Zerotech Dobby drone for $349.99 shipped, plus tax. (Ebates users can get an additional two-percent rebate on top of that.) That's still expensive, no question, but it's also way more affordable (and more portable) than the DJI Mavic Pro. And I'd say the Dobby falls squarely in between that pricey model and the toy-like Elfie.
Still, you may want to wait on this one. It's relatively new, and I suspect prices will drop further in the months to come.