Canary’s update to its HD camera is an out-and-about affair for those who want to catch garden or yard life.
Most outdoor camera solutions are pretty limited, needing either wiring, very regular recharging or a fixed position to keep an eye on the world. Canary’s Flex tries to do things a bit differently, with months of battery life, depending on use – indoors or out. Indoors, it is small enough to hide among plant pots, dark corners and still be wired in, or left unwired and put in the highest corner for unobtrusive monitoring.
With its flexible 360-degree magnetic mount, you can place it wherever it is needed, on walls or shelves. Using the optional Twist stem mount ($20, also available in blue and yellow), rather like a lemur’s tail, it can be located anywhere within WiFi range, knotted around a branch, tied to a plant pot holder or other location. Another option is the Secure Mount ($30) that will let you fix it firmly to a wall, while the weather proof design means it will work through rain, snow or desert heat.
The Flex features a 116-degree view in 720p HD, with night vision and motion sensors. There’s also a microphone and speaker for two-way communications. Users can watch footage live on their iPhone or Android, which will drain the 6,700 mAh battery, or respond to alerts when the motion sensor or passive infra-red kicks in.
It uses Bluetooth and dual band WiFi for a better signal, so there’s no need for a hub. But you’ll need good WiFi range for any down the bottom of the garden experiences. To keep your data safe, Canary uses a dedicated encryption chip and AES 256-bit encryption to keep data safe, with encrypted cloud storage and secure web transfer to prevent people peeking.
If you don’t want to rely on WiFi, then an upcoming Verizon Mount will offer 4G LTE connectivity, so you can literally use the Flex wherever there is a phone signal.
Subscribe indoors or out
To go with Canary’s new product, and the existing indoor security version, the company has a new subscriber plan to keep people’s data in the cloud, and the revenue coming in long after you’ve acquired the camera.
The device provides free access to the last 24 hours of footage, but the $9.99 a month
membership provides access to the last 30 days of recorded footage. If you have two or three devices, the subscription will be $14.99. There’s also an insurance deductible reimbursement up to $1,000, subject to terms and conditions.
The Flex is expected to ship in the U.S. this November, with a European launch early next year. It should cost $199, available in black or white to suit your decor. The Flex comes with a one-year warranty and
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