Stem IZON IOS WRM-WA0-00 Remote Room Monitor

UPDATE: After spending some time with it I have decided to update my review. This device quickly became an absolute nightmare when that glitch appeared in their system that kept replicating the cameras. After weeks of going back and forth with support via e-mail I was told the following.

1. You shouldn't have your SSID hidden.

2. You shouldn't have any dashes or underscores in your SSID.

3. You should consider using basic WEP.

?!? Keep in mind that it worked fine just the way it was before their weird back end glitch. They deleted my account and we restarted from scratch several times. That device is now a paperweight. And a bad one at that since it is so tiny. $130 wasted. I'm leaving one extra star because I really like that it uploads to YouTube and hope other companies follow suit.

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The Good: The best thing about this device is that it works. Once you have it up and running it records video and audio. The motion and audio alarms are a little quirky but they do work. The YouTube compatibility is a MAJOR PLUS. All other alternatives are much more expensive. The camera is surprisingly small and well built. The magnetic stand is cool and I prefer it to those screw based tilt solutions that loosen after time.

The Bad: The monitoring limitation. It limits you to 5 minutes at a time when you are viewing remotely which I don't understand. You tap it again and it starts over. Perhaps its a heating issue? Worse part of that is that it rarely works for the full 5 minutes anyway. It disconnects even when you have 4 or 5 bars seemingly at random.

The Ugly: The setup leaves a lot to be desired. When you first configure it, the device opens a unsecured wireless hotspot (it doesn't give anyone access to anything but itself) that ANYONE can connect to which is a little unnerving. If someone recognizes that type of device it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that they could figure out how to connect and then have access to your camera. I don't know if the camera can be registered on multiple devices. Once it is set up correctly you can place it on a secured network but its those first few minutes of vulnerability which could be disastrous if you are using this for home security.

The Summary: Some little problems take away from the overall package BUT it really is the BEST solution in this price range right now. I rarely connect to view for extended periods of time but that YouTube recording makes up for it. Saving to a private remote account really is the safest bet for home security and for $130 you really can't beat that. The closest alternative is Dropcam which starts at $200 for video ONLY and NO RECORDING AT ALL. You can pay $9 a month for 1 week of motion activated backups or $25 for 30 and that really gets expensive very quickly. iZON does that for free, with audio and for $70 less for the hardware alone! I only hope they develop a budget outdoor night-vision capable solution soon that is as discreet and easy to use as this camera.

I bought mine directly from Stem at a slight higher price than Amazon. The camera works very well for the price. I have very expensive Axis cameras that are a nightmare to setup this isn't. You log directly on to the camera's own WIFI to setup then log back into the primary WIFI of your house. Setup a account with Stem and your done. All setup done directly from my iPhone.

Cons:

video/audio lags about 20 secs.

Software locks up on occasion (google "end task on iphone" to restart just the app) *as of 4-5-2012 this is no longer an issue both IOS app and camera firmware (1.3) has resolved issue.

Pros:

Inexpensive

Great design (especially the magnetic base)

Looks cool

Easy setup

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This is a pretty good camera, much better than I was expecting after all the bad reviews. It took a little while to set up, but after that it works well. Also, it took awhile to get the remote access to work on my iphone, but after an update to the app it works well now. The picture is good and the motion and sound sensors work well. I really like that it records automatically to youtube when there is motion or sound so I can see what is happening throughout the day. It's everything I was hoping for. Now I can keep an eye on my dogs throughout the day which gives me peace of mind.

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Funny the folks at Stem Innovation / iZon are a little thin skinned and deleted my original post about their customer service.

...so I ultimately got my answer from Chris Doran at iZon. Despite the cameras completely stopping any recording merely 60 days after I spent $264 on 2 cameras, and not having any ability to record for the last 60 days, iZon refuses to stand behind their product. How companies deal with situations like this is what differentiates great companies and products from poor ones. iZon, based on this experience, is a poor one. I would avoid buying any of their products.

Amazon may want to pull them and discontinue the relationship.

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I didn't have any trouble with the initial setup (all wifi served over a Time Machine) and used the iPhone and iPad apps from as far away as Australia with no real hiccups.

This is perfect for my needs.