News - 2016071401 - Nest launches its first outdoor camera
While speculation about the future of the Nest is at an all time high since its founder and former CEO Tony Fadell departed in June, the company is still adding new products to its line. Well not so much new. The Nest Cam Outdoor has the same guts as its indoor counterpart, but in a weatherproof case.
In addition to a new waterproof white housing, the Nest Cam Outdoor uses magnets and screw-on mounts (if needed) to attach to the outside of your home. The magnetic bond between the concave base and actual camera will allow you to point it in nearly any direction. It also has to be plugged into an outlet instead of using batteries like some other security cameras on the market. The company says plugging it in has its advantages.
Nest says the Nest Cam Outdoor is superior to other outdoor security cameras on the market because it's always recording and uploading footage to the cloud. Battery-powered cameras tend to start capturing video only when they notice movement. The latency between a detected motion and recording could mean the difference between catching a thief and only seeing a few frames of a burglar's foot as they leave your home.
The plug-in strategy means if the power goes out, the camera is immediately useless. There's also the problem of no on-board storage in case the WiFi in your home dies. But if you have a strong network, power outages are rare in your area and you have an outlet outside your home, Nest Cam Outdoor has some impressive specs.
Well impressive because it's the same as the indoor Nest Cam. It shoots in 1080p with a 130-degree view. Its night vision is lit by eight infrared LEDs and all that video streaming is encrypted. The camera is available for preorder for $199 and will ship in the fall.
In addition to a new camera, Nest also announced a redesigned app that launches at the end of the month. Soon users will be able share password-protected video streams privately with other people. Great for when you need someone to keep an eye on your home for a short period of time.
The updated app also introduces "Spaces." The feature organizes a person's suite of Nest products by the rooms they're in. For example, if you have a Protect and Cam in the living room and a Cam in the upstairs bedrooms, that would could as two Spaces.
While it's not pumping out new products, Nest is still working on refining what it already does well.
