The weather-resistant camera Arlo pro stands out from Netgear’s Arlo camera range because it does not have built-in Wi-Fi access. Instead, You can purchase the camera for $ 599 and use it with any pre or post-paid mobile broadband service, possibly using a SIM card connected to your mobile phone account and sharing its data pool. It’s worth asking your phone operator what the options are.
Alternatively, you can buy Arlo pro from Telstra with a pro Mobile Data Plus or My Business Mobile plan for 24 months and pay the camera at $ 15 p / m. Telstra launches the Arlo solar panel free of charge. Otherwise, you can buy one for $ 149. The camera comes with an AC power cable or you can charge it using the solar panel.
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Design:
The Arlo pro features 720p video with a 130-degree field of view with a slightly fisheye wide-angle lens. The camera lacks physical pan, tilt and optical zoom controls, but you can still get a close-up view with the 8x digital zoom. There is also a built-in microphone, with a speaker so you can have a two-way conversation with unexpected guests.
The camera is resistant to difficult lighting conditions, being careful not to lose detail in the shadows when the sun shines brightly. When the sun goes down, he can see in the dark, with a range of about 7.6 meters. Although the microphone is suitable for capturing sounds, it may be difficult to distinguish voices in the distance.
This Arlo security camera is designed for indoor or outdoor use with an IP65 weather protection rating to resist rain and dust. It is suitable for the Australian climate, with temperatures ranging from -20 ° C to 45 ° C. However, the AC adapter turns off and the battery stops charging when the mercury falls below 0 ° C, but triggers again when the temperature increases. If the morning dew blurs the lens, try installing it under the eaves or awning.
The camera comes with an external wall mount and a 2.5m AC power cable, but if you cannot reach a power point, you can opt for the solar panel that charges the 7.2 Li-ion battery. V 26.35W. The battery lasts weeks or months with a single charge. Therefore, it should never run flat as long as the panel receives a few hours of sunshine a day. You can monitor the battery level and the signal strength of the mobile phone via the Arlo app, but it’s frustrating that you can not monitor the performance of the solar panel.
Setup:
You can configure the camera using Netgear’s Arlo application on an iOS or Android device, or via a desktop browser. You will then be able to access the live stream of the camera via your computer or mobile device, as well as the recordings stored in the cloud.
As part of the configuration, you have the choice between three cloud storage subscriptions:
- Basic Free: 7 days of cloud storage, up to 1GB on 5 cameras maximum with 3 months support
- First $ 129 per year: 30 days of cloud storage, up to 10 GB on 10 cameras with unlimited support
- Elite $ 189 per year: 60 days of cloud storage, up to 100GB on 15 cameras with unlimited support
This is not a bad deal considering that some cloud-based cameras require a monthly subscription, even for a basic service. If you want to record clips, you can download them to the camera roll of your smartphone. A micro SD slot can store videos if the camera is temporarily offline, but this does not save bandwidth or extend the storage window.
Alerts:
Unlike Nest’s rival streaming cameras, the Arlo Go does not download continuously and only starts recording after detecting sound or movement. It takes a few seconds to start recording, which means you do not capture the moment a person first appears. This approach conserves energy and bandwidth, which is important if you rely on mobile broadband and solar power. The disadvantage is that, unlike Nest, you can not go back and see what happened just before an event was fired or go through video hours.
