Stem Innovations has released the IZON 2.0 Wi-Fi Video Monitor and the free IZON app. With these two products you can monitor a location with a video feed from anywhere in the world. The app delivers real-time video and audio from the IZON camera to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
IZON 2.0 Wi-Fi video monitor.
The minimum requirements for the app are iOS 5.0 or later. The app has been optimized for iPhone 5. The package includes the monitor and magnetic base, AC power supply, mounting hardware, and an extra long, nine foot USB power cable. The MSRP is US$129.95. I found it on Amazon, but it was much more expensive there. There is a one year limited warranty.
Users can get push notification alerts to their mobile device when there is motion or noise. The IZON 2.0 tilts and swivels on a magnetic base. It is Wi-Fi connected through your local wireless network.
Stem Innovation cites thse specs: "IZON App [iOS] supports 300 kbps (kilobits per second) bitstream, QVGA video at 10 frames per second for video playback. IZON [camera] supports up to 1.5 Mbps, VGA video at 30 fps. The viewing angle for IZON is 60 degrees."
Using the Product
The app seems to be very stable. Over a two week period, I did not have any trouble with it after I loaded on my iPhone 5s. The room monitor itself is quite small, it will easily fit into my hand.
Size comparison
Set up is quite easy so long as you follow the included directions exactly. There is a small guide included in the package, and exact instructions are available on the app. It only took about ten minutes to get everything up and running. That nine foot USB power cable is very handy and I was able to place the monitor on top of a seven foot cabinet with ease. It should be noted that the app does not provide remote control of tilt and swivel; it must be pre-positioned by hand. The following image shows the result of a monitoring of my computer space.
Monitoring my workspace.
Part of the set up is creating a free user account so that your images can be stored. Directions for doing so are found in the guide included with the app.
The camera can also be placed in a window to monitor outside, such as in your back yard. My neighbor friend Tom has a large pear tree in his back yard and every year someone comes into his yard and steals all the pears as soon as they start to ripen. He really wants to catch them and asked me about the range of the camera.
The range of the monitor depends on the range of your Wi-Fi router and the strength of its signal. There is a way to check your signal strength built into the app. First click on the three lines located on the top left of the viewing screen. Select the ID for your IZON by clicking on the right arrow next to the name.
First select this option.
Then just look down at the bottom for the Wi-Fi strength. You might note that mine doesn’t meet the recommended strength which only means that things were blurry at the longer distances.
Check Wi-Fi strength.
The app displays a preview image of what the camera sees. It is updated every few seconds. To see live video, touch the preview image. This enters the live view and will show the live video feed. You can manually initiate 30-second recordings of the video stream by touching the Record button while viewing the live stream. These recordings will be automatically uploaded to your registered account. The recordings contain sight and sound. One hundred of these videos can be stored in your account. You can delete a video at any time, and you can also lock any that you wish and they won’t be deleted unless you unlock them.
You can view the scans on more than one device, just download the app to the other device and sign-in to your IZON account.
Overall, this is an easy to use device that offers numerous options for the user. The hardware and app make for a stable combo.
Do I Recommend It?
I do. When I first started testing it, my thought was that this is a poor man’s version of a security system. Most security systems can tell you if someone is stealing your pears, but for the general user, this is a fairly inexpensive way to monitor your equipment, your sleeping child, or your pear tree.