Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 stars..a round peg in a square hole..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 27 October 2020
I agree with many of the more critical reviews about this camera.
The marketing promises a lot, but it ends up lacking in many of those promises. As of the date of this review, I suspect that Amazon are aware of this and will eventually sort them out.
I sent mine back within a few days because the range on the camera WiFi was not sufficient (they say you need 3 bars of signal), it wouldn't connect to my echo show, the support team (bless 'em) didn't know what to recommend apart from reinstalling the Skill, and I really struggled with the layout, functionality and jargon used in the app. I know this is because I have certain preconceived ideas about how it should work, but again if I like some others are expecting the live stream to be continuous, why not have that baked in??
Ultimately, Blink are trying to walk on water with this device and I can understand why, running power and signal cables to CCTV cameras is a pain in the butt (but) if you want a more professional setup, I think that's what you'll have to buy.
The 2 year battery life, I find hard to believe. I suspect the caveat is that it probably could if you pointed it at a brick wall with no movement. Another 'could do better' aspect is its physical security. It uses a simple friction connector to hold it in place - think of a cork in a bottle! A simple pull and someone could easily and very quickly run off with it. To prevent this it would have to be mounted quite high up.
It doesn't have proper pan, tilt and zoom functionality (ptz) it has pinch and zoom but it's not the same as a proper ptz camera. It has a wide angle of view, no panning though.
It has some good points, like its size and better than expected robustness, however it's failings in its current state outweigh it's plus points. It needs a lot more development and I think the app needs a complete rework in terms of layout and usability.
I think 3 stars is a fair rating.
Improvement required? Yes
Should you buy one? Maybe, if you lower your expectations
Is it worth £99? Yes, and you can pay in installments (this is why I think Amazon know it needs work)
Would I recommend it to a friend? No, my friends are techys. They'd get frustrated with it. I'd have to tell them to take the marketing with 'a pinch of salt'
Will it get better? I'm positive that it will
How would I describe this in one sentence?
"Its a round peg that fits into a square hole"
I hope this review helps you make a decision. 😊
