Netgear might have found a way to separate itself from the competition in the security camera department.
The company's latest connected camera, the Arlo Q, is giving users seven days of free cloud video recording. A week's worth of free cloud video recording certainly trumps its competitor Logitech's offering of 24 hours of cloud recording for free. That and the Nest Cam doesn't boast any video recording unless you subscribe for that function. The Arlo Q is slated for a December release, equipped with a $220 price tag.
The week's worth of recorded video history translates to one gigabyte of storage. However, users who desire more cloud recording can scale up to 30 days (roughly 10 GB) via a $10 a month/$100 per year plan covering up to 10 cameras, and 60 days (100 GB) of cloud recording for $15 per month/$150 per year, according to Engadget. Although the Arlo Q records when sensing motion, there's even an option for continuous recording for $10 per month.
"I think cloud storage and infrastructure, the availability of content, as well as video analytics ... will become a real differentiating point for a lot of these devices," Damir Skripic, Netgear's director of product management for smart home, told Engadget during an interview. "A lot of stuff from a hardware perspective will be like thin clients ... it'll be all very similar, the differentiator is how they interact within the home."
In addition to the free cloud service, the Arlo Q touts 1080p video recording and two-way audio via Netgear's smartphone app, as well as night vision capabilities. The unit has a 130-degree field of view and can be customized to provide user alerts centered around different parts of the home — movement around windows or doors being an example.
