Quick Pitch: Dropcam is a wireless Wi-Fi web cam offering 24/7 live a/v streaming, DVR, motion capture, mobile remote access and more.
Genius Idea: By providing support for the iPhone and iPad, plus the ability to record and store days or weeks worth of footage, Dropcam adds an innovative twist to the low-cost surveillance camera market.
Dropcam is a package that consists of a web camera -- you can get one with or without sound -- and access to a special web app that will let you set-up and monitor your camera's live feed from any computer with Internet access or from an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
Having a wireless web camera that can transmit to a streaming video server is great, but what makes Dropcam unique is that you have the option of recording and archiving your footage. For $8.95 per month, users can record seven days worth of activity that can then be played back like a DVR, downloaded for permanent archiving and used to capture screenshots.
Users can also set-up e-mail and mobile alerts based on motion capture, time of day and more. For $24.95 a month, users can access a rolling 30-day archive of their content on Dropcam's website, plus still have the ability to download footage for archival purposes.
Dropcam also offers a free iPhone and iPad app [iTunes link] so that you can tune into your cameras on your mobile device. The service also supports multiple cameras on the same account, so if you want to monitor multiple angles of a location or have a camera in different rooms, the system supports that.
Dropcam also makes it easy to share your video stream with others, if you choose to do so.
Do you monitor your house or business online using a web cam? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark