Moorestown, N.J. – iON America revealed today that it is expanding beyond its niche in the wearable action video camera space by adding its first line of home security cameras, to be carried exclusively through Walmart stores across the country beginning next month.
The company’s iON The Home security camera line offers consumers an affordable, easy-to-use and install home surveillance system tied to a free cloud storage platform.
The system is designed to send out event alerts to users’ connected smart phones and tablets any time movement is dedicated in the camera lens.
The camera, which carries a $129 suggested retail price and is offered in a choice of white or black colors, features a unique integrated pop-up stand/ mount system that adapts easily to either wall mounting or table top placement.
The camera is connected by Wi-Fi and offers 720p HD video resolution. iON provides Android and iOS apps that tie the cameras into the cloud-based storage platform and event notification service.
Once users set up the camera, they can trigger the app to set up and register an account. At the end of the process, the user is presented with a QR code that they can scan with their camera to register the camera to the phone.
iON offers iON The Home camera purchasers up to 24 hours of persistent Cloud storage free of charge in perpetuity. Additional storage capacity for up to 7 days will be available for $10 per month, or 30 days of cloud storage for $30 a month.
Users will be able to pre-pay for cloud storage by purchasing a card at Walmart. Additionally, the system will allow multiple users to register their smartphones with the camera to monitor events at no additional charge for the same account.
“That means that at any point in time you can go to your phone and see what happened beforehand,” said Giovanni Tomaselli, iON America CEO and founder. “That’s a big advantage that few of our competitors can match.”
Other features include IR sensors that enable recording at night and in low-light environments, two-way mic/speakers that allow hearing what’s going on as well as speaking over the phone to any individuals within earshot of the camera.
Other features include tapping the smartphone app to trigger the camera to grab a still image of anything being monitored over a live stream; and event capture with auto storing, while bypassing periods of inactivity.
Users can program the app to notify them of activity events in a number of different ways, from having the phone ping them to sending out email alerts.
Captured activity recorded on the Cloud can be downloaded to the phone for further analysis.
Users can add as many cameras as they require, registering each unit with a QR code and later monitoring them all within the App. Up to four cameras can be monitored in each smart device screen view at a time. Fees for additional Cloud service accounts will apply to each camera separately, however.
“The telling difference here is that you can get a lot of value-add out of this product without having to spend any recurring [fees],” Tomaselli said.
The first iteration of the iON Home Camera line will not be weather resistant, so applications are limited to in-home use or within protective housings of some kind. But Tomaselli hinted that the feature is a likely addition for future product generations.
Over the past 2.5 years, iON America has expanded its line of wearable active cameras into a range of models designed for specific applications in sports (dedicated camera models for hunting and fishing, automotive/racing, golf-tennis swing motion analysis, etc.)
iON has built a strong retail presence in some 6,000 storefronts including Best Buy, Walmart, Fry’s and Sports Authority stores, among others. It has also forged partnerships with major organizations including the MLB and Lucas Oil Racing.
Tomaselli said that iON is a video camera company that is building its business with “key pillars” in the action video space and now home surveillance. The company plans to continually look for opportunities to build on and expand its video recording expertise to address growing market niches.
Tomaselli said iON launched the product exclusively with Walmart (and Walmart.com, Sam’s Club may be added in time, he said) because “we’ve built up a very strategic relationship with them. Today we’re in four important areas of their stores – sports (hunting/fishing/camping), electronics, the children’s area, and now the connected home section.
“Oh, and by the way, 140 million people go through their doors every week,” he added. “More importantly, they embraced what we were doing. We are the only ones who are going to be offering the incremental Cloud services at retail as a cash-register ring.”
Tomaselli said iON is leasing the Cloud storage space for its services from the Amazon Cloud Storage platform, but Amazon will not be carrying the camera at launch.
