Companies Seeking to Improve on Baby Monitors with Smartphones

Most people have seen a baby monitor, if not in real life, than certainly on television or in the movies. One end sits in the baby's room, near the crib while the little one is sleeping. The other is put near where the parent is sitting so they will hear if the baby wakes. Until now, most baby monitors have been pretty simple devices, little more than walkie-talkies in cute colors. Now though, with the advent of the Internet, and especially Smartphones, companies are starting to give baby monitors a makeover.

One of the most popular of the new smart baby monitors is the iBaby, by a company called iHealth. Their new baby monitor is designed to work with products from Apple, meaning iPhones, iPads, etc. And are these new baby monitors sophisticated. Parents can look in on their little one from virtually anywhere in the world, though most will likely do so from work. This is because now instead of just a microphone, the monitor has both audio and video, so, it's sort of like Skyping with your baby, except your baby doesn't have to do anything to make it work. In addition to watching them sleep, or listening to them snore, parents can snap pictures of their little ones, talk to them and even cause the camera in the baby's room to pan around looking to see how the nanny or babysitter is keeping up with things. What's more, the app on the Smarphone can connect to up to three of the remote devices at once, allowing for a home monitoring type setup that allows for a much more personal virtual visit.

Another popular new baby monitor is the BabyPing monitor from Y-cam, a British company that up till now has specialized in high-end security camera systems. Like the iBaby, the BabyPing is made to work with Apple product, but unlike the iBaby, the BabyPing has super high tech options like infrared night vision so that parents can see their offspring sleeping even in near pitch dark. Because of their technical background, the image quality on the BabyPing is much better as well, as is the sound that comes through the microphone. Of course, the BabyPing will cost more, so it's a matter of what parent's want.

These two monitors are apparently just the tip of the iceberg, as more ideas and technology merge, doubtless more companies will jump into the mix creating baby cams that will do all that is possible to help parents feel as close to their babies as is technically possible.