Josh Hendrickson
One of the best additions to any smart home is a smart doorbell. Typically you’d find that in the form of a video doorbell with a cost between $150 and $200. But what if you could spend less? Like a lot less? The new Kangaroo Doorbell Camera is only $20. That’s less than you’d spend on a week of Starbucks.
If you’re not familiar with Kangaroo, it’s a DIY security company that shares some similarities to Simplifisafe. You can buy home security kits that include door, window, and water sensors, indoor cameras, sirens, and optional security monitoring.
But the Kangaroo Doorbell Camera, while complementary to the Kangaroo security system, fits just as easily into a smart home setup. The first thing to know is, it’s not a video doorbell, just as the name implies. Instead, it takes pictures when it detects motion. You’ll get notifications on your phone when that happens or when someone rings the doorbell.
On the free plan, you’ll only see still pictures of the motion event. But if you subscribe to Kangaroo’s Complete plan for its security systems ($99 a year), the camera will string together a series of photos into an animation, not unlike a GIF.
The Kangaroo Doorbell Camera is battery powered and doesn’t need wiring to your home. That means it can work in nearly any home, you just need Wi-Fi. You could stick it at your front door, your garage, or even inside. The company says it should run for 12+ months on three AA batteries when paired with a Kangaroo security system.
The doorbell itself costs $19.99 and is on presale today. Kangaroo plans to ship the doorbell in the first week of June. Kangaroo plans to offer a chime for the doorbell down the road (no individual pricing yet). However, you can also pair it with the company’s existing security system and siren instead.
To that end, the company also plans to offer a complete security kit with the Doorbell Camera, 2 Motion + Entry Sensors, a Siren + Keypad, and Yard Sign. That will either cost $79.99, or you can get the kit free with one year of Kangaroo’s complete plan.
Source: Kangaroo
