For wireless carriers, the next big area that they will be focusing on, is the Internet of Things. Since most people already have a smartphone and a tablet, and customers aren’t upgrading these as often as carriers would like. But the Internet of Things opens a whole new world of products for carriers to sell to their customers. Verizon appears to be taking the lead on this one, with their partnership with Canary. Today, Canary announced the Canary Flex, which is an indoor/outdoor security camera – think of the Logi Circle from Logitech or the Nest Cam – and it can be used wire-free. Which is a pretty important feature, especially if you are planning to use it outdoors. Having a wire running through to the camera outside is definitely not a good idea. Especially if it isn’t weatherproof.
Where Verizon comes in, is with the mount that they are selling with the Canary Flex. The mount features 4G LTE connectivity. Brought to you by Verizon Wireless. What this means is that users don’t need to use WiFi to record what’s going on around the camera. This is great for still being able to use the camera when the power goes out (since there is a built-in battery, which allows it to be wireless). Additionally, having Verizon’s 4G LTE network attached means that you can put this in a place where your WiFi network may not be able to reach, like on the porch to screen who’s coming to your door – or not coming to your door.
The Canary Flex is available for pre-order now through Canary’s website and Verizon’s website. It’s slated to ship on November 17th and will cost $199. Verizon has not mentioned pricing or availability for the 4G LTE Mount for Canary Flex. However you should be able to add it to your existing Verizon plan for about $5/month and it’ll use the data bucket that you already use with your smartphones and tablets on your account. The Canary Flex looks to be a pretty impressive competitor to the many other security cameras on the market right now. Of course the most popular competitor is indeed the Nest Cam.
Pre-Order the Canary Flex
