cross-posted from: https://radiation.party/post/118334
[ comments | sourced from HackerNews ]
Welcome to the Internet of Stings, an occasional series in which we report on connected devices that are abruptly bricked or rendered considerably more costly due to the actions of their vendors.
Today’s tale concerns the Miku Baby Monitor, a $400 device aimed at parents who want to check up on their precious poppet from the comfort of their smartphone.
Spend the cash and you’ll get a camera that will also monitor breathing, room temperature, humidity, and provide some two-way communication to reassure the baby that its parent or guardian has taken a break from YouTube or Candy Crush to check that all is well.
The upfront cost was steep, but what price can one put on the reassurance of a breathing waveform and being able to bring up some live video while you’re out and about? Apparently, $9.99 a month.
I am happy that I got a simple RF model, that’s just a microphone with a sensitivity threshold. They need to be charged like every two-three weeks,
The two way communication is overrated even if it’s free.
Are the advanced units with camera connected to the internet? Because that seems bad.
I used to like miku because it didn’t have a subscription, now it’s like the competition… sad.
