Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

** Update 2 (Mar 2016): Arlo has consistently improved, especially the app. I updated some of the issues below that have now been resolved. Updated to 4-stars. I still use and depend on the system. ** ** Quick update: I got just under 2 months of battery life out of both cameras. My settings are: highest quality video, a pretty high sensitivity (80%), and 90 second recordings. ** I have 2 Dropcams and now 2 Arlos. I purchased the Arlo system because I wanted outdoor cameras where I did not have power. Generally, I think the product is OK for an initial release. It mostly works. I think most of the rough patches are in software which can improve over time. Bottom line- it's not a Dropcam. Don't expect it to be a Dropcam. But, I now have better security coverage of my home because of Arlo. It's a solution (with compromise) for having a camera looking at an area where there is either no power, or weather considerations a Dropcam can't handle. It doesn't record 24/7. The video quality isn't amazing. But, if you want to record events in a "blind spot" that your Dropcam system currently can't hit, then it's a nice gap filler. Product Concerns/Improvements: 1) Since the cameras are in a sleep mode until motion is triggered, they have to wake up to begin recording. I find that this takes too long and I miss a fair amount of the "action" before the camera starts recording. I'd say each video is 2'0'%' 't'o' '3'0'%' a few seconds shorter than it would be if it began recording the instant motion was detected. (Moreover, it's possible that the IR recording is a bit slower to get started than the daylight recording.) 2) [FIXED - Arlo now sells "skins" so this is resolved but it will cost ~$25 per 3 skins which is expensive] I wish there were a black (or better yet, flat black or paintable) version that blended in a bit better in an outdoor setting. It would be easy to grab one of them and run based on where they are on my property and how visible they are. 3) [FIXED] I have 300+ notifications on my iPhone from the Arlo app. I have no idea how to dismiss them. Dropcam is not like this. It makes the notification feature useless (boy who cried wolf problem). Why do I get 2 notifications for every event (1 for the event, 1 for the video)? Why does one of the notifications say "click for video" when I really need to "swipe for video" (this is a dumb thing, but indicates a small focus on the details). 4) Why is there not an option to simply record video until the motion ends (or ends + some buffer)? Why do I have to pick an arbitrary amount of time? ** Update: This remains my biggest complaint ** 5) [FIXED] I can't get the motion detection test mode to work. A amber light will turn on, but stays on (even if I leave frame), doesn't flash, and generally isn't helpful. 6) I have no idea what the "more videos" "less videos" slider actually does to the motion sensitivity. What does the % mean? Is it how much of the frame changes? How much motion there is over a period of time? This is too ambiguous. 7) Why no IFTTT integration? I would like to trigger more than e-mail actions in some cases when motion is detected. Or, trigger automatic recording if my alarm system goes off. 8) At times it takes a LONG time for the "live" mode (or any other communication required with the camera) to get going. 9) [FIXED] Why can't I zoom in on the video on my iPhone? 10) The motion detection needs some sort of light sensitivity filter. Meaning, if a light flashes on (such as a car driving by at night) it should not trigger a motion event. (To be fair, Dropcam struggles with this as well) 11) [FIXED] Why is the online login so damn hard to find? There should be a big button on arlo.com for users to click and sign in. Other Notes: 1) I also had the 10% battery problem in the cold, but after popping open the battery door and re-sealing it the problem went away. It made me very nervous about cold weather performance. 2) There is no audio. 3) The batteries it ships with are not rechargeable. They're also some sort of non-standard battery (e.g., not AA or AAA). But, I did find replacements pretty easily on Amazon. In the end I'll probably pick up another 1 or 2 of these so I can cover a couple more outdoor spots without power. Sure I wish they were 24/7 like Dropcam, but given the power constraint, I am pretty pleased to have some coverage.