SMANOS W020I BUNDLE

Eagle eye

I don’t have a very reliable network connection. I'm with Telkom and don't necessarily have a gripe with its overall service because the only time the Internet is legitimately down is when someone stole cables, but then the entire neighbourhood is down, even the Afrihost clients. I do have to reboot my router virtually every day and that has been my biggest concern with this product test.

IP6 cameras are great. This one is equipped with a Sony sensor, too. But how can I see what's transpiring on the home front when the router isn't feeding the Internet to the device? Okay, that's enough about my connection problems; you probably want to know how good it is.

The best bit about the Smanos W020 is the plug-and-play functionality. Plug the control unit directly into your router and then add in as many sensors as you wish. Door, window and camera inputs are added through the app and the system is yours from the original purchase.

While glass- cutting thieves render the window opening sensors useless, the fact that the IP6 camera has a two way microphone is awesome. You may not be patched through to the ADT control room or have armed security pitch up at your house, but you can communicate directly to the intruders in the hopes that you'll put the fear of god in them.

There are other aspects to the system, though. You can add components that will detect leaks (liquid or gas) or temperature changes. It's one of those expandable systems that you use for a heads up notification if something isn't right at home.

It will take some getting used to, but if you're trying to cut the traditional cables then you need a few extra tricks. Hopefully you'll start from a more stable internet connection. You can also use the camera as a baby monitor.