Ha! Kickstarter doesn’t it’s best to kill that. But no… I’m positive in the sense that it will eventually come… it’s just the date that I won’t believe until it happens.
I’ve only been really burned once on KS, and that was for a pretty small amount (Under $20), though everything (yes, including SmartThings) was between “pretty late” to “exceedingly late.” In the end everything has (eventually) been what I expected except for Lima, which ended up being exceeding late and not what I wanted/expected.
You have to follow the comments on the Kickstater site. Pictures were posted of the beta two camera units in the shipping boxes complete with shipping labels. Yes, it could have been staged, but they have been pretty up front all the way along. I think it may be closer to Christmas before it shows up, but I am waiting as there is still nothing like it on the market at that price point.
Shipping beta models is completely different than shipping finished models. Beta models do not have to have their full certifications yet. As best as I can tell from the updates, they have no certifications yet.
And typically Beta rollouts uncover problems which have to be fixed before production models can be shipped. It’s not like you roll out the betas on October 7 and roll out the production models on October 30. Their projected timeline just doesn’t make any sense to me.
If the beta is a real beta, i’d expect a minimum of 60 days before finished models could ship. So I’m confused.
For what its worth, below is an explanation of their beta program.
“Creator Blink on September 24 @Roger - Thanks for the help, as always!
To address your concern: Based on our current Beta shipment schedule, we will complete Beta shipments within the next 2 weeks. The hardware design is complete and units are being manufactured as we speak, and we are actively improving the app software and firmware based on the Beta program feedback we have received and will continue to receive. The final firmware, which will be completed after we have finished all Beta testing, will be updated in all units during the installation process. Assuming things meet our quality requirements we plan to ship production units in October .”
If the only thing they were putting out was new firmware for an existing device which already met certifications, then that description would make sense.
But this is hardware. New hardware. “Hardware is hard.” The notion that they won’t encounter any problems other than firmware during a beta test is what I find so confusing. Also, when are they going to get it certified?
They are not very clear about certifications. I did find the statement below but it is not very informative.
“Creator Blink
3 days ago @Paul - We greatly appreciate your patience! Shipment to the US is faster because European shipment requires different types of certification. We are completing the US certifications first and will then complete the European and other international certifications as soon as possible.”
They haven’t shown up in any of the FCC databases is yet, so they’re definitely not through that process. Any radio frequency device of this type sold in United States must have FCC clearance. The cameras are transmitters, which is a more complex and lengthier certification process than for receivers. Note that the casing has to be finalized as well as the circuit board before testing can begin.
Most companies I’m aware of plan on 45 days from application to approval, although sometimes it can take longer. They don’t usually schedule a launch date until they have their approval, just to be sure.
I am now looking at cameras for the home. As far as I know, there is no SmartThings camera integration (?)
I am really interested in Blink, not the least of which it hits everything I want and is affordable. With all my recent switch,plugin,bulb,relay purchases, I don’t have a lot of spare cash.
In your estimation, would this be a good one to try? They seem pretty reliable, though I know KS is a gamble.
Based on…a year of missed deadlines, a lack of technical certifications, a murky timeline and an as yet unavailable product?
I’m not saying it won’t eventually be a good product, but there’s absolutely nothing to indicate they’re “reliable” yet. Or any way to evaluate the product.
As far as camera support. There was very little camera support with the V one hub. However, the V2 hub did introduce camera support for a number of specific models.
Thanks for recs. Not a big tilt and pan camera fan (have one already).
I have been thinking about checking out the Samsung camera, except for the rumored signal cut out. I have a Dropcam and it gets wonderful video and never loses the signal, but I’m not going to spend $10 a month to store video.
I think I might try one Samsung, see what happens. See how well it integrates with V2. And I’ll seriously consider the D-Link since it seems to be popular.
If Blink does get its act together, it could really steal this market.
FWIW… they shipped “alpha” units earlier in the year. I think that the “alpha” was more like traditional beta, and this “beta” is really like early release units with maybe some software beta stuff.
No wires of any kind, that’s what I am waiting for. If it’s Blink!, then fine, but I will be buying what ever wireless camera that delivers good cloud based video.
As far as I know all the V2 supported cameras are wired for power.
I have high hopes for Blink! (I am a backer… got the two-camera pack) but I think it’ll be a while before we see any strong/official integration with SmartThings. It’ll see work just find as a standalone I’m sure.
My biggest initial desire is simply to have the ability to “arm” and “disarm” from Smartthings. I suppose if nothing else I could plug the Blink! hub into a z-wave module and turn that on or off with Routines.
One of the commenters on the Blink! KS site claims to already have the tools to link to ST. The Blink! developers also acknowledged that ST integration was high on their list of requested upgrades. Now that ST has emerged as a leader in home automation, it should happen pretty fast. Look how fast Alexa was integrated.
Given how ingenious the community is, I don’t think it will take long.
I would be more optimistic about integration if there were more cameras already integrated. The fact that there’s no Arlo integration with SmartThings and that not even all of the D-Link models integrate makes me wonder what’s required for integration from the SmartThings side.
FWIW, I just got an email from Kickstarter saying this is my final chance to change shipping info, so that would seem to indicate they are very close.
But the fact that they don’t have FCC certification yet is a little worrisome. If everything goes okay, no biggie. However, if there’s problems that require re-design… Eek!
