10 ms·

Blink has been acquired by Amazon

187 points by uptown 9y ago

aviv 9y ago
This transaction was too expensive for Ooma so they picked up Butterfleye a few days ago instead.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  I hadn't heard about that deal but that explains all the surveys recently about whether Ooma customers were interested in video as part of their security offering.
- sah2ed 9y ago
  Hard to attribute Ooma's choice to go with Butterfleye as solely due to price, I think a number of factors could have contributed to the decision to choose one over the other. If Amazon started courting Blink first, they'd have added a provision to make it expensive for Blink to walk away if they get propositioned by another company. This is Amazon's tactic whenever they court smaller companies like when Diapers.com got a counteroffer from Walmart after Amazon started negotiations [0]. Diapers.com eventually sold to Amazon. Then there's the aspect of product complexity -- Butterfleye offers a slightly more complex product (learning camera to reduce false alarms, higher quality recording, longer recording times even 24/7, encrypted uploads, on-device storage options, rechargeable batteries & wired power, complementary installation, SMB focus etc) than Blink which is why they are in different price segments ($199 vs $99 per camera unit). [0] http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/10/amazon_book_how_jeff_bezos_went_thermonuclear_on_diapers_com.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/10/amazon_bo...
DuckConference 9y ago
Now to wait for the entry on https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com
- taoistextremist 9y ago
  Man, that site makes me really happy Snapchat resisted buyouts. Despite the rough patches it's been through (and still going through, I guess) it should be looked at as an example of how new companies can grow and compete without just selling off to a large conglomerate.
yellow_postit 9y ago
Looking forward to the privacy policy update.
- reaperducer 9y ago
  Just don't try to print it out. It'll collapse under its own weight and form a black hole.
mikestew 9y ago
If you own an electric car and are wondering WTF Amazon is doing getting into the car charging business, well, it isn’t this Blink: http://www.blinkcharging.com http://www.blinkcharging.com, it’s some video camera company.
- jondubois 9y ago
  So Amazon wants to monitor people in and around their own homes for some reason. Creepy. Maybe it's so that they can detect whether or not people are at home - To aid with their drone delivery system?
  - reificator 9y ago
    And at the same time receive keys to their front doors
  - gvb 9y ago
    They are already selling a house lock and camera: https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Amazon-Key-In-Home-Kit/dp/B00KCYQGXE https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Amazon-Key-In-Home-Kit/dp...
  - mikestew 9y ago
    So Amazon wants to monitor people in and around their own homes for some reason. Before I read TFA, it was the only business reason that made sense to buy a car charger company. It wouldn’t be perfect information (maybe I took the motorcycle that day), but long term you’d get a pretty good idea of our comings and goings. When the car’s at the house, it’s usually plugged in, the charger knows it’s plugged in, and the charger has an internet connection (hell, the charger has a web server running). Unplugged: I’m leaving. Plugged in: I obvious just got home. I suppose that might have some utility for scheduling deliveries, dunno. The reason for this tangent is the purchase is either to aid in delivery scheduling, of which I’m skeptical, or it’s just another piece of the puzzle to go along Alexa and the like. Now, I’ll agree that the puzzle might end up being super creepy, but it’ll be interesting to see what they up,doing with it.
- edwhitesell 9y ago
sithadmin 9y ago
Ugh. Guess I'm going back to BlueIris.
- notyourwork 9y ago
  Why?
erohead 9y ago
Looks like they had to delete support for Smarthings integration as a condition for the deal going through: https://community.smartthings.com/t/blink-support-discontinued/111047/180 https://community.smartthings.com/t/blink-support-discontinu...
- jjp 9y ago
  Would be too strange a coincidence if not, and with the increasing level of device support on Echos will be interesting to see whether they stop supporting Smartthings hubs there as well.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- cmsimike 9y ago
  Reading articles like that make me very happy I'm in the self-hosted Home Assistant ecosystem. I couldn't imagine _someone else_ deciding two things that used to work together no longer do for me.
  - jcims 9y ago
    Is there a good watering hole for self-hosted home assistant development? I was at a Micro Center this evening and saw a AIY Google Voice Kit (not sure if it phones home) and a Matrix Creator (very interesting) plus a lot of other doodads that one could use to build same. I just don't want to spend a year trying to cobble together my own software.
    - ReverseCold 9y ago
      How to use home assistant: 1. buy any compatible smart thing listed as compatible on the home assistant website 2. Buy a raspberry pi and any necessary RF adapters. 3. Install home assistant on the raspberry pi and edit the config.yaml file to work with your devices. It was much easier than I expected, and works with more DIY things as well (like 315/433Mhz RF Sockets).
lerie82 9y ago
I don't see people saying many good things about Blink, why would they do that? However, Amazon is hiring like crazy for video and audio web people, so maybe a trick up their sleeve they have.
pgrote 9y ago
I've had mixed results using the Blink system I bought. Spotty wifi connectivity and disappointing camera performance really soured me on it. Did anyone have a really great experience using 4 blink cameras or more? I transitioned over to wansview cameras and haven't experienced any issues, though I miss the battery availability.
benmorris 9y ago
I've had a 5 camera system for the last few months. It works well and didn't need any wires ran. The app needs some improvement, but overall a pretty neat product.
- bob_theslob646 9y ago
  From a security standpoint is that as secure as a closed circuit system?
  - benmorris 9y ago
    It is a trade off. It isn't as nice as a wired system. My setup would have required multiple boxes and several extremely long difficult to get to runs. I had 5 blink cameras setup and fully working in about an hour. So it was worth it to me. 24/7 recording would be better but this was reasonably priced and very easy to use.
- mkoryak 9y ago
  I find it crazy that it claims to run for 20 hours on 2 double A batteries. Is battery life a problem for these things? Also it records in 5 second clips. I imagine that being somewhat painful to review.
  - benmorris 9y ago
    Like I said they are neat tech for what you get. I've had mine for over 2 months now and some of them record 10-20 clips a day. When they are not recording they basically are using next to no power. The clip duration and re trigger interval can be set to up to 60 seconds. You can also set the re trigger to be immediate effectively making it record constantly. These settings among others are configured per camera in the app.
neekb 9y ago
Amazon has their own delivery service, bought wholefoods, and now bought blink. Blink has a doorbell offering plus the camera's that you already know of. It's not a stretch to have groceries delivered all the way to your fridge and put blink cameras all over the house to make sure the delivery guy walks back out when he's done.
- c_r_w 9y ago
  Amazon is definitely pushing the boundaries of what amount of privacy people are willing to exchange for convenience. I was shocked that so many people I knew bought Echos... wiring your entire house for video doesn't seem that much crazier.
  - Mister_Snuggles 9y ago
    Wiring your house for video is not crazy at all. Wiring it for video where you have to rely on the security of cloud provider (especially a free one) is what's crazy.
    - kfriede 9y ago
      Wiring the interior of your house to a network connected device, whether cloud or not, sounds crazy to me anyways. I realize 95% of the "hacked" webstreams are due to people not changing the default password and forwarding the port, but there are enough security vulnerabilities aside from that where I wouldn't feel comfortable with them installed indoors.
      - Mister_Snuggles 9y ago
        The security on most IoT products is terribly lacking. I don't blame you for being wary of them. I have a bunch of cheap WiFi cameras, but they don't require a cloud service to operate so I can segregate them all onto a WLAN/VLAN that doesn't have access to the internet. This is a reasonable measure to secure these devices, but for cloud-required cameras (like the Blink appears to be) this isn't an option at all. Of course, by taking the vendor's cloud service out of the equation I either have greatly reduced functionality or I have to spend time (and money) to build out that functionality locally. The route I've gone has Zoneminder doing motion detection, recording, and storage, with an IPSec VPN to provide remote access. It's not perfectly secure (nothing is), but it's a lot better than the default.
AaronFriel 9y ago
Was bewildered for a moment as I thought the Google Chrome rendering engine had been spun off as a company and suddenly acquired. Stranger things have happened this year.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
quizbiz 9y ago
I love my Blink. Wonder if they will buy Tile next.
usaphp 9y ago
That sign up popup is so damn annoying lately on almost all product websites.
toephu2 9y ago
Are there any better home security cameras that record short clips on motion detection that don't have a monthly cloud-storage fee? Or should I just stick with Blink?
johnvega 9y ago
I've been using dlink wifi cams outdoor for about 5 years. Based on a few minutes info from their website, looks like blink has a great usability design. I'd put this on top of my list for my next security cam purchase. Amazon reviews are mostly favorable.
jhonovich 9y ago
IPVM Analysis on the deal https://ipvm.com/reports/amazon-blink https://ipvm.com/reports/amazon-blink based on our testing of multiple Blink and Amazon camera models

187 points by uptown 9y ago

aviv 9y ago

This transaction was too expensive for Ooma so they picked up Butterfleye a few days ago instead.

slantyyz 9y ago
I hadn't heard about that deal but that explains all the surveys recently about whether Ooma customers were interested in video as part of their security offering.
sah2ed 9y ago
Hard to attribute Ooma's choice to go with Butterfleye as solely due to price, I think a number of factors could have contributed to the decision to choose one over the other. If Amazon started courting Blink first, they'd have added a provision to make it expensive for Blink to walk away if they get propositioned by another company. This is Amazon's tactic whenever they court smaller companies like when Diapers.com got a counteroffer from Walmart after Amazon started negotiations [0]. Diapers.com eventually sold to Amazon. Then there's the aspect of product complexity -- Butterfleye offers a slightly more complex product (learning camera to reduce false alarms, higher quality recording, longer recording times even 24/7, encrypted uploads, on-device storage options, rechargeable batteries & wired power, complementary installation, SMB focus etc) than Blink which is why they are in different price segments ($199 vs $99 per camera unit). [0] http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/10/amazon_book_how_jeff_bezos_went_thermonuclear_on_diapers_com.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/10/10/amazon_bo...

DuckConference 9y ago

Now to wait for the entry on https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com

taoistextremist 9y ago
Man, that site makes me really happy Snapchat resisted buyouts. Despite the rough patches it's been through (and still going through, I guess) it should be looked at as an example of how new companies can grow and compete without just selling off to a large conglomerate.

yellow_postit 9y ago

Looking forward to the privacy policy update.

reaperducer 9y ago
Just don't try to print it out. It'll collapse under its own weight and form a black hole.

mikestew 9y ago

If you own an electric car and are wondering WTF Amazon is doing getting into the car charging business, well, it isn’t this Blink: http://www.blinkcharging.com http://www.blinkcharging.com, it’s some video camera company.

jondubois 9y ago
So Amazon wants to monitor people in and around their own homes for some reason. Creepy. Maybe it's so that they can detect whether or not people are at home - To aid with their drone delivery system?
- reificator 9y ago
  And at the same time receive keys to their front doors
- gvb 9y ago
  They are already selling a house lock and camera: https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Amazon-Key-In-Home-Kit/dp/B00KCYQGXE https://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Amazon-Key-In-Home-Kit/dp...
- mikestew 9y ago
  So Amazon wants to monitor people in and around their own homes for some reason. Before I read TFA, it was the only business reason that made sense to buy a car charger company. It wouldn’t be perfect information (maybe I took the motorcycle that day), but long term you’d get a pretty good idea of our comings and goings. When the car’s at the house, it’s usually plugged in, the charger knows it’s plugged in, and the charger has an internet connection (hell, the charger has a web server running). Unplugged: I’m leaving. Plugged in: I obvious just got home. I suppose that might have some utility for scheduling deliveries, dunno. The reason for this tangent is the purchase is either to aid in delivery scheduling, of which I’m skeptical, or it’s just another piece of the puzzle to go along Alexa and the like. Now, I’ll agree that the puzzle might end up being super creepy, but it’ll be interesting to see what they up,doing with it.
edwhitesell 9y ago

sithadmin 9y ago

Ugh. Guess I'm going back to BlueIris.

notyourwork 9y ago
Why?

erohead 9y ago

Looks like they had to delete support for Smarthings integration as a condition for the deal going through: https://community.smartthings.com/t/blink-support-discontinued/111047/180 https://community.smartthings.com/t/blink-support-discontinu...

jjp 9y ago
Would be too strange a coincidence if not, and with the increasing level of device support on Echos will be interesting to see whether they stop supporting Smartthings hubs there as well.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
cmsimike 9y ago
Reading articles like that make me very happy I'm in the self-hosted Home Assistant ecosystem. I couldn't imagine _someone else_ deciding two things that used to work together no longer do for me.
- jcims 9y ago
  Is there a good watering hole for self-hosted home assistant development? I was at a Micro Center this evening and saw a AIY Google Voice Kit (not sure if it phones home) and a Matrix Creator (very interesting) plus a lot of other doodads that one could use to build same. I just don't want to spend a year trying to cobble together my own software.
  - ReverseCold 9y ago
    How to use home assistant: 1. buy any compatible smart thing listed as compatible on the home assistant website 2. Buy a raspberry pi and any necessary RF adapters. 3. Install home assistant on the raspberry pi and edit the config.yaml file to work with your devices. It was much easier than I expected, and works with more DIY things as well (like 315/433Mhz RF Sockets).

lerie82 9y ago

I don't see people saying many good things about Blink, why would they do that? However, Amazon is hiring like crazy for video and audio web people, so maybe a trick up their sleeve they have.

pgrote 9y ago

I've had mixed results using the Blink system I bought. Spotty wifi connectivity and disappointing camera performance really soured me on it. Did anyone have a really great experience using 4 blink cameras or more? I transitioned over to wansview cameras and haven't experienced any issues, though I miss the battery availability.

benmorris 9y ago

I've had a 5 camera system for the last few months. It works well and didn't need any wires ran. The app needs some improvement, but overall a pretty neat product.

bob_theslob646 9y ago
From a security standpoint is that as secure as a closed circuit system?
- benmorris 9y ago
  It is a trade off. It isn't as nice as a wired system. My setup would have required multiple boxes and several extremely long difficult to get to runs. I had 5 blink cameras setup and fully working in about an hour. So it was worth it to me. 24/7 recording would be better but this was reasonably priced and very easy to use.
mkoryak 9y ago
I find it crazy that it claims to run for 20 hours on 2 double A batteries. Is battery life a problem for these things? Also it records in 5 second clips. I imagine that being somewhat painful to review.
- benmorris 9y ago
  Like I said they are neat tech for what you get. I've had mine for over 2 months now and some of them record 10-20 clips a day. When they are not recording they basically are using next to no power. The clip duration and re trigger interval can be set to up to 60 seconds. You can also set the re trigger to be immediate effectively making it record constantly. These settings among others are configured per camera in the app.

neekb 9y ago

Amazon has their own delivery service, bought wholefoods, and now bought blink. Blink has a doorbell offering plus the camera's that you already know of. It's not a stretch to have groceries delivered all the way to your fridge and put blink cameras all over the house to make sure the delivery guy walks back out when he's done.

c_r_w 9y ago
Amazon is definitely pushing the boundaries of what amount of privacy people are willing to exchange for convenience. I was shocked that so many people I knew bought Echos... wiring your entire house for video doesn't seem that much crazier.
- Mister_Snuggles 9y ago
  Wiring your house for video is not crazy at all. Wiring it for video where you have to rely on the security of cloud provider (especially a free one) is what's crazy.
  - kfriede 9y ago
    Wiring the interior of your house to a network connected device, whether cloud or not, sounds crazy to me anyways. I realize 95% of the "hacked" webstreams are due to people not changing the default password and forwarding the port, but there are enough security vulnerabilities aside from that where I wouldn't feel comfortable with them installed indoors.
    - Mister_Snuggles 9y ago
      The security on most IoT products is terribly lacking. I don't blame you for being wary of them. I have a bunch of cheap WiFi cameras, but they don't require a cloud service to operate so I can segregate them all onto a WLAN/VLAN that doesn't have access to the internet. This is a reasonable measure to secure these devices, but for cloud-required cameras (like the Blink appears to be) this isn't an option at all. Of course, by taking the vendor's cloud service out of the equation I either have greatly reduced functionality or I have to spend time (and money) to build out that functionality locally. The route I've gone has Zoneminder doing motion detection, recording, and storage, with an IPSec VPN to provide remote access. It's not perfectly secure (nothing is), but it's a lot better than the default.

AaronFriel 9y ago

Was bewildered for a moment as I thought the Google Chrome rendering engine had been spun off as a company and suddenly acquired. Stranger things have happened this year.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

quizbiz 9y ago

I love my Blink. Wonder if they will buy Tile next.

usaphp 9y ago

That sign up popup is so damn annoying lately on almost all product websites.

toephu2 9y ago

Are there any better home security cameras that record short clips on motion detection that don't have a monthly cloud-storage fee? Or should I just stick with Blink?

johnvega 9y ago

I've been using dlink wifi cams outdoor for about 5 years. Based on a few minutes info from their website, looks like blink has a great usability design. I'd put this on top of my list for my next security cam purchase. Amazon reviews are mostly favorable.

jhonovich 9y ago

IPVM Analysis on the deal https://ipvm.com/reports/amazon-blink https://ipvm.com/reports/amazon-blink based on our testing of multiple Blink and Amazon camera models