Friday, January 21, 2011

Summer Infant BabyTouch Digital Video Monitor Review!

So my initial reason for wanting to start a blog was to share my abundant knowledge of all things baby.

What's that you say? What do I know about baby stuff since I only have one child and she is barley 10 months old?

Very observant, my dear readers, but let me tell you...It's called OCD. Or actually, O.C.D.

That's better.

Hello, my name is Nicole and I'm a baby stuff stalker.

Hi Nicole.

No really, not kidding. So. Not. Kidding.

Observe...

Before Boogie was born I read all my baby books, cover to cover. (BabyWise is actually highlighted, underlined and earmarked.) I also read the ones for Rutherford, and earmarked the good parts for him too.

Choosing bottles took MONTHS.

Weeks of scanning the Internet, reading reviews, pricing and in person walk-by's at Babies R Us & BuyBuyBaby, went into buying the umbrella stroller. (Which I then ended up buying at Wal-Mart because they had it cheaper then anywhere else and IN STOCK. Score!)

And that was just a $40 umbrella stroller.

Don't get me started on the convertible car seat.

I anguished over the digital thermometer.

Do normal people take 2 whole days to decide on a bottle brush? Just me?

See a pattern here?

So lately we found ourselves in need of a new video monitor for the Boogie's room. Game on...

This monitor is actually a replacement monitor for the one we had purchased in November. I don't know how it could have happened (yes I do, it was dropped) but it suddenly had the worlds most annoying hum. And not just a low hum, a keep you awake staring at the ceiling, kind of hum. Rutherford pointed that out to me. Thank you for that because until he said something, I hadn't noticed it and then couldn't get it out of my head.

Like the little problem solver I am, I took to my Twitter account and called out the manufacturer. To my surprise the contacted my right away, refunded my total purchase price AND promised a replacement free of charge! I am now a huge fan of Safety 1st and can honestly say they have some of the best customer service I have encountered from any large company, as of yet. Kudos.

In the mean time, I needed a new one. You don't understand, it's like that old saying: Once you go video, you don't go back...or whatever.

Anywho...

So back to the drawing board I went with my new mission. Armed with the promise of a $161.00 check from Safety 1st, I started looking at nicer, newer and more upgraded models of video monitors for this time around. And that's when I saw it....

Que singing angels here.

Feast your hungry eyes, people. Soak in it's gloriousness. Bask in it's udder awesomeness.

Summer Infant's BabyTouch Digital Video Monitor



Swoon. Told you so.

Here's the description straight from the Summer Infant website.

The BabyTouch Color Video Monitor is the most innovative baby video monitor on the market. It features a revolutionary touch-screen controlled monitor, the first of its kind. Like many of the smart phones, simply touch the screen to control the monitor’s pan, scan, zoom and brightness features. Two other great aspects include a stylish, magnetic docking station for the handheld unit and a wireless, rechargeable battery-powered dock for the camera. Another wonderful feature is the unique talk-back option, giving parents the ability to speak into the handheld monitor and have their voice projected through the camera.


Summer Infant monitors always came highly rated from all the Moms around the Twitter water cooler but the are not cheap so I hesitated to buy one but that doesn't mean I didn't covet thy neighbors monitor. I have also been known to casually walk by them on every visit to the store every now and then, you know, for research purposes only.

Here was my chance to finally own the Rolls Royce of baby gear.. the Summer Infant video baby monitor and I was going for it. Oh yeah.

Off to BuyBuyBaby I went to buy buy my monitor. $249.99 later I was on my way home but not before a thorough walk through, you know, just to make sure everything is right where it was last time. (Including the new Munchkin Diaper Pail and First Years bottle drying station, either of which would be a very nice surprise from the other half for the low low price of $29.99 and $14.99, respectively.)

Hold on! Important side note here!!

If you don't know this already, BuyBuyBaby is owned by BedBath&Beyond. Yup, that's right! Which means all those 20% coupons you have piled up work at BOTH STORES. Let me give you a minute to let that one sink in...

Okay back to my story...

I then raced home, my head spinning with images of all the fun times my monitor and would soon be having. I ran into the house, a quick "Hey, how are ya?" to the kid and the father and I was tearing into the box with my teeth like a kid on Christmas. A quick scan of the directions (directions are for being read AFTER you fail to figure it out on your own) and I was up and running.

Small camera unit & notice the Ohio State Buckeyes Brutis mobile on the crib. Yeah baby!








Here it is on the wall in Boogie's room. And here are actual pictures of it's awesomeness in action.

Great color picture of the play room and WAY too many toys.





Second favorite feature is the "talk back" ability. Think of it like a walkie-talkie. I demonstrated this one this morning by giving Daddy a verbal "high five" on his diapering job. Fun times, people.

If I had to make one little improvement on perfection, it would be to have a temperature reading on the parent unit. Our other monitor had that and it was so helpful when the temp dropped here in the desert. (Her room is in a far corner of the house so it's hard to tell how hot or cold it is in there.) But this is minor and all of the other features, by far, make up for that one place it's lacking. The parent unit is also super fast when charging, like 4 minutes to get it 80%, a portable battery powered charging station for the camera which will keep the camera running for 10 hours when not plugged into a wall, AND a/v cables so you can hook up the parent unit to the TV. Genius!

All in all, my favorite baby item, hands down. I will be recommending this one to everyone, including you. Another bonus, @SummerInfant is readily available and willing to chat on Twitter and I am very pro any company that makes themselves accessible to it's customers.

You can find Summer Infant monitors and all of it's other amazing and thoughtful products, as well as, where to buy at http://www.summerinfant.com/

Happy stalking!



I was given permission to do this review by Summer Infant PR but I was not compensated in any way in exchange for a good review. I just really think they are awesomesauce. Now go buy their stuff.

29 comments:

  1. Oooh, you got the nice one!

    A friend gave me one that her family had used for her elderly grandmother. It was a Summer handheld model, and the family never got good reception with it.

    It didn't work well for me either, and so with no receipt, no idea where or when it was purchased, I called Summer. They were great. They paid my shipping charges to return it and they sent me a new one out immediately.

    Their customer service is excellent, and now all is fine and dandy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, thanks a lot. Now I must have one! I could probably sneak it in with all the other new BOY stuff I'll be buying, right?
    From here on out, I'll just ask YOU for product recommendations.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @JennyBean

    I love when companies have great customer service! I gave all sorts of kudos to Safety 1st for their awesome service and have heard wonderful things about Summer Infant's,as well. With the power of the social media, gone are the days of telling 10 people when you have bad service, now it's more like the 1000 people following you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. @The mad woman behind the blog

    Hey I WARNED you! I said "Hey read at your own risk! Due to the shear awesomeness of this product and my spiderific writing abilities, you will not be able to contain yourself and will run out and buy buy at once!" I didn't say that? Well I thought it, and you should know what I'm thinking. Sheesh.

    Having a boy? Didn't know that! Saweet! I want a boy...we are on pink overload here, if you couldn't tell from the bedroom walls. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't even need a monitor right now and I want this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. quick question, the only negative i have read about this monitor is that some say with the touch screen, they accidentally hit and move things around if the monitor is clipped to them or if they are carrying it? have you experienced this or can you give me any insight on this...thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous, Yes, I have had that happen before and it's not really an issue when it does happen. I've been using this monitor now since January and I still LOVE it. It's only shut off on me once and the volumn control just got glitchy the other day but not enough to be something I would worry about. I also know that Summer Infant has amazing customer service that I know if I called them I would be taken care of. Another incentive to buy their products, worry free. :) Hope this helps!

    ReplyDelete
  8. thank you so much, helps a lot!! we are searching to replace our monitor and having a hard time making a decision. thank you~

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm telling you, this one is amazing. And if you buy it at BuyBuyBaby, you can use your Bed,Bath&Beyond 20%off coupon which saves about $50 and they have a great return policy if you do end up not liking it.
    Getting a monitor that can pan the room is really the way to go. Its more expensive but once your kid is out of the crib, a stationary one becomes useless at that point anyway. Happy Hunting! Feel free to join my blog and come back often! I just did a post about my best unsolicited baby tips :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I recently purchased one and had to return it without even getting to use it :( After patiently charging it for 16 hrs I turned it on and.....nothing, the monitor screen was broken. And yes I realize lemons happen but this is my 3 summer infant monitor that has broken ( the first 2 were a different model). Unfortunately I'm researching again to try and find that "great" video monitor but I'm starting to think it does not exist :(

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for sharing these baby video monitor choices. Using the walkie talkie is way too overrated already.

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  29. OMG are you me? Am I you?!? Fellow Ohio State Buckeye with OCD about baby stuff here! I too researched and bought/ changed mind/ rebought and or exchanged SO many baby items! I was wanting this monitor however I'm disappointed it doesn't have a temperature reading. I so want that! Thanks for your input though!

    ReplyDelete