Owl Car Cam Saga: Part 1

Like a Nest Cam for your Car

Intro

This thing is awesome, or so every YouTube Reviewer says.  Sometimes I get the impression that people are just hyped about new tech, not the particular product.  I too was hyped about it, it really seemed like the great new idea.  It is refined and Mobile Data-connected.  How bad could it be?
(you don't want to know, ... or do you?)

When comparing to so many other Dash Cam, the Owl cam is simple and robust  And, like the CEO and Co-Founder Andy Hodge, who previously worked for Apple and then Nest, the Owl Cam compares to favorably to the iPod, Nest Cam, and Nest Thermostat.  There is a centrist simplicity in all the products that the companies for which Mr Hodge has worked.

An Owl on your Dash

The Owl Cam is a unique product both on paper and in function.  At it's core it is a dash cam, but it includes an LTE connection and some interesting technology to make its use a bit easier to use.   In general public use Dash cams are becoming more common and although there are many, many options to choose from, most are cheap and lack the usability features.  In particular, the Owl Cam can keep an eye on your vehicle and alert you when it senses trouble, such as someone bumping your vehicle or backing into it, or even breaking into it.  It has lights on it both on the front and back to indicate a security feature and for if someone does get inside who should not be there.

Owl's Like Nest, Cams

Like the Nest Cam, the Owl Car Cam retains a full history of all activity in your vehicle.  Not only does it track activity while you drive, but while you do not.  So like the video above, it can capture a break in or just about anything else.  It makes notes in the playback section of the app where it noticed activity around the vehicle. This is similar to how the Nest Cam makes similar notes about motion that it detects. 

Talk to your Owl

Although it is possible to talk to certain Nest Cams, there is a unique feature in the Owl Car Cam that lends itself directly the aspects of driving.  This is where the Owl Cam really shows off it's features.  It is possible to capture an event, as is one of the primary purposes of a Dash cam, using only your voice.   By saying a phrase that is similar to the modern age when speaking to a computer, "OK, Presto", you will capture the last 20 seconds as a permanent clip on the Owl Cam. It is possible to capture the event by tapping the screen, but the voice command is a faster and simpler idea.    

It is important to remember that once you have made the command "OK Presto", the very next thing that you say will be used to label the clip.  If you say nothing, the label will be blank.  But words that the Owl Car Cam hears following "OK Presto" will become the clip name. Both the clip action and the name will be spelled out on the screen following your naming of the clip.  

An Owl on your Phone

The app for Owl is definitely in the early stages of release.  It is finished in the sense that a 5 year-old is at the end of Kindergarten.  You can view the camera Live both inside and outside of the vehicle.  You can view your "OK Presto"-clips, there are a few options.  But the proper fit and finish of a fully functional app is yet to be seen.  

Find me again in Part 2: Issues for a continuation of the problems that the Owl Car Cam is suffering from and hopefully some decent resolution.  For now, Check out Owl Cameras on YouTube for some of the good and not so good benefits of owning an Owl Car Cam.