Pawbo WiFi Pet Camera

THE GOOD:

Simple and easy to use

Setup took minutes

Laser pointer game

Treat dispenser

Social Sharing directly from app THE BAD: No Motion Alerts

No Night Vision

Definitely worth it! View Discount on Amazon

Pawbo Pet Camera – Updated for 2017!

The popular Pawbo Pet Camera has been updated for 2017! Read all about the new features available in the 2017 Pawbo Life Pet Camera in our updated review here.

Pawbo Pet Camera Review – Summary

Competition in the pet cam industry is in full force as demonstrated by the new Pawbo Wifi Pet Camera. This camera is loaded with fun and interactive features to keep an eye on your pets while you’re gone, including treat dispenser, laser games, and voice compatibility. I’ll walk through everything you need to know in order to make your decision on which pet cam is right for you. Let’s get right to it!

Design & Unboxing

Upon first unboxing the Pawbo Pet Cam, I was surprised by the size. From pictures online I imagined it bigger, so the smaller design was a great first impression as we didn’t want a big bulky camera in our living room. The camera is made of plastic with a glossy white and black appearance. When holding the Pawbo, it feels well made; however if you have an aggressive dog who may be a little too curious, you may want to put it up on a shelf to not break it. When in use, two led lights near the camera lens indicate power and activity.

Moving to the back, you can see how simple the Pawbo camera really is. A power cord, reset button, and WPS button (for those of you with WPS protection on your router) makes up the controls – the rest is controlled through the Pawbo App. Finally, the camera also has a rear mounted speaker so you can talk to your pets and also two screw holes to mount the camera to a wall, if you prefer. For this review, we simply set it on our TV stand.

Setup

Setup is easy. I mean really easy. You plug the Pawbo into the wall and download the app. Once installed, the app walks you through a few additional steps including connecting to your Pawbo (took 15 seconds), naming the Pawbo, and setting a password. After that, we were off to the races.

If you experience any issues with installation, check out Pawbo’s installation support page for more information including video walk-throughs.



Features

The Pawbo has quite a few unique features for a pet cam that appears so sleek and simple. Let’s start with the basics.

Video quality

Pawbo has a 720p front-facing camera with a 110 degree wide-angle lens which gets the job done. It’s not the most impressive resolution compared to some other security cameras out there, such as the Nest. However it matches the resolution of other interactive pet cams including Petzi and PetChatz. Video recordings and snapshots can also be saved directly to Dropbox.

There is no night vision on this pet cam, which isn’t a deal breaker for me but could be for others. Night vision is often a requirement for many people when shopping for home security cameras, but not necessarily for pet cameras. Most people, including myself, leave a light on for their pets at night which makes night vision a lower priority.

Sound quality

One of Pawbo’s app-enabled features allow you to talk to your pet no matter where you are in the world. Simply click the microphone within the app, and your voice will be heard through the speaker. You can even configure the settings to increase or decrease the sound level if you have hearing sensitive pets.

Treat Dispenser

Pawbo sports a treat dispensers which is controlled via the app. This feature is priceless for any pet parents that leave their pets at home. When I’m gone longer than expected I can simply open the Pawbo App and give my dog a few treats. You will be required to use very small treats or break up the treats into smaller pieces. I tested it with dog food at first and noticed if I overfill the treat dispenser it can get stuck. I can consistently use 3 pieces of dog food in each section without any issues.

As for my dog, you can see in the video below that she enjoys it! This was her first interaction with the camera. I expected there to be a bit of a learning curve for her to realize this camera is tossing treats out, however I didn’t even have to call her over and get her attention. I used sound effects within the app/camera to grab her attention, and then when she was near the camera I dispensed the treats. All in all, a much better experience than I ever imagined.

Laser game

Yes, the Pawbo has a laser pointer game for your cat or dog to chase. And yes, I really didn’t think this would work. Proved wrong again! Check out the video below of my dog chasing this laser around the room (again, this was her first interaction with this feature). You can even manually control the laser from the app to play with your pets or set it to auto, which will move the laser pointer around automatically. However I’d like to give a friendly reminder not to use this too much with dogs, as it can cause anxiety.



Sound effects

At first glance I thought this was pretty useless. But then I noticed “birds chirping” really gets my dogs attention. If I’m looking to give her a treat from the treat dispenser, I can click the sound effect to get her attention and then send the treats out. Works surprisingly well. There is also a doorbell ring whenever you open the app to alert your pet.

Smartphone App

Pawbo’s app is available for download in the Apple store and Google Play store for both phones and tablets. The first time you use the Pawbo App, a simple instructions screen will walk you through the available controls. Relatively straight forward and easy to use. You can also instantly share videos and pictures to social media. I was able to open the app and view the camera while at work on a data connection with no issues. Connecting from a data connection can sometimes take a little longer than when on WiFi, which is understandable, but no issues of concern.



Bottom Line