Amazon has acquired Blink, a provider of connected WiFi home security cameras, as well as a new video doorbell introduced recently. Blink will help Amazon compete with Google’s Nest, which began offering its own security system earlier this year. Blink cameras record a short clip each time they detect motion and send the video to the end customer’s mobile devices.
In a message on its website, Blink said that “if you own one of our systems, nothing changes for now. We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products you know and love. It’s Day 1 for us at Amazon, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can deliver to our customers together.”
Based in Andover, Mass., Blink was launched after a crowdfunding campaign raised more than $1 million for its wireless home monitoring system in 2014. The company manufactures products that are compatible with Amazon’s smart home line, Echo.
The cameras, at $99, are less expensive than those of many competitors and are said to run for up to two years on a pair of AA batteries. The acquisition may also help Amazon improve its new Amazon Key in-home delivery system, which does not yet currently work with an alarm system. By linking in with Blink’s forthcoming security system, it would allow drivers to potentially deactivate a home alarm instead of requiring a user to deactivate their system on the day of the delivery.
