iWatchLife with Samsung SmartCam monitoring system hands-on (video)

Today we got a first look at iWatchLife's just-announced partnership with Samsung Techwin. The new service pairs the Samsung SmartCam SNH-1011 with iWatchLife's cloud-based server to provide all the home-monitoring data your paranoid heart requires. Sure, motion-detection systems are nothing new, but the distinction here is that you can record intelligently; just specify the areas you'd like to watch, and iWatchLife software will report back when activity happens in these -- and only these -- places. The company notes that this saves bandwidth, but it also means you won't be hunting through hours of infrared footage looking for possible intruders on your front lawn.

Setup is straightforward: connect the camera(s) to your network, set up the shooters in your places of interest -- and then monitor all activity on your WiFi-enabled devices. iWatchLife's cloud-based server displays all your cameras, and other users can grant you access to their cams. The SmartCam itself is $150, while the online service costs $5 per month for each user account. Take a look at the setup in our hands-on video and gallery below.