Panasonic Targets Dropcam With Nubo 4G Surveillance Cam

Oh, your phone has 4G? That's cool, but what about your home surveillance camera? Didn't think so.

But that could soon change, thanks to Panasonic. The electronics giant this week unveiled what it calls the world's first 4G-enabled surveillance camera. Dubbed the Nubo, the device lets you monitor your property and belongings without the need for a Wi-Fi connection.

Panasonic says that the Nubo delivers all the benefits of a mobile security camera with the advantage of 4G. It comes as a "complete platform" for $249, including the camera, a mobile data plan, a mobile app so you can control the device and get alerts on the go, an external battery back for temporary use in places without a power outlet, and a secure cloud storage service from which you can manage data and videos.

Panasonic is currently in talks with wireless carriers to establish network capacity for the device at launch. Vodafone will be the first partner to provide Nubo with 4G network connectivity in Europe; Panasonic has not yet announced any U.S. partners.

As for other features, the camera boasts "advanced video analytics" for human detection, making it easy to know when someone enters your space, triggering alerts to the mobile app. It also has radio technology that allows it to communicate with external sensors, such as door or motion sensors.

Nubo is also weather-resistant, meaning it can be used in indoor and outdoor environments. And, it offers two-way communication, so you could potentially talk to (and hopefully intimidate) burglars through the camera as they're robbing your house. All videos, audio, and images are automatically transferred to a cloud-based, SSL-protected storage system.

"Consumers have long had to compromise on mobility and connectivity when it came to their surveillance needs, bound either by location or connectivity," Tijmen Vos, CTO of Panasonic Cameramanager and product evangelist of Panasonic Nubo, said in a statement. "Our vision is to deliver a product that allows users the freedom and flexibility of choosing where the camera can be used and the confidence in knowing that the data created is securely transmitted and stored. With the introduction of Nubo, we're putting the control of safety and surveillance into the user's hands."

The Nubo will be available for pre-order in the U.S., U.K, and the Netherlands next month; it's expected to ship to the U.K. and Netherlands in the fourth quarter of the year, but not until early 2016 for those in the U.S.