New surveillance camera connects to Bluetooth mobile phones

Yesterday Panasonic Communications Japan unveiled a new surveillance camera [JP] that links to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, PCs or car navigation systems. The BB-HCM547 is the first model from the company that can be installed on ceilings.

Panasonic says users are not required to wire the camera as one Ethernet cable is enough to operate it. It has a field of vision extending 350 degrees horizontally and 82 degrees vertically. In case the camera detects a person, it zooms in on his or her face (via its 2.3x optical zoom/2x digital lens).

Users just have to switch on their cell phone or car navigation to check the activity in the controlled area. Footage will be recorded either in JPEG or MPEG4 format.

The BB-HCM547 is Japan-only at this point and will be available in this country September 25th (MSRP: $1,160).