What if James Bond's Q Accessorized Your Home?
Play spy and boost home security the stylish way, with hidden cameras and other high-tech gadgets as accessories
Let’s face it: The coolest thing about James Bond was always those gadgets made under the direction of Q — the British spy agency’s research and development chief.
It’s a wonderful fact that many of the exotic spy gadgets that Bond used in the '60s, '70s and '80s are now available as mass-produced consumer goods, and some of them are even sold as toys for children.
Spy gadgets are generally considered to be a disreputable and shady category of consumer electronics, sold mostly though unsightly and unfashionable websites. Their customers appear to be a random collection of military people, detectives, police officers and security professionals, as well as criminals, perverts, stalkers and the paranoid.
Despite all this, spy gadgets for the home can boost your home’s safety, security and fun factor.
It’s a wonderful fact that many of the exotic spy gadgets that Bond used in the '60s, '70s and '80s are now available as mass-produced consumer goods, and some of them are even sold as toys for children.
Spy gadgets are generally considered to be a disreputable and shady category of consumer electronics, sold mostly though unsightly and unfashionable websites. Their customers appear to be a random collection of military people, detectives, police officers and security professionals, as well as criminals, perverts, stalkers and the paranoid.
Despite all this, spy gadgets for the home can boost your home’s safety, security and fun factor.
SecureShot Yard Guard BirdFeeder Hidden Camera
You can also find a variety of concealed outdoor cameras. These are especially useful for security. If you have a big, obvious security camera bolted to the roof, any crook worth his crowbar can simply avoid its gaze or disable it.
But concealed cameras can catch trespassers red handed and they’ll never know it. You can find outdoor spy cameras built into hose reels, mailboxes, fake electrical boxes, fake rocks and even fake owls.
One nice option for an outdoor concealed camera is the SecureShot Yard Guard BirdFeeder Hidden Camera. It houses a waterproof digital camera that shoots high-resolution video when it detects a moving human (small animals and other movements won’t trigger the sensor). It stores video on an SD card. The battery lasts for a year.
But concealed cameras can catch trespassers red handed and they’ll never know it. You can find outdoor spy cameras built into hose reels, mailboxes, fake electrical boxes, fake rocks and even fake owls.
One nice option for an outdoor concealed camera is the SecureShot Yard Guard BirdFeeder Hidden Camera. It houses a waterproof digital camera that shoots high-resolution video when it detects a moving human (small animals and other movements won’t trigger the sensor). It stores video on an SD card. The battery lasts for a year.
TeleSpy Phone
Spy shops have all kinds of other fun secret gadgets. One cool spy phone, called the TeleSpy, looks and works like a regular landline telephone. But when you leave the house, you can set it to spy mode. If it detects motion, it will call your cell phone and play any sounds it hears in the room.
Tell us: Would you have Bond's decorator accessorize your house?
Tell us: Would you have Bond's decorator accessorize your house?
There are bad reasons to hide a camera. But there are good reasons, too. Namely, because you want security, pet-monitoring or baby-monitoring cameras but don’t like the ugly and unnerving appearance of cameras in your home.
Spy stores sell fully functional lamps, electrical outlet plates, fans, air filters, thermometers, books, tissue dispensers, planters, smoke detectors, coffee makers, pencil sharpeners, thermostats and coat hooks that have concealed cameras built in. And if you’re looking for a more "timely" product, there are dozens or possibly even hundreds of different kinds of clocks with hidden cameras inside — cuckoo clocks, alarm clocks, traditional kitchen clocks and more.
One example of a very easy-to-use and practical hidden camera is the Xtreme Life Battery Powered Hidden Camera Wall Clock. The clock has a high-resolution camera that takes pictures when a human is detected within 30 feet of the camera — moving cats and curtains won’t trigger it. It's battery operated, and you should need to change the battery only once a year. The hidden camera saves photos on a standard SD card, the kind used by regular digital cameras.
It looks like a normal clock yet has a high-resolution camera, a PIR (passive infrared) motion sensor and a long-life battery. It’s also water resistant.