Don’t you think it is a bit “spammy”?
Aside from the “free” question, the next most frequent question is about the number of apps we support. Why do we have a multi-manufacturer viewer and then have individual manufacturer camera viewers (OWLR Editions)?
Believe it or not, it is incredibly simple: each manufacturer has different capabilities and features and deserves the marketing necessary for that manufacturer’s cameras.
Right now, our OWLR: Foscam, OWLR: Axis and OWLR: D-Link Editions are designed for people who are seeing a solution for those cameras. Because users search for a solution to their particular cameras, finding a viewer for their manufacturer’s camera helps in accomplishing the task in introducing them to the OWLR product and philosophies.
Aren’t they the same app?
Well – at the moment, they are. Truthfully, the apps are very identical in terms of functionality and features. In our roadmap, we have a number of things that the Editions will do in the long-run including:
- Sell cameras from those particular manufacturers
- Demo cameras from those manufacturers in the Public cameras to show the camera quality
- Offer the unique features that different manufacturers offer that are not part of the generic collection
Each manufacturer has pluses and minuses when comparing them to each other. And we here at OWLR are trying to help both the users and the manufacturers get the most out of their products.
So why an OWLR: Multi-manufacturer app?
So this might not sound as compelling, but there is a small subset of users who have different manufacturers in their home and want a single app to control/view them all.
In the past five years, there are at least three very good multi-manufacturer apps that people have used:
- Live Cams Pro / myLiveCams Pro by Eggman Technologies
- tinyCam Monitor Pro from Tiny Solutions LLS
- IP Cam Viewer Pro by Robert Chou / Nibbles and Bits
Being honest, these apps and people have lead the way where others did not tread, and offer free versions of the app for you to try out their offerings. And we support the efforts by all of them, if only since it validates the market need by their many users.
These three players have been around for over five years and have enjoyed a growth that we envy – and we wish to replicate and then some. And our OWLR: Multi offering is in support of those users who are looking for such an alternative.
Hopefully this unveils some of our thinking on what/why so many apps are available and why we spend the time in maintaining them.
If you have any other questions, feel free to send us an email at support@owlr.com and we can continue the conversation.
Happy Viewing!
Sanford and the OWLR Team