With Blink’s camera chip and a few AA batteries, Amazon goes low-energy

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At the end of 2017, Amazon quietly purchased Blink, a smart home security camera company known for its relatively affordable pricing and tiny, always-on camera modules. According to a Reuters report, Amazon didn't just buy Blink for its security cameras-the online retailer reportedly bought the company for about $90 million to glean access to its energy-efficient chip technology that gives Blink cameras years of battery life.

When news of the acquisition broke, most thought that Amazon would use Blink to enhance its own smart camera projects. Amazon launched Key just a few months prior to buying Blink, a system that uses Amazon's own Cloud Cam and a smart lock to let couriers into homes to drop off packages.

The Amazon Cloud Cam needed for Key can also be purchased separately for basic home monitoring for $119, and it uses a microUSB port for power. On the flip side, Blink's cameras are powered by AA batteries, and its embedded, energy-efficient chip allows those batteries to last up to two years at a time. Much like other smart home security cameras, Blink cameras record HD video, monitor motion, and send alerts to users when a disturbance is detected.

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