DoorBot Wi-Fi Doorbell shows you who’s at the door on your smartphone

Getting up to answer the door can be a whole lot of effort, especially to find out it’s a door-to-door salesperson, and it’s even worse when you rush out of the bath or shower for nothing. Imagine being able to see who’s at the door on your smartphone before moving anywhere – that’s what DoorBot does.

DoorBot is a doorbell with a difference; it connects to your home Wi-Fi and has an in-built camera. This means that when somebody rings the doorbell you’ll get a phone call on your smartphone, with the video feed coming directly from the camera on your doorbell – mind-blowing, we know.

The doorbell also has speakers built in, so you can answer the call and speak to the person at the door, meaning that you can tell a courier to deliver a parcel round the back or a friend to come and join you in the back garden.

The DoorBot does look a little larger and fancier than your average doorbell but we’re pretty sure no unsuspecting salesman, delivery guy or even family member is going to expect to hear a voice suddenly coming from nowhere – expect people to jump when they use it for the first time!

The system runs on a simple app that you can log into on a smartphone or tablet, with iPhone, iPad and Android compatibility. The doorbell itself can be connected to your Wi-Fi network so it can communicate with your smartphone or tablet, and it will last for a year from a set of 4 AA batteries.

One final awesome feature is compatibility with Lockitron. For those unfamiliar, Lockitron is a smart door lock that can be fitted to any door in your house, allowing you to remotely unlock it using a smartphone. With the DoorBot app you can tap a Lockitron button – if you have such a system built in to your home – after receiving the video call from somebody at your door, and remotely unlock it for them.

We think this is definitely one of those gadgets that you didn’t know you needed until you saw it. The ability to see a salesperson and ignore the door without moving is just too great a thing for us, and we might have to get one.

The DoorBot project started life much like a Kickstarter, and after reaching its funding target recently, they’re available to order for $189 or $339 with a Lockitron kit. Shipping will start in July of this year.

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