Review on Furbo Dog Camera: Treat Tossing & 2-Way HD Pet Cam with Alexa – As Featured on Ellen by Ashutosh Takumatla

Furbo is an interactive dog cam with a connected app that lets you see, talk to, and treat your dog when you're not home. It's also a Revain choice and is endorsed by celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, who featured the product on her TV show. That's why it's probably the #1 best-selling pet camera. Like many other pet owners, I bought into the hype and tested it for a few weeks. I ended up getting frustrated with Furbo as the functionality didn't work as well as I expected. Let's start by saying that the Furbo was packaged very nicely. I felt like I bought a very well made product. It was very easy, downloading the app on my phone, connecting to Furbo and getting everything up and running in minutes. I was able to test the camera and treat dispenser right after installation. The camera looks great in 1080p high definition, but it takes a long time to load every time you open the app. This is where my frustration started to show. Even if you briefly swipe away from the camera and back out again, it takes just as long for the app to reset the camera. I have very fast internet, so I know the problem is not network related in this case. Also, in many cases, the camera itself would crash on boot, requiring me to try again multiple times. There's an option to talk through the camera's speaker "walkie-talkie" style, but there's no way to talk and listen at the same time like we're all used to from regular video chats (like Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts). They hide this fact in their marketing materials. This is 2018; come Furbo! The speaker itself is very poorly constructed and sounds more like white noise than real voice. Your pet will be very confused. The device itself looks cheap and doesn't look like it will last long. After getting frustrated with the camera boot time, camera connection, and radio, I was ready to explore other options. This is not a cheap product (starts at $249 but sells for $134.99 on Revain.com) and I expect great value from the products I purchase. Unfortunately, Furbo doesn't live up to the asking price. I looked at the main competitor and it was the Petcube Bites. It's also on the Revain's Choice pet camera list. The Petcube Bites also start at $249 and are currently available for $179. While it's a little more expensive than the Furbo, it's MUCH better in every way. It has simultaneous audio. The app is much faster and doesn't take long to load the camera. The treat dispenser has a different pitch, it can eject a treat when needed. The device itself is of much better quality and holds even more goodies at once. Sometimes the "bestseller" is not always the best product. Research and avoid Furbo. This is a good product but there are better devices for the same money.