Baby monitors: full test results
|
Lindam Baby Talk Plus
|
 Manufacturer: Lindam Price: £27.99
(also available with rechargeable batteries for £34.99)
Features: 100m, two-channel
transmission/reception monitor with visual lights display, volume
control and mains adapters.
Stockists: tel. 01423 855 833
Testers’ comments:
 Very
simple to use either with batteries or adaptor.
Very lightweight.
Extremely good transmission with no interference problems.
Clear
lights display to monitor baby’s noises without listening to every
gurgle.
Fair price.
 No
belt clip so you can’t secure the parent unit to yourself but it does
have a useful carry handle.
Minimal added features
Babyworld verdict: A good, simple to use monitor with clear
sound transmission and useful lights display. Few fancy features but a
good quality, effective monitor which does a basic job well and for a
fair price.
Score: 
|
^ back to top
|
Tomy 2 Way Monitor
|
 Manufacturer: TomyPrice:
£69.99
Features: 30-75m,
two-channel transmission/reception monitor with lights display,
volume control and talk-back facility. Parent unit, with belt clip,
can be set to vibrate in response to the baby’s sounds.
You can buy this monitor in the
babyworld shop. Click
here to go to the babyworld shop >>
For other stockists: tel. 02380 662600
Testers’ comments:
Very
easy to set up, no fuss.
Vibrate
option seemed really odd but was actually very useful especially if
you wanted to mute the monitor and couldn't see the lights display
– as when clipped to your belt – or when doing noisy jobs such
as hoovering or drying your hair!
Talk back facility is excellent – allows you to reassure
the baby you are on your way or nearby – or allows a parent with
the baby to give any requests to a partner listening in another
room.
Versatile features – and each feature is optional – ie.
can be used on sound only, lights only, both together, with
vibrating or without, with talk back option or without.
Fairly small, easily portable parent monitor with useful
belt clip.
Expensive but lots of interesting, rather different
features which definitely add value
Babyworld verdict: Straightforward good quality monitor with
a wide range of no fuss, easy to use features – all of which can be
turned off if not required. We really liked the talk back facility and
found the vibrate option unexpectedly useful. Expensive but hard to
fault.
Score 
|
^ back to top
|
Mothercare
Baby Sounds Digital
|
 Manufacturer: Mothercare
Price:
£59.99
Features:
100m, 20-channel transmission/reception monitor with
digital clock, room temperature, battery level and signal strength
indicators, lights display and volume control. Includes mains
adapters, optional belt hook and optional cot/pram hook. Baby unit
with night light.
Stockists: tel. 01923 210210
Testers’ comments:
Very comprehensive range of features all clearly indicated in
digital and light display.
Wide choice of channels (20) makes this particularly good if you
are likely to have trouble with interference, for example, if you live
in a row of terrace houses or flats where other people are using baby
monitors too.
Reception very positive and clear.
High tech design – wouldn’t look out of place in a home office!
Cot/pram hook makes placing monitor near baby easy in all settings.
Belt hook is a useful idea but parent monitor is pretty bulky to
sit comfortably on your belt.
Includes
a digital clock which may be useful if you are short of clocks, but is
not really relevant to baby monitoring!
Quite complex to set up – if you’re hopeless setting a video, you’ll
be hopeless with this!
Pricey.
Babyworld verdict: This is a high-tech monitor and its
digital display does add features not seen on most other monitors –
such as the clock, temperature gauge and visual indications of battery
level and signal strength. However, it is expensive and these extra
features are not really essential for basic monitoring of your baby. If
you love gizzmos you will love this, if you struggle with technology
forget it!
Score: 
|
^ back to top
|
Philips Babyphone
|
 Manufacturer: Philips
Price: £54.99
Features: 400m, two-channel
transmission/reception sound-only monitor with volume control. Small
pager-style parent unit with belt hook and battery recharging unit.
Includes mains adapters.
Stockists: tel. 0208 781 8699 Testers’ comments:
Quick and easy to set up, straightforward to use.
Good long transmission range and useful ‘out of
range’ warning beep.
Fantastically small parent unit (8cm x 5cm) – very
light and portable on your belt or in a pocket.
Neat recharging unit doubles as a stand for parent unit
when you don’t need to carry it about with you.
Pricey – but you are paying for the very portable,
lightweight style of the parent unit and the long range.
Minimal added features – no lights display or
night light.
Babyworld verdict: A neat, straightforward monitor with an
excellent parent unit. The good long range makes it ideal if you have a
large house or long garden. Quite expensive given that it is purely a
sound-only monitor but if a highly portable parent unit or long range is
important to you then this will be worth the money.
Score:
|
^ back to top
|
Johnson & Johnson Intouch Baby Reassurance
Monitor
|
 Manufacturer: Johnson &
JohnsonPrice:
From £89.99
Features: 50m, two-channel
transmission/reception monitor with digital room temperature,
battery level and signal strength indicators, lights display and
volume control. Includes mains adapters, integral parent unit hook
and optional sensor pad to monitor baby’s movements and breathing.
Optional alarm sounds if movement goes undetected for more than 20
seconds, audible tick sounds to confirm movement detected. Baby unit
with night light. Sensor pad not suitable for use with spring
interior mattresses
You can buy this monitor in the babyworld shop. Click
here to go to the babyworld shop >>
For other stockists: tel. 0800 214847
Testers’ comments:
Pretty
straightforward to set up with clear instructions and video which gives
child care advice.
Clear visual display of baby’s sounds and movements – a green light
flashes to show every movement, a panel of red lights displays sounds.
Very loud alarm shrills if no movement is detected for 20 seconds
– this can be disconnected if your baby is prone to wriggling off the
sensor and giving you an unwarranted scare.
The sensor pad can be disconnected so this can be used as a simple
sound monitor with visual display once you have passed the stage where
you are worried about every breath.
Clear room temperature indicator, back lit so you can read it in the
dark.
The
audible tick triggered by each movement was very reassuring when used in
the quiet of the night when parents often wake worried that their baby
hasn’t woken or cried out, but it was quite hard to hear against the
background noises of everyday life. Some parents found the tick
irritating but it can be turned down low if not wanted.
Even on full the volume seemed quite low and you really had to listen
quite carefully. (This can apparently be caused by interference from
other electrical items and J&J will supply special crystal
adapters which allow for clearer reception.)
Expensive Babyworld verdict: Simple to use and
certainly reassuring, without being a disturbance, in the middle of
the night. It works efficiently but whether it makes you feel better
or worse will depend of the type of person you are. The fact that many
features are optional gives it added versatility and a longer life.
Score:
|
^ back to top
|
Safety 1st Angelcare
Sound and Movement monitor
|
 Manufacturer:
Safety 1stPrice: £59.99
Features: 60m,
two-channel transmission/reception sound monitor with volume
control. Includes mains adapters and optional sensor pad to
monitor baby’s movements and breathing. Optional alarm sounds if
movement goes undetected for more than 20 seconds, audible tick
sounds to confirm movement detected. Sensor pad can be used with a
spring interior mattress in conjunction with a piece of hardboard.
Stockists: Tel. 020 8236 0707
Testers’ comments:
Very simple to set up in both sound and movement modes.
Light weight pretty portable parent unit with integral antenna
which doubles as a carry handle.
Competitively priced for a monitor which detects movement.
The audible tick triggered by each movement was very reassuring
especially in the quiet of the night and was of quite a deep, not too
irritating tone.
Sensor pad can be used with a spring interior mattress and can be
disconnected so this can be used as a simple sound monitor once you have
passed the stage where you are worried about every breath.
Three choices of volume but none were terribly loud except when alarm
sounded indicating no movement detected.
No visual lights display of baby’s sounds
Minimal added features
Babyworld verdict: This is a no-fuss, no- frills sound and
movement monitor for a good price. Other monitors offer a wider range
of added features but this gives you a basic sound monitor with the
option of a sophisticated sensor pad to detect movement for a very
competitive price.
Score: 
|
^ back to top
|
Tomy Baby Watch
|
 Manufacturer: TomyPrice:
£99.00
Features:
A 30m sound and vision monitor. Includes adjustable infra-red monitoring
camera, optional sound with volume control and optional visual lights
display. Optional video recording of your baby. Optional cut-in facility
so the TV automatically changes to the monitoring channel if the baby
cries.
Stockists: tel. 02380 662600 or visit www.tomy.co.uk Testers' comments:
Surprisingly straightforward to set up.
Excellent clear picture even when baby’s room is
dark.
Sounds can be monitored without watching the baby
channel.
TV can be set to automatically change to the baby
channel when the baby cries.
Can be used to film candid footage of baby alone –
especially good once baby actively plays in the cot.
No batteries required but baby and parent unit must be
physically linked by a long cable which has to be secured around the
house.
Expensive but the vision facility is a significant
added feature and can be used later for monitoring a playroom, an
infirm relative or for home security.
Not portable – you can only use this for
monitoring from the room with the TV.
Babyworld verdict: This lacks the versatility of a portable
monitor but if you are likely only to be monitoring your baby from one
particular room – a room with a TV in it – then it is certainly
allows for clear effective monitoring. Nothing can quite beat the
reassuring sight of your baby lying contentedly in its cot. If you
spend a lot of time watching TV this will allow more relaxed viewing -
with the occasional channel flick to check on baby instead of running
up and down stairs.
Score: |
Where to next?
Read babyworld's feature
on sleeping - what can you do to encourage your baby to sleep
through the night? Read the current guidelines on how to reduce
the risk of cot death. Read babyworld's advice on how
to choose safety products for your house and visit the babyworld
shop to browse or buy safety
products around the home.
|
