Pinnacle markets low-cost home security camera

OREM, Utah—Pinnacle Security today announced it is the first to market the Image Sensor, a motion detector with a built-in camera that transmits still images through a smartphone mobile app.

Image Sensor, offered in partnership with Alarm.com, is an answer to repeated requests by many Pinnacle residential customers for an affordable security camera for the home, Kelly Walker, CEO of the summer-sales model security company, which is based here, told Security Systems News.

“We believe it's going to be a very successful product and it's one we're very excited about,” Walker said. “We think there will be a substantial attach rate.”

In the roll-out in the United States, which begins this month, new Pinnacle customers can get Image Sensor for a price on par with what they'd pay for a motion detector alone, and then just $2 more per month in monitoring fees added to whatever security package they have, according to company officials.

The company plans an upgrade offer to existing customers later this summer, said Stuart Dean, VP of corporate communications.

He said Pinnacle is offering the Image Sensor at an affordable price because “we truly believe this is going to help our close rates and provide added value to our existing customers.”

Pinnacle said in a press release that by “leveraging Alarm.com's newest platform technology, the camera detects motion in the home and takes … photographs of what it 'sees' when triggered.”

Walker said Pinnacle's customers increasingly have been asking for home security cameras. In the past two years, he said, Pinnacle has offered some, but “unfortunately they've been cost prohibitive” to many users.

Typically, he said, the cameras cost $200 to $300, with an additional cost for installation and also a monthly fee.

But now, Walker said, the battery-operated Image Sensor makes a home security camera affordable. The camera takes still pictures, not video.

“The price point is very similar to a motion detector,” Walker said.

With the Image Sensor, customers still get a motion detector, but one that has a camera built into it. Installation is free, he said.

Also, Walker said, the device is “100 percent wireless” and doesn't need to tie in with the Internet, which Walker said is ideal for customers who don't have Internet service or whose service is unreliable.

“So, we really tried to simplify it and resolve all the concerns that customers have had historically,” Kelly said.

In a statement, Steve Trundle, president and CEO of Alarm.com, a technology provider of interactive security solutions based in Vienna, Va., described the Image Sensor as “a simple, uncomplicated solution that provides another pair of eyes within the home or business.”

In a further description of the device, Pinnnacle said the Image Sensor will automatically detect motion and upload an image of the intruder to the Pinnacle Mobile Control interface. Then, the company said, the alarm-triggered images are forwarded to users' cell phones by text message or email. The Image Sensor also captures pictures of the first in-property event after the security system is disarmed from “armed away” status, allowing the viewer to use any web-enabled device to see who has disarmed the system. Customers can also remotely request on-demand images from the home to keep track of children, pets, an elderly parent or a vacation property.

Walker said Pinnacle has “invested heavily into the product in a marketing platform” because the company believes it will increase customer satisfaction and decrease attrition.