The Logi Circle connected camera is simple, yet limited

Logitech isn't the first company you'd think of when considering potential Nest/Dropcam competitors, but it's aiming to change that with its new Logi Circle connected camera. On top of the usual ability to stream video of your home to mobile apps, the $199 camera stands out with two things: 24 hours worth of free cloud video recording, and a built-in battery for several hours worth of wireless surveillance and video chat. On paper, that puts it a step ahead of Nest, which still doesn't offer any video recording without an additional subscription. After testing out the Logi Circle for a few weeks, I've found it to be relatively easy to use -- but that simplicity also severely limits its capabilities, especially compared to more feature-rich rivals.

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While the Circle marks Logitech's entry into the home surveillance market, it's no stranger to cameras. The company has been building webcams since the dial-up era, and it's also been making outdoor surveillance cameras for some time now. The Circle benefits from all of that experience. It has a welcoming, bulbous design that makes it look right at home on a book shelf, rather than a piece of conspicuous ultramodern gadgetry. Naturally, its lens is the centerpiece, but it's also surrounded by circular mesh that houses its microphone and speaker. The Circle's round face echoes HAL from 2001 -- but, you know, friendlier.

The main camera unit sits atop a circular charging base, which can also be mounted on a wall magnetically, or with included screws. The camera itself swivels up and down, and it rotates around the base horizontally to reach just about any shooting angle. All of the components are made of plastic, but they still feel pretty solid. That's particularly important since the Logi Circle is being positioned as a camera you'll take all over the house. Unlike most indoor cameras, it's not meant to sit in a corner and watch your cat nap all day, Logitech also hopes you'll also use it like a detached webcam.

At this point, interacting with the Circle is purely a mobile affair with iPhone and Android apps. It's a shame that there's no web interface yet — I've grown used to leaving a browser window open during the workday for my Dropcam (yes, to watch my cats). As for the Circle's app, it was relatively easy to use on my iPhone. As soon as you create an account, you're presented with a live view of the Circle's video feed. Swiping left opens up a menu of options that lets you do things like turn the camera on and off, turn on night vision and enable voice chat. Logitech definitely could have labeled some of its icons better, though: The firmware update button is marked with a cloud, and for some reason it's right next to the power button.

The right side of the Logi Circle's main video screen highlights events throughout the day (whenever it detected activity), as well as a particularly useful feature called "Day Brief," which is basically a sped-up version of your day's events. While most connected cameras just record whatever happens in front of them (and let's face it, that stuff is usually pretty boring), Day Brief feels like a 30-second capsule of your life. It could be particularly useful for parents who want to get a better sense of what their kids do throughout the day without sifting through tons of footage.

So how well does the Circle work in practice? At this point, I'd say decently -- though there's plenty of room for improvement. Video footage looked good, but since it's only recording in 720p, it lacks some of the sharpness that 1080p cameras like the Nest Cam offer. And while it did a good job of alerting me when there was activity in front of the camera, it didn't tell me what kind of activity it detected. My Dropcam, on the other hand, has been able to differentiate between motion and sound events for years.

Logitech says it's using "scene intuition" technology to automatically identify activity, but that also makes things pretty opaque since you have no control over it. Other cameras also allow you to configure specific areas of video to track for activity, something the Circle doesn't do at all, which makes it less practical for home security.

While I appreciate Logitech's ambition to make the Circle a bit different than other connected cameras, even its most defining feature -- portability! -- was a tad underwhelming. It was nice being able to bring the camera around my apartment (as long as it was in WiFi range), but since the video feed is only accessible through my account on the mobile app, I couldn't easily share it with friends and family.

Video chatting through the Circle is also awkward, since the video is only going in one direction. Most people would probably be better off using something like FaceTime or Google Hangouts on their phone or tablet, or even Skype on their computer, where you can actually see who you're chatting with. Nobody wants to talk with a disembodied camera.

When it was away from its charging base, the Circle's battery typically lasted a little over two hours. That doesn't make it nearly as useful for wireless surveillance as something like Netgear's Arlo camera, which can run for around six months on a single set of batteries. Basically, it's pretty clear Logitech wants the Circle to be more of a social camera than a security device.

Despite its issues, it's nice to see a connected camera offer cloud video recording right out of the box, with no extra fees. After all, what's the point of having a connected camera if you have no way to review what it recorded? Logitech says it's also working on subscription plans for accessing more amounts of footage. In comparison, you'll have to shell out $10 a month, or $100 a year, to get 10 days worth of cloud recording with the $199 Nest Cam. Netgear's new Arlo Q ($220), on the other hand, will offer a week's worth of recording for free.

It's also worth noting that the Logi Circle can't be plugged into any smart home ecosystem yet, which plenty of other cameras can. Nest's smart thermostat, for example, works with its camera to automatically start recording video when you leave the house. Unless you're ready to sit and wait for Logitech to build out its smart device ecosystem, you're probably better off with another connected camera.

While there's a lot to like about the Circle, Logitech limited itself by focusing on ease of use instead of customizable features. And it's sad to see that the few capabilities truly unique to the Circle are ultimately underwhelming. Logitech built a connected camera that's not as good as the competition when it comes to surveillance, and a social camera that feels like a step back from existing video chat options. Ultimately, the Logi Circle has too many rough edges for me to recommend.