Totokan Baby Monitor

We’ve been a bit unlucky in the monitor department with issues ranging from WiFi connectivity problems to unusual mounts that don’t work with our nursery setup, so I was excited to try out the Totokan. I’d heard over and over again how easy it was to use, and after using it with my baby, easy is the best word I can give you to describe the Totokan baby monitor.

Setup takes only a minute or two. All you have to do is download the app and sync it with your monitor, and you’re ready to put it to use. You don’t need to carry around a bulky parent unit because everything you need is in the app on your phone. And, if your WiFi goes out, which was a concern for me, it still works! (How? Basically, the Totokan monitor becomes a hotspot.)

Because it’s able to connect with your phone sans WiFi, it’s readily portable. (Don’t worry, it’s also super compact in size and has a rechargeable battery life of four hours.) Our old monitor, which we still use in the nursery, is physically mounted to the wall, so it can’t go anywhere. One of the primary reasons the Totokan appealed to my wife and I is its portability. We’ve used it out and about, and we also bring this when we travel because it can be setup anywhere. (Personally, I also love that we don’t have to wonder how secure the WiFi is when we travel.) We’ve tossed it in the diaper bag and used it to put our son down for a nap when we’re hanging out at friends’ houses.

It’s also drop- and water-resistant, so you can even use it outdoors. My son is still a little guy, but I think it would be great to keep an eye on older kids playing in another room (because it’s so easy to move around the house) or in the backyard, especially if you have a baby to take care of, too.

The orange and white Totokan baby monitor

The Totokan is made to work like any portable camera. It has a Micro USB port to charge it (so if you lose or forget the cord, you can find a replacement easily), it has a built-in universal tripod mount on the bottom, and you can insert an SD card to save images or videos.

With any product, I think there are a few things that could be improved on the Totokan. The camera quality isn’t as high as other monitors, but as I mentioned, we have a different monitor in the nursery, so I don’t mind that the quality on the Totokan is low because we use it when we’re out and about or traveling. I do think it’s fine for keeping an eye on older kids playing, but for a sleeping baby I’d have more peace of mind with a higher resolution camera.

Also, I feel like it is important to note that part of what makes the Totokan so portable and easy to use anywhere is the fact that it is a compact block. That can also be a drawback if you don’t have a good place to position the camera because it doesn’t tilt around. For instance, if you want to watch over a sleeping baby you’d have to manually move the camera. This can be easily remedied with a tripod (remember it has the universal screw mount), and we’ve used ours this way on vacations when we happened to bring our camera tripod with us.

Overall, the Totokan is a good choice for parents who prize portability. I think we’ll use it even more once my son is old enough to play on his own in other rooms or even in our fenced in yard. But for now, it is great for naps elsewhere and family vacations.

Price: $249
To buy: amazon.com