Customer Reviews

Graco Digital imonitor Mini Baby Monitor in White

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After confronting the bewildering array of monitors at a couple of major retail chains, we settled on this model because of the small size of the receiver and the digital technology. We ignored video because a friend had a video model that just seemed too grainy to be of any use, and the signal was really delicate. (Besides, if baby's crying, doesn't matter what you see on the screen, you're walking over there anyway.) We also didn't feel we needed two receiver units since my wife is the only one at home during the day and we take turns with the night feedings anyway. We definitely feel we made the right choice. The teeny receiver is so convenient and we've had no problems with the signal, which we were a little worried about before we bought it, but that's more because of our past experience with various cordless phones and wi-fi routers -- it's always a crap-shoot. We've found that poor reception can be just as much due to the construction of your house, where you place the base station, and the number of other wireless signals in the air as it is the fault of the unit itself. We were relieved to discover that this monitor works perfectly in our circa 2005, 2500 sq ft, two-story house and coexists peacefully with our four-handset 5.8 ghz cordless phone and 2.4 ghz 802.11n wi-fi network (the bases for which are in the same room as the Graco, BTW). We were also surprised at how sensitive the microphone is; it really does pick up every little whimper. The only issue we have is that we had to crank the volume all the way up on the receiver. The charging cradle itself also has a speaker which gives you a volume boost as well, which is helpful and a nice touch. Battery life seems pretty good, and because it's replaceable I'm not worried about burning it out by leaving it in the charging cradle all the time -- I'll just go get another one at Radio Shack if I have to. All in all, we're very satisfied and we definitely recommend it. If the receiver were louder (insert "but it goes to 11" reference here) we'd give it the full five stars.

I've been using this monitor for 16 months now, and so far there is no other monitor that I think would fit my active lifestyle as well. My review boils down to this: if you're active, you might want to consider this monitor.

I'm a stay a home dad, avid gardener, and carpenter. When my baby takes his mid-morning to afternoon nap it's time for me to garden, landscape, exercise or remodel the house.

I need a baby monitor with only 4 features:
1) a real life range of about 250 feet (that's the length of our lot)
2) alerts that work even if I'm mowing or using power tools
3) is small enough not to get in the way
4) has a rechargeable battery that lasts at least 6 hours

Other gimmicks aren't important to me although I do use the monitor base station as our nursery's night light.

This monitor is probably the smallest on the market, and I usually wear it around my neck on the included lanyard. There are no antennas or bulk to get in the way. If I don't want it jostling about, I wear it under my shirt. This also makes it easier to feel the vibrate function during the winter months when I'm bundled up.

The vibrate function allows me to feel the alert if I'm wearing earplugs while operating loud machinery (even a jackhammer).

When I exercise indoors, I don't like wearing the monitor so I place it beside me where I can see its alert lights.

We live in a brick house, and the range is adequate for us, meaning that it starts to break up at around 250 feet. It works when I'm on the roof, in the basement, or the back of the back yard. The only place it didn't work well was when I was digging a 5 foot deep trench for a waterline. I had to keep it above ground level.

The internal lithium ion battery works for about 8 hours per charge, but this probably varies depending on how loud the volume is set. When the battery wears out (hasn't happened yet), it can be replaced which is nice.

Another nice thing is that it has pretty good circuitry to prevent feedback if you take the parent unit into the same room as the base station.

My only criticism was that our first parent unit started having too much static after about 4 months. I called Graco, and they provided excellent customer service by sending me a new one. I suspect that either there was a quality control problem or that the parent unit wasn't designed for one of the following: getting knocked around or sucked on by our baby, getting swung around by the lanyard, or being exposed to humidity when I gardened in the rain or showered (I used to hang it on a hook in the shower, now I leave it by the bathroom sink).

The only improvements for this monitor would be to make it more durable (perhaps waterproof or resistant) and make the base station turn back on in the event the power goes out (or someone accidentally flips the wrong breaker when working on the house's electrical system).

If you only want or need a basic monitor that works and doesn't get in the way, then this might be a good choice.

We have used this monitor now for about 3 months, and it really is quite perfect! There are two main parts: The pod that sits in Baby's room - no batteries needed, comes with a power supply plug - and the monitor itself. The monitor is amazingly small - about the size of 1/3 deck of cards or 1-1/2 D-Cell batteries - and comes with a belt clip and lanyard (can use only one at a time.) It also has an arm strap that is best if you like that method. The monitor battery is rechargeable in the compact docking station (very easy to use!) and battery lasts about 5-6 hours.

Sound quality? Excellent. Very low noise, and no interference like you find on the 49 MHz, walkie-talkie style monitors. The transmitter pod is very sensitive, and we can hear the ocean-wave noise maker in her crib over the monitor speaker (helps us go to sleep :-). We find the volume levels to be just fine, although we don't have a particularly noisy household. Nevertheless, when she whimpers, cries or even just coos, we can hear it over the monitor.

I'd highly recommend this monitor if convenience and sound quality are important. Note - it does only come with one monitor, but we find we don't have a need for two.

We're about 40 feet from the baby's room, with a couple of walls between us, and the monitor frequently cuts out on us. To answer the question from the commenter on the other review similar to this one, the cell phone reception in our house is pretty good.

So in our case, the 2000 foot claim is nowhere near the truth.

After my cheapo monitor konked out (after three babies) I was reluctant to spend almost $100 on a new monitor for baby #4 ... but am I glad I did. Super monitor -- very versatile & easy to set up. Function is intuitive, except nursery base has a teeny tiny green light on the front to show "on" indicator ... didn't notice it right away (I'm kind of slow, I know ....) so couldn't figure out if it was on or not at first .... With that figured out, we were set -- clear reception, great range. Great product!

I bought this item to monitor an elderly parent. I had no trouble with reception....from room-to-room or from floor-to-floor - I could hear even when I was in the basement and her room was on the 2nd story.
I liked the small size of the monitor and the fact that I could carry it with me three different, easy to switch, ways - around the neck, on the belt, or with a arm band.
It's sensitive enough to pick up the sound of a soft cough. Even in the vibrate mode, lasts several hours on a full charge.
I was glad to have this monitor and would recommend it.

I had high hopes for this adorable monitor, but it had less range than my clunky 5-year old Graco monitor. It lost the signal every time I went outside, and even when I went into a room upstairs! The product claim is a 2000-ft range, but I couldn't go more than about 50 feet from the base without losing the signal if there was a wall between me and the base. When I contacted the company they suggested placing the base right next to a window but that didn't help. Needless to say, I am returning it and would not recommend it to anyone.

This is our third monitor and we are still searching for the perfect one (actually a mere good one will do).

Positives: Very small; minimal interference and background hiss. Nightlight on base unit is nice to have. Quick drop in charger is nice compared to having to fumble with plug in cord offered on other models.

Negatives: Sound quality is very bad with nothing but high tones audible. Most voices are mids and this seems to have none, though we can hear our 3 year old when she yells. Considering that most cell phones have good sound quality and are of the same size (with a lot more functionality), it is clear to me that Graco used a low quality speaker and sound chip. Battery life is horrible at under 4 hours between charges.

Summary: There are better options out there, especially for the price. I think I'll try a DECT Philips model next. If you're looking to save money, get the Sony 27 channel for half the price of the imonitor.

I like that this monitor is compact and durable. I've been using it for about a month. It has been flawless in performance, and certainly quite simple to use.

Having the charging cradle to dock the receiver is great. I don't need to mess around with batteries, which is a plus. Should I forget to charge the unit, the dock is small enough to easily be moved into a room with you.

The sound quality has been good, even in a room with an air filter generating a lot of white noise. I've been very happy with it.

We have the same experience with faulty though adequate reception. I can be sitting with the remote at my desk 20 feet from the room with two (well insulated) walls between me and the babies and still have the remote sputter on and off. It certainly works but it is noisy when it momentarily loses connections.