Mobiscope brings spying to your smartphone.

TNW Quick Hit

Mobiscope is surveillance app that lets one view a USB and/or IP camera on mobile and desktop devices.

Love It: Viewing home surveillance cameras and live, public, IP cameras around the world.

Hate It: Each device using Mobiscope needs to be configured independently, which may bother some users.

Overall: 4/5

The Details:

There exists in all of us voyeuristic enjoyment, which takes many forms.  Many are silent Facebook friends who use the service only to spy on the actions of others.  Some are Twitter trackers who use the service only to keep up with the microblog goings on of those they follow.  Still others enjoy watching where in the world their friends physically are by observing their check-ins on Gowalla, Foursquare, Loopt and other services.

For those that want to take cyber spying to the next level, Mobiscope is here to quench your lust for looking in on others.

The Mobiscope surveillance service allows one to view USB and IP cameras in real-time on a mobile or desktop device.   A brilliant service for those times when you are away from your home and want to check in on the goings on at your palatial mansion.

Other features of the app according to the developer, Shape Services, include:

Watch real time webcam video stream on your mobile. Keep an eye on your children even when away from home; See your loved one at any time when separated by distance or observe your work place and employees in the office during trips.

Get motion detection alerts over email. Be notified of all motion detections and instantly watch a video stream from a place you observe or look trough the recordings later.

Almost any web / network camera support. You can watch up to 4 web / network cameras simultaneously. Supported network cameras.

Using Mobiscope, you can access for free other public IP cameras world-wide.

The application features with free 24/7 technical support, free updates/bug fixes/new features, and free weekly updates of public camera list.

New! Hear sound from the cameras connected to Mobiscope Desktop. (The feature is supported by Mobiscope Web service and Mobiscope Client for BlackBerry).

The  iPhone app is $9.99, which allows one to connect to a computer with webcams.  The Windows phone app is $19.95, the HP/Palm version is $19.95 and the Blackberry version is $19.95 and the Android version, which requires accessing your cameras by connecting to Mobiscope Web, sets one back $19.95, for a one-time fee or $4.95 if one chooses to pay month to month.

There also exists a desktop version, Mobiscope Web, requiring  a license to view ($29.95 one-time fee or $5.95 for a monthly subscription).   Using the web license, one can access cameras from any desktop, anywhere.  You can view live video, recorded video, manually set a camera to record, and add or remove cameras, in addition to being able to hear sound from cameras equipped with microphones.

Mobiscope is a fantastic service for those with home surveillance cameras.  That’s why I can’t give it a 5/5.  My home doesn’t have home surveillance cameras, so the app is aimed at those individuals who do.  Never the less, I truly enjoy viewing public cameras around the world, and should I install home surveillance cameras to protect what I keep in my lean-to, Mobiscope will prove a valuable service in protecting my sparse personal artifacts from those trying to take them.