Amazon acquires Blink, a startup focused on wireless security cameras and doorbells

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Amazon is really eager to get inside your house. Only months after rolling out its new Amazon Key delivery service involving automatic locks and security cameras, Amazon has acquired the startup Blink, which specializes in much the same products.

The main difference is that Blink's products work wirelessly, while Amazon's existing options usually need to be plugged in. That shift could be big, especially since Amazon's existing system is limited by the need to have outlets posted near the doors, which isn't always ideal. Blink's system, though, works with batteries you could pick up at a local corner store.

In fact, the acquisition comes only a few days after Blink announced its new video doorbell, which requires only two AA batteries that should last for a couple of years under normal conditions.

Blink devices even tend to cost less than those from rivals like Ring, as the new battery-powered doorbell only costs $100 while offering many of the same options.

Amazon confirmed the acquisition in an email to TechRadar.

"As one of [blink's] distributors, we already know customers love their home security cameras and monitoring systems," an Amazon spokesperson said. "We’re excited to welcome their team and invent together on behalf of customers."

Looking to the future

Blink, for its part, said in a statement on its site that nothing is changing about the company's day-to-day operations, although it's likely that state of affairs won't last much longer.

"If you own one of our systems, nothing changes for now," the statement read. "We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products you know and love. It’s Day 1 for us at Amazon, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can deliver to our customers together."

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