Walmart.com Now Selling “Spy Pens” & Hidden Cameras

Walmart Offering 3 Different “Spy Pens” For Under $100

So the other day I searching online for a nice spy pen, one that exudes a professional appearance as well as being highly reliability. There are many spy pens, pen dvr’s, or what have you. Many are just junk, and a lot of the pen cameras of the past have had serious reliability issues.

There is a pen I’ve been researching for a while, and it’s definitely captured my attention (no pun intended). The hidden pen camera is called the DOD-PH720HD, like the name states, it has the ability to capture video at 720p in HD quality. This pen also advertises it can snap still photos at 12 mega pixel resolution (if you can actually believe that). I have it on my wishlist on Amazon.com, and I was going to purchase it this week until I randomly stumbled upon these three “spy pens” on Walmart.com.

Yes, you heard right. Walmart.com (of all places). Spy equipment is one of this last items one would picture Walmart stocking. It looks like the pens are available only online, and not in the brick & mortar stores. So why would Walmart stock a spy pen anyway?

Here’s my take on it. 1: Spy pens can be used for seminars, recording notes in a car while traveling. 2: It can come in handy for a cheating hubby / wifey’s significant other to place this sucker right on a desk or public common area without suspicion. 3: Flat out…the device is just plain cool to have!

I’m interested in hearing from anyone who currently has one of these devices or has used one in the past. I’d be interested in how the video / audio quality differs from unit to unit.

Walmart Spy Pen Camera #1:
SVAT PI101 Covert Pen DVR with Built-in Color Camera and 8GB Flash Drive

The SVAT PI101 Covert Pen DVR with Built-in Color Camera and 8GB Flash Drive allows you to record your surroundings discreetly and transfer them to a PC or Mac via an 8GB USB flash drive. Includes covert pen DVR, three ink refills, USB cable, user’s manual, USB power adapter and informational booklet.

Technical Specs:

• Video camera and DVR in a discreet, functioning ballpoint pen
• Looks and writes with a normal pen
• Pen unscrews to reveal a USB drive that can connect to a PC or Mac
• Stores up to 7 hours of high resolution video at a time
• Built-in lithium polymer battery can be charged via USB port
• Includes covert pen DVR, 3 ink refills, USB cable, user’s manual, USB power adapter and informational booklet

Walmart Spy Pen Camera #2:
Swann DVR-421 PenCam Mini Video Camera & Recorder Executive-quality Black Ballpoint Pen w/ 2GB Flash Drive

The Swann PenCam DVR Mini Video Camera & Recorder is living proof the pen is mightier than the sword! The stylish-looking casing with metallic gold trim and pocket clip holds an executive-quality black ballpoint pen with hidden talents, as it contains a pinhole video camera so small you almost can’t see that it’s there. Use the PenCam to shoot AVI video files at 640 x 480 pixel resolution or JPEG still images at 1280 x 1024 photo resolution, all at the push of a button.Make your own videos or photos and store them on the built-in 2GB flash drive.

• Real ballpoint pen
• DVR
• Camera
• Easy uploads to YouTube
• Long-lasting battery
• 90-minute charging time

PenCam’s intelligent design includes 2GB of built-in internal memory that can store over an hour of video footage. Viewing or copying recorded files is easy, just unscrew the top of the pen to reveal a USB plug that can connect straight into your computer’s USB port. No special cables, no adapters, no drivers, no worries! Transferring files is easy as the PenCam can be used as an everyday USB thumb drive, able to store a myriad of file formats without fuss.

Walmart Spy Pen Camera #3:
Digital Peripheral Solutions Q-See4GB Covert-Ops 4GB Surveillance Pen

Product Model Number: QD113P

 Overview:  This versatile tool is built around an ultra-mini camera which combines 1.3-megapixel still photography and high-resolution real-time video with audio in a compact, discrete package. Store nearly 4,000 pictures or 2 hours of video on the internet with 4GB memory. View or save your files on any PC with a USB port. The ease of use, small size and elegant design make this a valuable tool for security personnel, business people, students, tourists and others.

Features:
Easy to Use – Playback files on Computer – Recorder Hidden in Working Ink Pen – Records Video
Takes Photos – Records Audio – Use as Webcam or Photos for Email

UPDATE: It appears Amazon.com is offering all 3 of these pen cameras “in stock” and at a lower price than Walmart. -OCPI Blog.

About the Author:

Ryan Garrahy is a state licensed private investigator specializing civil, criminal & workers comp insurance investigations. He is the owner & principal investigator for Orange Investigations.

Miley Cyrus; Hollywood’s Next ‘Private Detective’?

Paparazzi sure make it tough to be 'Undercover' - Courtesy E! Online

Did you ever think this day would come? Hannah Montana as a PI. The only thing that really parallels in my mind was when Michelle Trachtenberg played Harriet the Spy back in the day (1996 to be exact). Hey, as long as Rosie O’Donnell stays far away from the set of this movie, I may just go out and see it! Drum roll to my PI buddies laughing in the background…

Now, I don’t normally speak about Hollywood topics on my blog, but I happen to be poking through Google News early this morning, trying to think of new material to write about and stumbled upon this headline: “Miley Cyrus Will Be Going ‘So Undercover” reported by the site Deadline.com. So, I went ahead and checked out their so called Exclusive article. Here’s the scoop:

Action-Comedy type of movie directed by What Happens in Vegas helmer Tom Vaughan. Never saw What Happens but heard it was good…kinda sorta.  Script/Writing by Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleep‘s Allan Loeb and Steven Pearl. We all loved the very first Wall Street. We also loved it when Vin Diesel & Ben Affleck started quoting Gordon Gecko’s lines in that memorable scene from Boiler Room.

Movie stars usually ‘train’ for their roles. Will Cyrus actually learn the ropes from a real Private Investigator?

My next question is this, does Hollywood think the profession of Private Investigators is comical? Should Private Investigators be taken more seriously? Hollywood has an interesting history with Private Investigators. Remember Anthony Pellicano, “PI to the Stars” (no, he was never on DWTS) well he was federally indicted on 110 counts ranging from racketeering and conspiracy, wiretapping, witness tampering, and identity theft. The feds even stated he had a insider in the FBI running database checks for him, wow, talk about connected.

Hollywood’s Never Ending Love Affair With Private Investigators

Yes, the media and Hollywood do tend to spotlight the drama that surrounds PIs. But for the most part, all the licensed private investigators that I know take their job very seriously.  We honor words like “privacy”, “confidentiality” and “professionalism”. We don’t use them as punch lines like some Hollywood movies tend to do (credit A Few Good Men).

Well, whether the theaters are packed or completely empty when this movie hits the box office…whether this movie does better or worse than Harriet the Spy…whether other movies will be quoting Miley’s very words as a private detective…I’ll be happy just knowing that there’s another PI movie out there to watch and reflect on. Yes, even if it’s a comedy. Yes, even if it’s the actor I see in the clothing section of my local Walmart.

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Ryan Garrahy is a state licensed private investigator specializing in surveillance, background checks, locating individuals and workplace investigations. He is the owner & principal investigator for Orange Investigations.