My sister's just about to have a baby. Well not right now, but maybe by the time you read this. Consequently she's been out blowing all her money on baby clothes, baby walkers, baby nappies, baby food and even bought herself a baby monitor. I guess most of that is essential but she shouldn't have bothered with the baby monitoring device, because SkyeSpy would let her check on the little mite using her phone.

Yes, that's right, this software turns your handset into a kind-of intercom system, allowing you to check that your child's breathing OK and that he's not whinging like a little baby. It also doubles-up (or should that be 'quadruples-up'?) as an intruder detection alarm, a remote car alarm monitor, or a spy device to listen-in on anyone without them knowing.
SkyeSpy works by monitoring all sounds around the device. You set it up by choosing a detection threshold (i.e. the loudness of the sound that will trigger it) using a sliding bar. When the detected audio reaches a certain volume level the device can communicate with another mobile or a landline to alert you.

Besides a call alert you can also set the program to send you an SMS or MMS message notifying you. The detection seems to work OK on the higher settings, though obviously using your phone as a baby monitor renders it useless for receiving calls.

This is a very short trial of the software, but if you have a young infant on the way and don't want to shell out on an expensive baby monitor then it's worth looking at.