All these kind of cameras come under the category of webcams but IP cameras are different because they are used for surveillance purposes only.
IP cameras are divided into centralized and decentralized cameras. Centralized IP cameras uses network video recorder for recording and alarm management whereas decentralized IP camera can use any local or remote storage media.
Axis Neteye was the first centralized camera launched by axis communication in 1996. It was directly accessible from anywhere with the help of internet connection and it was only capable of showing snapshot images and not streaming real time motion video whereas the first decentralized IP camera was released in 1999 by Mobotix. It had linux system for video, recording and alarm management.
Camera surveillance can be done from any location with the help of internet. It also allows to send images and videos online.
Digital zooming can be done through IP camera and also the two way communication with the help of single network cable which allows user to communicate with subject in the video.
It sends alerts if it detects any suspicious activity which makes it a smart and intelligent for camera surveillance.
Progressive scanning allows extraction of better quality images from the video especially when the target is moving.