Nest Protect is the most comprehensive smoke and carbon monoxide alarm available today, but it comes at a premium price. It's worth it? How good can a smoke alarm be? I've been discovering.
Nest Labs, co-founded by former Apple engineers, made a name for itself in 2011 with the Learning Thermostat, a smart heating-control device that learned about its users' habits to conserve and optimize energy use. The Protect, $130, is the second product to launch:a WiFi-enabled smoke and carbon monoxide alarm that aims to take the frustration out of protecting your home. There are two versions and two colors to choose from:long battery life or wired version; black or white We have a white model with battery to give away at the end of this review.
Note:Since this review was published, sales of Nest Protect have been halted due to a possible situation where the Nest Wave feature could unintentionally silence an actual alarm. The wave disable feature to be disabled on all existing units was due to a wifi update, including the unit we sent to the winner.
The Nest Protect doesn't just act as a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm; It also features a motion-activated night light, gesture alarm wake-up and will send notifications to your phone remotely, so you don't need to be home to be aware of the problem. The closest competitor is Kidde's smoke and CO alarm for $30, two of which I've already installed in my home, though the only feature they have in common is a talking alarm in addition to the standard siren.
The Nest Protect is well packaged, in a recycled cardboard box like Fairphone Fairphone Review and Giveaway Fairphone Review and Giveaway The Fairphone was reserved last year in advance for a first single European test of 25,000 units. Read More
Beneath the card insert, the Nest Protect is protected by a solid plastic cover. Below that is the mounting plate and four pretty cool-looking screws - these aren't your ordinary old Home Depot screws.
The main alarm comes equipped with 6 long-lasting AA batteries, supposedly enough for about 5 years. Don't worry though, the Nest Protect will glow yellow to indicate when they're running low.
Unlike some smoke alarms, it is obvious to see how the main unit clips and twists to attach to the mounting plate. In the past, I'd take down entire chunks of the ceiling, no joke, because the attached clips were frustratingly difficult to eject; The Protect had no problems..
Setting up Nest Protect was trivial. After downloading the mobile app for Android [No longer available] or iOS, scan the QR code on the back of the device. Next, you need to connect to the local WiFi network that Protect broadcasts, at which point you'll configure the device to connect to your own WiFi from within the app. At no time was I left wondering what to do next.
Let's not go through here:it's a smoke and carbon dioxide alarm. It would be terrible if he failed at this, and he doesn't. If your Android tablet runs a bit slow, you're not going to die; If your smoke alarm fails, you could.
At a level above this, it's about how the alarm warns you of impending death, and how easy it is to maintain . Many people end up removing the batteries from their smoke detectors as they are difficult to deactivate when the bacon is fried a bit too much, in which case the central function of the alarm fails miserably and no longer protects you. . Nest Protect addresses this by offering the most natural gesture possible to temporarily turn off the alarm:waving your hands around . You can also just press the button to mute it, but where's the fun in that?
In fact, it may not even get to that point thanks to the early warning system. - "Warning". When getting up, but not dangerous , CO or smoke levels are detected, the alarm will illuminate yellow, accompanied by a natural voice gently alerting you that something could be imminently wrong.
Each Protection is assigned a location from a set list of around 10 generic names, such as “upstairs hallway” or “living room” - If you have more than one Nest Protect installed in your home, alarms will sound, telling you where must avoid when escaping..
With its WiFi connectivity, you'll receive push notifications on your phone for any event, and have the option to immediately call 911 for emergencies (not localized to the UK, unfortunately) . These alerts could be of immense value if you were away from home, even reducing the response time minutes of a fire rescue team can make a difference.
Living with Nest Protect, I've found that it's the reassuring security the device offers that is the really unique selling point. Other alarms are put on the ceiling and forgotten about, until you either turn them down once and forget to put them back on again, or interrupt your sleep with an occasional high-pitched beeping for a few weeks, before you realize it's His warning. low battery. Protection is none of that. When you turn off the lights every night, Nest Protect performs a self-test and lights up green to indicate that everything is okay. It sounds stupid, but it's so comforting to know that the device is there, working, protecting our house. You can't put a price on that level of peace of mind, not with family nearby.
The nightlight feature is a bonus, again, nothing groundbreaking, but with motion detection and built-in RGB LED lighting, it seems only natural that they include nightlight features as well. It's a dim white light that's activated by motion, that's all. The actual utility is diminished since it will only light a small area of your hallway, so you'll still have to navigate the room floor littered with gadgets. (or maybe that's just me?) . But then again, it just feels good . Nest Protect knows it's dark and offers what it can to prevent you from falling. It's almost...cute, like a little robot that takes care of me. That's right, I have anthropomorphized my smoke detector..
I don't have a Nest thermostat to control my heating, so I can't compare the experience, but I feel like this is the Nest brand's goal:to make everyday functions enjoyable; something more human than a simple dial or switch. And, having been bought by Google, I'm ready to accept the house owners..
MakeUseOf recommends: Buy it, both for peace of mind and a glimpse into the future of every device in the home.You can enter by submitting your name and email address. You will receive a ticket simply by doing so.
After that, you will also be offered various methods to get additional tickets. They range from sharing a link to this giveaway on social media; to comment or visit a specific page. The more you participate, the greater your chances of winning! You will receive 5 additional entries in the drawing for each successful referral through your shared links.
This giveaway starts now and ends. Friday, April 11 . The winner will be selected at random and informed by email. See the list of winners here.
Congratulations, Valentina Leonova ! You would have received an email from [email protected] Please reply by May 22 to claim your prize. Inquiries after this date will not be answered.
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