Generally, delivery people and other visitors to our homes seem to operate under the assumption that regular citizens do not have security cameras. As systems become smaller and cheaper, this turns out to be a bad assumption. Now Alphabet-owned connected-home company Nest has announced that its popular cameras now have an outdoor sibling. [More]
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Nest May Compensate Revolv Users Who Will Own $300 Paperweights As Of May 15
By 4.6.16
There’s a serious problem with “smart” devices that can power items in your home: many of them are designed so that they only work with their creators’ cloud service. That’s fine, as long as your internet access is reliable and the company doesn’t go out of business or decide to shut off the servers where those cloud services run. Unlike Nest, companies should probably anticipate that some users might be a bit upset about this. [More]
Nest Thermostats Were Leaking ZIP Codes Over WiFi
By 1.20.16
The Nest thermostat is a popular smart device that supposedly helps users to save money on heating and cooling, and also have a cool-looking round electronic device on their walls. Yet two researchers at Princeton University pointed out a problem that should terrify most Nest users: their thermostats were broadcasting their location, unencrypted, over WiFi. [More]
Apple Once Again Removes The Competition, Yanks Nest Thermostats From Retail & Online Stores
By 7.24.15
As is Apple’s usual M.O. when it comes to launching products similar to those made by other companies but already being sold in its retail stores, the tech giant is cleaning house and removing the competition. In this case, it’s ditching Google’s Nest thermostat to make room for a device using its own technology. [More]
Nest Smoke Detectors Still Not So Great At Detecting Smoke
By 2.16.15
Here is what people want their smoke detector to do: sound an alarm when there is smoke. Here is what they do not want their smoke detector to do: sound an alarm for no reason whatsoever in the middle of the night. Users of the connected smoke detector from Nest, a company owned by Google, complain that this is what’s happening to them. [More]
Smart Robotic Ceiling Fan Wants To Save You Money On Heating Bills
By 1.8.15
Consumers are often advised to install ceiling fans as a way to feel cooler in the summer without actually running the AC, but can a “smart” ceiling fan save you some money on your heating bill? The whimsically-named industrial fan company Big Ass Fans thinks so. Unveiled at CES 2015: a “smart” ceiling fan that they claim could save consumers an estimated $200 on winter energy bills. [More]
Would You Switch Utility Providers For Free Nest Thermostat?
By 11.5.14
While the wireless industry is trying to abandon the practice of giving customers hardware discounts in exchange for agreeing to a two-year contract, Google is trying out that subsidized-device approach in Ireland with its pricey Nest thermostats. [More]
Nest Smoke Alarms Can Tell Smoke From Steam Now, But Wave Feature Still Doesn’t Work
By 9.4.14
When it comes to smoke detectors, the only thing worse than a screeching alarm when there’s no fire in your home is when the alarm doesn’t go off when there is a real fire. One of these problems is annoying, and the other can be life-threatening. In lab tests and real-life situations, users of the Nest Protect smoke alarm have reported both issues, and Google-owned Nest has really only been able to fix one of them. [More]
Nest Officially Recalls Smoke Alarms, But You Just Need To Connect Yours To Web To Fix
By 5.21.14
Last month, the folks at Google-owned Nest alerted owners of the company’s Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that an software glitch could, under very specific circumstances, cause the device to delay sounding the alarm. Today, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission made it official with a formal recall announcement. [More]
Nest Halts Smoke Detector Sales Because Incredibly Convenient Feature Could Delay Alarm
By 4.3.14
If you like to cook, you probably know the hassle of flailing around with a towel, trying to quiet a smoke detector that has misinterpreted smoke from fat drippings as a sign of a dangerous fire. One of the big selling points of Nest’s recently released Protect smoke detectors is that they can be silenced with a wave of the hand. However, it’s this very convenient feature that has caused the company to stop selling new Protects pending a fix. [More]
Google Moves Into Home Electronics With Acquisition Of Nest
By 1.13.14
A few years back, the folks at Nest came out of nowhere with their sexy, web-connected smart thermostats, treating a heretofore overlooked piece of home electronics with style. The company recently did the same thing for another necessary evil in the home, launching a line of equally sleek smoke detectors. Google apparently saw enough from these two product lines and has decided to buy Nest. [More]
