Opportunity makes the thief–and there’s no opportunity quite like seeing a stack of Amazon boxes outside someone’s house.
The more we order food, clothing, and household items online, the more we need security around our front doors. Nest, the internet of things company best known for its smart thermostat, today announced a new doorbell that senses if someone’s at the door, takes a photo of him or her, and sends a notification–even if the person doesn’t ring the doorbell at all. Its 160-degree-view lets it keep an eye on packages sitting on the ground.
A smart doorbell might sound silly–you still have to get up to open the door even if the doorbell tells you who’s there. Besides, knowing your friend has arrived is what texting is for. But Nest has a knack for imbuing utilitarian, often unloved household objects with smart UX. And at Nest’s keynote in San Francisco today, Michele Turner, general manager of security products, claimed, “It is the product that customers have been asking us for. It’s our No. 1 most requested product.”
You can imagine why. Existing security cameras often give an eagle’s eye view of a home but overlook the last foot or so of your entryway. With Nest Hello, you have a security camera and home assistant in one. Say UPS rings the doorbell to drop off a package, and you aren’t home. You get a notification on your phone and can instruct him, either personally through doorbell’s microphone or through a precanned message, to leave the package at the door.
The industrial design is typically sleek. There’s a traditional circular button–to let the home’s occupant know you’ve arrived–at the bottom of the ovalular device, with a camera at the top. The overall look has enough nods to the average non-smart doorbell that anyone would know how to use it.
