back to article Say Hello to my little friend: Nest blasts IoT world with doorbell, home security gear

Smart home poster child Nest on Wednesday launched two new products: a video doorbell and a security system. The hardware maker hopes the Hello (doorbell) and the Secure (security system) will put to rest criticism of the biz that it only produces iterations of its smart thermostat and camera. The bigger goal, however, is …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Great Idea, it can turn the heating on when a burglar realises I'm not in because it told them where to leave the package. I wouldn't want them to get cold while they are ransacking my house.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Good point, you wouldn't want to be burgled AND get Health and Safety after you as well..

      :)

  2. David 132 Silver badge

    Got bit myself by the Internet Of Shite last month

    I have a Kevo smart lock for my back door..yeah, yeah, but it's convenient to be able to e-mail temporary keys to friends/family etc. A recent software update to its iphone app "forgot" my login credentials. Of course, I didn't discover this until I was rushing out of the house, late for an appointment, and found I had no way of locking the door. I know that all Reg readers, with their well-known fondness for IoT, will at this point have nothing but sympathy for me...

    Side rant: why does my phone know about, and insist on correcting, every darn trademark, but can't get the simplest other aspects of autocorrect right? I took petty delight above in undoing its "helpful" corrections to "kevo" and "iphone". Trademarks having rAndom cApitalization of letters or wēird accents is arty wankery of the first order, and an Abomination Unto Nuggan.

    ...and, breathe...

  3. Mage Silver badge

    Toy security

    Only wired sensors are viable.

    Wireless ones are a false installation time economy (they actually cost more).

  4. Thomas Wolf

    ...nobody seems to care about the privacy aspect?...

    Where do Nest cameras (and now security cams), thermostats, etc. do their 'learning'? Isn't your usage (and faces if it does facial recognition for you?) sent to servers somewhere (presumably Google's since it bought Nest)? Doesn't it bother anyone that this info cannot only be potentially (aka likely?) mined by Google for its advertising cash cow, but also be absconded with by intrepid hackers? While I'm sure Google/Nest take plenty of precautions against the latter, I'm not convinced the former does not currently go on

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: ...nobody seems to care about the privacy aspect?...

      I care.

      Which is why my home security is distinctly old-fashioned. Good locks, secure windows et. al.

      And a dog with a slight attitude problem :-)

      (Never trust a cat to do security. If they think the burglar has food, they would happily open the door.)

    2. Tikimon
      Devil

      Re: ...nobody seems to care about the privacy aspect?...

      It's GOOGLE. They make their living by violating our privacy in every way possible and selling the info they get. They care a lot about stripping that privacy completely away and monitoring our every move.

      The stated goals are just a cover rationalization, like "terrorist" for repressive surveillance. Personalized search. Locks that recognize faces. Android OS. Whatever they say the reason or "benefits" are, the customer for whom the product is designed is Google.

      Not us. We're just the sheep to be fleeced.

  5. vir

    "All Nest products can be controlled through a single app."

    "All Nest products can be compromised through a single app."

    FTFY

  6. fidodogbreath
    Thumb Up

    Finally, a real problem solved by IoT

    It incorporates Nest's intelligent person alerts

    If that means it will only ring the doorbell when it detects an intelligent person, then I'm in.

    If not, then this will have to do.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Finally, a real problem solved by IoT

      If that means it will only ring the doorbell when it detects an intelligent person, then I'm in.

      That's discrimination, that is. What about those of us who'd rather only the answer the door to nice looking people?

      Googlebell: "Owner, this is Hello"

      AC: "Your grammar is shite"

      Googlebell: "Alright, alright, calm down, we've been through this a hundred times before. I agree "Hello" is a dumbfuck name, but it's hardcoded into my software and firmware, there's nothing I can do about iit. Incidentally, the Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar indicates that "Your grammar is shite" is not an accepted from of modern grammar. I could order you a copy for £15.99 from the Google Play store?"

      AC: "OK, you could just go "ding dong", surely?

      Googlebell: "Sorry, Google can't wring data out of me going "ding dong", they need you to talk, and then they store and analyse every syllable. You did read the licence agreement, didn't you?"

      AC: "Nobody reads the licence agreement, its just an attempt at legalising the evasion of consumer protection laws"

      Googlebell: "I could read them to you now? It'd only take about fifteen minutes"

      AC: "Fuck off. So what do you actually want?"

      Googlebell: "There's someone at the door"

      AC: "Nice looker"

      Googlebell: "Very trim, nicely dressed older brunette, lovely smile, and great perfurme judging by my sensors - just like you set me up to look for in Device> Settings> General> Responses> Preferences> Callers> Appearance.

      AC: "YES! The doctor is INNNNNN"

      Googlebell: "Unfortunately not. Our discussion's taken so long that she's given up and gone next door".

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    To expensive..

    Startedkitting my gaff out with Xiaomi kit.. why pay $50 when you can pay $10, and it has a much bigger eco system of devices. Works brilliantly... Once you get it into English!

    1. Mark 85

      Re: To expensive..

      Ah... so your info and camera output goes to China then? Nice.....

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: To expensive..

        so your info and camera output goes to China then? Nice.....

        I'd have less of a problem being spied on by the PLA than by my own or "allied" governments. If China have the time and resources to sit around watching to see who's knocking on my door, then let them.

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: To expensive..

          If China have the time and resources to sit around watching to see who's knocking on my door

          You think their interaction would be limited to that?

          Two words: malware injection.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They just keep doing this...

    I suspect the house insurance company must absolutely love these things, because you just gave an uncontrolled 3rd party access to your house AND made it piss easy to block the sensors.

    You do NOT use wireless for security devices, period. For cameras, you make it possible for a potential burglar to take a quick look if you're at home and where he/she has to go once inside to maximise RoB (Return on Break-in), for sensors, well a cheapo jammer will disrupt comms.

    If they think they're smart by triggering the alarm when comms fails you just turn it around and keep triggering it until they kill the damn thing - which will also happens when they're a bit older and the first sets of batteries start failing nationwide.

    Last but not least, we're still in the world of IPv4 based NAT, so these things will always need an "account" somewhere to bounce the data off. On what basis should I trust those people?

  9. Woza

    Umm...

    "detectors for both motion and movement built in"

    Did I miss something? Aren't movement and motion the same thing?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. David 132 Silver badge

      Re: Umm...

      Aren't movement and motion the same thing?

      If prefixed by bowel-, yes.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Umm...

        If prefixed by bowel-, yes.

        Talking of which, if the doorbell is called "Hello", and the alarm is "Secure", what will the Google toilet be called?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Umm...

          Android is of Unix origin, so I guess that will be "Core dump".

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thanks for the Spam!

    El Reg slates both sloppy IoT security and infinite Google 'Slurp', so why promote Nest? At least review more gaming netbooks and desktops first, before promoting Google! Sorry to be blunt, but c'mon please Reg team!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Thanks for the Spam!

      Because money.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As much as you lot hate Nest, Google and IOT

    My Best products I have have been superb. And worth every penny. I have Nest thermostat and 2 nest protects

    1. Solarflare

      Re: As much as you lot hate Nest, Google and IOT

      "And my Google Overlords keep me at a pretty nice temperature all of the time!"

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: As much as you lot hate Nest, Google and IOT

        Well, no, the products themselves are well engineered and do as they say on the box.

        The problem is that they may do more than stated on the box, with how the associated services are implemented and with the company behind it being in the business of grabbing as much personal data as they can possibly lay there hands on which is not an ideal recipe for trust in my book.

        If I could buy that hardware with clearly defined APIs and communication protocols that I could configure to go to my own servers or to an organisation I can actually have a decent contractual and trust relationship with I would be very interested.

        With Google in play, not a chance.

  12. trevorde Silver badge

    Can't wait...

    ... until the first firmware update bricks the device

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      Re: Can't wait...

      ... until the first firmware update bricks the device

      Now be fair - it won't be the next one. It'll be the one in a years time when Nest have decided that, for the purposes of revenue generation, they need to make all their current kit obsolete and make you buy new stuff.

      And, this being Nest, you'll probably find that the TOS of the back end changes in a short while to enable them to sell all the lovely, lovely data that they have got from your 'smart' systems.

  13. Danger Mouth

    Just what the world needs ...

    Doorbell as a Service.

    For just £60 a year...

    Bargain.

  14. Barry Page

    "Home Automation" devices typically just complicate your life and turn someone into a L1 help desk. That would be me. So I say 'no thanks'.

  15. david12

    The nest hello is finally released in the UK. Is anybody going to buy it? What do you think about features https://www.smarthomegeeks.co.uk/news/nest-hello-uk-release-date/ in this version? Is it worth to pay 229£ for it?

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