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News about Home tech

  • Vivint expands its connected-home system with a sophisticated doorbell camera

    There are pluses and minuses to contracting with a connected-home/home-security provider such as Vivint. On the bright side, you get professional installation as part of the package; and if anything goes awry, you simply call customer service and they'll help you resolve the problem or dispatch a tech to handle it. On the downside, you're limited to the products and services the company deigns to offer.

    Michael Brown | 20 May | Read more

  • Smart Labs heads to Indiegogo with Halo WX, a smarter smoke detector that can also warn of natural disasters

    One of the pitches Smart Labs makes on its website promoting Halo WX, purportedly the smartest smoke alarm ever created, is that "safety shouldn't discriminate." The company's referring to Halo's ability to connect with most smart-home systems including Iris, iControl, SmartThings, and Apple's reportedly delayed HomeKit, but it could have just as easily been in response to Mother Nature's indiscriminate tendencies when it comes to natural disasters ranging from hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.

    Paul Lilly | 15 May | Read more

  • Camio turns your spare phone or tablet into Dropcam

    For all their out-of-the-box convenience, advanced features and constant improvements, cloud cameras such as Dropcam and Netcam HD aren't exactly the cheapest home-surveillance option. In addition to the upfront cost of the unit itself, there's usually a recurring fee for cloud storage. But what if you could get your webcam or a spare iOS or Android device to work like Dropcam?

    Pulkit Chandna | 25 Apr | Read more

  • Google is creepy, but you shouldn't automatically fear it invading your Nest

    Let's get it out of the way right at the top: Google is a creepy company that's only getting creepier with its hideous camera glasses and driverless ghost cars. When a company puts "Don't be evil" right in its corporate motto and IPO prospectus, and treats it like some kind of badge of honor? That's creepy. I mean, I don't tell myself every morning, "Don't kill anyone today," make it my motto, and then brag about that.

    Susie Ochs | 14 Jan | Read more

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