Next up for Nest Labs: A smoke detector?

[Shawn Knight]

Nest Labs is reportedly developing a smoke detector to complement the Learning Thermostat the company first unveiled in late 2011. Key details like the product’s name, when it will go on sale or how much it will cost remain unknown but according to former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin, it’ll contain a wealth of features that make it much more appealing than a traditional device.

People close to the startup claim the smoke detector could feature a subscription service that would alert a user if smoke or fire is detected (I assume through your smartphone). Additionally, the device could communicate with a Nest thermostat which would give it a longer battery life as it wouldn’t need its own Wi-Fi chip.

Other features like carbon monoxide detection or the ability to silence the alarm by waving a hand in front of it would no doubt be useful but the subscription service is worth reiterating as it would give the company a new and constant revenue stream. What’s more, it would give Nest a foot in the proverbial door with customers where they could up sell buyers on future products.

Either way, Nest certainly has a lot of potential moving forward. Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures have pumped tens of millions of dollars into the company and it’s no secret that they have acquired some of the finest hardware engineers in Silicon Valley. With founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers on board, the future certainly looks bright.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54121-next-up-for-nest-labs-a-smoke-detector.html

 

[tipstir]

Cost like the thermostat they have it just ridiculous pricing.. I am using $53 bucks LUX TX9000TS Universal Digital Blue Amber LCD Large Touch Screen Programmable Thermostat their top of the line for my central AC/heating system here in 2012. They do now have TX9600TS larger screen some extra perks, but they do build good quality. Of course this Smart Thermostat looks neat but I need features, like when to change the air filter per hours used like 720 hrs 3 months, have 4x different temp/time changes be able to calibrate the thermostat to be more accurate with the temp, be able to much more.

Now to have a smart smoke detector it best light up a path so you can see where your going in the dark of smoke fill room. I use First Alert with mini strobe light.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

People close to the startup claim the smoke detector could feature a subscription service that would alert a user if smoke or fire is detected (I assume through your smartphone)

I assume this for when you're not home. Does it cost extra to have them notify the fire department instead?

 

[Jad Chaar]

I like the work Nest is doing. Their thermostat looks awesome, I just dont really see the point of upgrading yet.

 

[mctommy]

I like the work Nest is doing. Their thermostat looks awesome, I just dont really see the point of upgrading yet.

I was potentially going to upgrade to Nest a while back but when Gen 2 came about and a lot of people reported that it was not as good as Gen 1 (with pretty bad stories with Gen 2), I ended up holding back on my purchase.

 

[Jad Chaar]

I was potentially going to upgrade to Nest a while back but when Gen 2 came about and a lot of people reported that it was not as good as Gen 1 (with pretty bad stories with Gen 2), I ended up holding back on my purchase.

Oh really, I never saw that. The Gen 2 is definitely a nice improvement, but if there are flaws like you say, that may deter people.