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Nest Protect smoke alarm returns with a lower price following safety recall
Earlier this year, Nest recalled the Protect smoke detector after it realized the product's standout feature (the ability to silence it with a hand gesture) made it potentially unsafe to use. In response, Nest halted sales, and disabled "Wave" control on existing devices using the product's built-in WiFi connection. Now Protect is back: The company resumed sales tonight, with the Wave feature still disabled. And hey, the price is lower too -- $99, down from $129. For now, you'll have to silence the device the old-fashioned way -- by pushing a button. That said, a Nest spokesperson told us the company is working on an easier way to silence the alarm, even if hand gestures aren't the way to go (people might silence the device when they didn't mean to). If you wanna buy it now, be our guest; just remember that you're no longer paying for gesture control, but other features, like a built-in nightlight, sleek design, spoken warnings and the ability to control the device remotely using an app. Still a good feature set if you ask us, though it was probably wise of Nest to cut the price. Update: For those of you who already own a Nest Protect, you might be eligible for a $33 refund -- if you purchased it before June 15th, have it paired to your Nest account and had the device connected to the internet after April 3rd. You can find more information about that here.
Nest issues recall for 440,000 smoke detectors... sort of
The Nest Protect is hailed as the smoke detector of the future, with Wi-Fi connectivity, a connected app for your iPhone or iPad, and fancy features like being able to silence the device with a wave. Unfortunately, that last feature isn't so smart after all, as the company learned back in April when it issued a warning about the Nest Wave functionality and its potential to silence a crucial alarm erroneously. Now, the company is taking the formal step of issuing a recall. The recall, in this case, doesn't necessarily mean you'll need to tear your pricey smoke sniffer off the wall, since Nest Protect smoke alarms that are connected via Wi-Fi have already received an update to disable the feature entirely. For those who have taken their device offline, Nest advises you to reconnect the gadget to your Nest account in order to receive the update. Anyone who is unable to update their Nest Protect, for whatever reason, are encouraged to discontinue use of the device entirely and the company will provide a full refund. Nest says they are working on a fix for the Nest Wave feature and will roll it out to existing devices whenever it's ready. In the meantime, Nest has taken the extra step of halting sales of the Protect until a fix is developed.
Cellphone-packing smoke detector dials for danger
While most smoke detectors will handle the basic job of detecting smoke just fine (providing you check that batt regularly), there's plenty of options out there for those wanting a little something extra, be it added style or additional functionality. Joining those other over-achieving smoke detectors is this new unit from Japanese manufacturer Keisoku Giken, which will automatically phone you at the first whiff of smoke to inform you of its impending demise. Unfortunately, you'll have to supply your own cellphone and service for it (it doesn't appear to support landlines), which makes the device's already hefty 16,800 yen price tag (about $140) even less of a bargain.[Via Textually.org]
Ubukata offers up compact smoke / earthquake detector
While we've seen detectors from nearly every angle imaginable, Ubukata Industries Co. is helping us all to consolidate just a bit by cramming two of the most important sensors into a single, compact device. The multi-tasking earthquake detector and alarm comes in a variety of colors and is compact enough to mount on a ceiling without drawing too much unwanted attention, and it also features built-in lighting to brighten your way in case you lose power. Furthermore, this gizmo sniffs out unpleasant drafts of smoke and feels the rumbles of earthquakes with magnitudes of five or higher, setting off a presumably piercing alarm to let you know something's going down. Of course, the price of a twofer doesn't run cheap, as this two-in-one emergency mainstay demands ¥14,700 ($124). [Warning: PDF link][Via I4U]
