Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 57

SMARTHOME

AMAZONEchoDot3rdGeneration

★★★★★

£50•www.amzn.to/2VVl5Bs

NEST CamIQOutdoor

★★★★★

£289•nest.com/uk

NEOSSmartcam

★★★★★

£20•shop.neos.co.uk

GOOGLEHomeHub

★★★★★

£119•www.currys.co.uk

RINGVideoDoorbell2

★★★★★

£139•www.box.co.uk

Asouped-up speaker

means the latest Echo Dot

is finally aviable music

player,inaddition to the best-value Echo

speaker and smart home controller.Buy multiple devices and you can

scatter them throughout your home,maximisingAlexa coverage.

While this is an expen

replacement forthe o

Cam Outdoor,its imag

is without equal. Facial and sound reco

have also been improved, and it’s now

harder forthieves to remove the camerafromitsmount.

The Smartcam is atrem

bargain of an indoor se

camera. In many ways,

that advanced –footage is only shot at

15fps, forinstance –but the 1080p reso

night-vision mode and free cloud storag

foranifty little package.

The first truly excellent

smart screen, Google’s

Home Hub is both a

multitalented smart home controller and averyclever device in itself,

jumping seamlessly between providing mapped-out travel routes,

playing YouTubevideos and showcasing photoalbums.

This is the best of the new

breed of smart, camera-

equipped doorbells: it’s easy

to install, comes with abundled chime,and

has fairly low subscription costs forstoring

footage in the cloud.

DRIVERS (^1) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•WEIGHT300g•NETWORKINGBluetooth,
802.11n Wi-Fi•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.amazon.co.uk•PARTCODEEcho
Dor3rd Generation•FULLREVIEWAug2019
VIDEORESOLUTION4K sensor, 1080precording•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(subscription required)•
NETWORKING802.11ac•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•PARTCODENest CamIQOutdoor•
FULLREVIEWJul2018
REMOTETHERMOSTATYes•HOTWATERSUPPORTYes•INDIVIDUALRADIATORCONTROL
Yes•VOICEASSISTANTSUPPORTAlexa,Google Assistant, Siri•APPSiOS, Androidand web•
FULLREVIEWJan2018
VIDEORESOLUTION1080p•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(free)•NETWORKING802.11n•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•PARTCODENS-CAM-02•FULLREVIEWJun2019
DRIVERS (^1) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DOCKCONNECTORNone•WIRELESS802.11ac
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth5.0•DIMENSIONS118x179x67mm•WEIGHT480g•WARRANTYOne year RTB

• PARTCODEHome Hub•FULLREVIEWFeb2019

VIDEORESOLUTION1080p•CLOUDSTORAGEYes•

NETWORKING802.11n•WARRANTYTwoyears partsand theft

protection•PARTCODE8VR1S7-0EU0•FULLREVIEWDec 2018

Choosinga... Smartthermostat

01

Asmart thermostat can save you a

lot of moneybyintelligently

controlling your heating.

Most smart heating devices are designed

to be used with hot water central heating

systems, with the boiler directly controlled

by the system. These typically require arelay

to be wired intoyour boiler,with awireless

thermostat giving you direct control.

Smartphone apps then tie intothe system to

give you remotecontrol. While it’s possible

to fit controls yourself,you maywant to pay

an experienced plumber to do the job: expect

to payaround£150 foratypical installation.

If you have electric heating, there are

very fewchoices, and the big names (Nest,

Honeywell and so on) do not directly

support these systems.

02

Want smart hot water control?

If you want to remotely set

schedules and disable hot water while

you’re away, choose your smart system

carefully,asmanydon’t have this option.

Hot water control usually requires asecond

relaytobewired intothe boiler.

03

What kind of heating system do

you want? There are two main

choices: acentral system and one with

individual radiator controls. The former

replaces your existing thermostat, and

lets you set one temperature foryour

entire house.The latter requires each

radiator valvetobereplaced with a

smart valve so that each room and

radiator can have its own individual control.

This option is more expensive to install but

will provide you with greater savings.

04

Do you use asmart personal

assistant? Make sure that your smart

thermostat supports the one that you use.

Amazon Alexa, powered by the Echo and

Echo Dot, is the best-supported system;

Apple’s HomeKit, powered by Siri, isn’t so

well supported; Google Assistant, built into

Google Home,isjustgaining traction and

supports Nest only.

05

If you want your smart heating

system to do more,look forIFTTT

support. With this handy system, you can set

automatic rules, such as turning the heating

off if the outside temperature rises.

TADOSmartThermostat

★★★★★

£145•www.amzn.to/2ZxwIfZ

Aflexible and stylish-looking

smart heating system, the Tado

Smart Thermostat distinguishes

itself with aclever geolocation feature that turns on your

heating when you enter aroomand switches it off,saving

money, when you leave.

door

sive

ld Nest

gequality

ognition

much

erafromitsmount

mendous

curity

it’s not all

u

o n,

emaakkkkeee

ee)•NETWORKING 80211 n•