Computer Shopper - UK (2019-10)

(Antfer) #1

ISSUE 380|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2019 57


SMARTHOME


AMAZONEchoDot3rdGeneration
★★★★★
£25•www.amzn.to/2VVl5Bs

NEST CamIQOutdoor
★★★★★
£279•nest.com/uk

NEOSSmartcam
★★★★★
£20•shop.neos.co.uk

GOOGLEHomeHub
★★★★★
£79•www.currys.co.uk

RINGVideoDoorbell2
★★★★★
£149•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,maximising Alexa coverage.

While this is an expensive
replacement forthe old Nest
Cam Outdoor,its image quality
is without equal. Facial and sound recognition
have also been improved, and it’s now much
harder forthieves to remove the camera from its mount.

The Smartcam is atremendous
bargain of an indoor security
camera. In many ways, it’s not all
that advanced –footage is only shot at up to
15fps, forinstance –but the 1080p resolution,
night-vision mode and free cloud storage make
foranifty little package.

The first truly excellent
smart screen, Google’s
Home Hub is both a
multitalented smart home controller and avery clever device in itself,
jumping seamlessly between providing mapped-out travel routes,
playing YouTube videos 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,
802.11nWi-Fi•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.amazon.co.uk•PARTCODEEcho
Dor3rdGeneration•FULLREVIEWAug2019
VIDEORESOLUTION4Ksensor, 1080precording•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(subscriptionrequired)•
NETWORKING802.11ac•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•PARTCODENestCamIQOutdoor•
FULLREVIEWJul2018
REMOTETHERMOSTATYes•HOTWATERSUPPORTYes•INDIVIDUALRADIATORCONTROL
Yes•VOICEASSISTANTSUPPORTAlexa,GoogleAssistant,Siri•APPSiOS,Androidandweb•
FULLREVIEWJan2018
VIDEORESOLUTION1080p•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(free)•NETWORKING802.11n•
WARRANTYOneyearRTB•PARTCODENS-CAM-02•FULLREVIEWJun2019
DRIVERS (^1) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DOCKCONNECTORNone•WIRELESS802.11ac
Wi-Fi,Bluetooth5.0•DIMENSIONS118x179x67mm•WEIGHT480g•WARRANTYOneyearRTB



  • PARTCODEHomeHub•FULLREVIEWFeb2019


VIDEORESOLUTION1080p•CLOUDSTORAGEYes•
NETWORKING802.11n•WARRANTYTwoyearspartsandtheft
protection•PARTCODE8VR1S7-0EU0•FULLREVIEWDec2018

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,asmany don’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 valve to be replaced 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,isjust gaining 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
★★★★★
£179•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 aroom and switches it off,saving
money, when you leave.

door

nsive
ld Nest
mage quality
ecognition
wmuch
era from its mount

mendous
security
it’s not all
at up to
olution,
ragemakeakeakeake

ree)•NETWORKING802.11n•
Free download pdf