Computer Shopper - UK (2020-05)

ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 57

SMARTHOME

AMAZONEchoDotwithClock

★★★★★

£60•www.amzn.to/2LLc9aG

NEST CamIQOutdoor

★★★★★

£329•www.johnlewis.com

NEOSSmartcam

★★★★★

£20•shop.neos.co.uk

GOOGLE NestHubMax

★★★★★

£219•store.google.com

RING IndoorCam

★★★★★

£49•www.amzn.to/2P1RbGj

Thisisliterally ‘just’ an

Echo Dot 3rd Generation

with an added LCD clock,

but considering it’s no more expensive

and offers the same combination of capable speaker and versatile

smart home controller,that’sabsolutely nothing to complain about.

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.

Besides the addition of a

camera –which can be

turned off –this is mainly

just alarger Google Home Hub.Luckily,

that also means it’s afantastic smart

display, with ahigherresolution and better-sounding speaker.

The Indoor Cam doesn’t just

capture very high-quality footage

forthe money. With its Modes

feature,you can easily activatethe camera when

you leave home and deactivateitwhenyou return.

It’s asmart blendofsecurity and privacy.

DRIVERS (^1) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•WEIGHT300g•NETWORKINGBluetooth,
802.11n•WARRANTYOneyear RTB•DETAILSwww.amazon.co.uk•PARTCODEEcho Dotwith
Clock•FULLREVIEWFeb2020
VIDEORESOLUTION4K sensor, 1080precording•CLOUDSTORAGEYes(subscription required)•
NETWORKING802.11ac•WARRANTYOneyear RTB•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 (^3) • RMSPOWEROUTPUTNotstated•DOCKCONNECTORNone•WIRELESS802.11ac
Wi-Fi,Bluetooth5.0•DIMENSIONS183x250x101mm•WEIGHT1.3kg•WARRANTYOneyear
RTB•PARTCODENest HubMax•FULLREVIEWJan2020
VIDEORESOLUTION1080p•CLOUDSTORAGEYes•NETWORKING802.11n•WARRANTYOne
year RTB•PARTCODERing Indoor Cam•FULLREVIEWApr2020
Choosinga... Smart thermostat

01

Asmartthermostatcansaveyoua

lotofmoneybyintelligently

controllingyourheating.

Mostsmartheatingdevicesaredesigned

tobeusedwithhotwatercentralheating

systems,withtheboilerdirectlycontrolled

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

★★★★★

£99•www.amzn.to/2ZxwIfZ

Aflexible and stylish-looking

smart heating system, the Tado

Smart Thermostat distinguishes

itself with aclevergeolocation feature that turns on your

heating when you enter aroomand switches it off,saving

money, when you leave.

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