Lightsabers and flying cars might not exist yet, but you have to admit, science fiction gets it right sometimes. Just look at the smart home. Today, building a hi-tech smart home is no longer just a far-fetched, futuristic imagining of a visionary storyteller. And Google and Nest are spearheading the drive to make every home at least a little smarter.

Nest thermostats, for example, have opened up new possibilities for how smart home tech can be integrated together. And, since Google acquired Nest in 2014, Google’s products work seamlessly within the Nest framework for a perfectly coordinated symphony of home convenience, security, and energy efficiency.

Read on to learn how smartening up your living space can enrich you and your family’s life, and then enter this contest for a chance at winning the grand prize, which includes enough goodies to build your own domestic ecosystem. There are also second and third place prizes to be won!

A snapshot of smarter living with Nest and Google

If you’re a long time reader of the Best Buy Canada Blog, I’m sure you’ve read a lot about smart home technology by now in articles such as Leonard Bond’s comprehensive breakdown of Works with Nest, or Elliot Chun’s smart home series. But, if you’re still wondering what exactly a smart home is and how it can complement your day-to-day life, allow me to paint a picture of what life can be like in an AI-enabled home. And by simply entering this contest, living in a tech-enhanced home could soon be your reality:

Nest Smart Learning Thermostat

You pull up the driveway at the same time you do every day. It’s late Fall and Jack Frost is starting to make his presence felt with cold winds that let you know that it’s the beginning of a long winter. You hurry to the front door to escape the icy chill and step into cozy comfort. Your energy-efficient Nest Thermostat has learned what time you usually come home and turned itself on a few minutes before you arrive—no more waiting for cold rooms to heat up!

Voice-controlled Google Home answers questions, plays your music, and controls other smart devices, including Nest

 

 

As soon as you’ve settled in, you go to the kitchen to get dinner ready. It’s cheat day, you’re craving carbs, and everyone in the family loves Italian food, so you ask your voice-activated Google Home to tell you about a recipe for a tasty pasta dish, request some good cooking music, and set a timer to ensure your pasta is perfectly al dente, all without lifting a finger.

Just as dinner is ready to serve, your smartphone vibrates with a notification: your Nest Cam IQ in the front yard has detected someone you know in the driveway. Seconds later, your Nest Hello video doorbell rings. It uses facial recognition to identify the person and transmits the message to Google Home to tell you that your mother is at the door.

As you take your mother’s coat, your partner arrives with your hungry toddler fresh out of daycare. The four of you sit down to dinner and you ask Google to dim the lights and play some nice background music. After dinner, you and your other half head out to the movie theatre for date night while your little one and Grandma stay in to watch a Disney classic.

Nest Cam IQ records in 1080p and boasts a wide-angle lens to capture the entire room

At the theatre, before the movie begins, that familiar feeling of separation anxiety hits you right on time, and you wonder if everything is okay at home. Plus, you’ve also got a niggling feeling that you left the cooker on. With Nest Cams in the nursery, living room, and kitchen, as well as outside in the front and back yards, you open the Nest App to view the Full HD live feed on your smartphone.

Live feed on the Nest App of your kitchen’s Nest Cam IQ

 

While baby plays happily in the living room, you can see Grandma is reading nearby with a blanket over her shoulders. You adjust the room’s temperature from your phone so they’ll be nice and cozy. Then you switch over to your kitchen Nest Cam. It has a perfect view of the entire room with its wide angle lens, and you zoom in on your range. It’s off. Priceless peace of mind! Now, you can relax.

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This scenario only scratches the surface of how a smart home ecosystem can make your life more convenient. Nest and Google have been working tirelessly to make premium smart home products accessible to everyone. Installation is a doddle, and, as you can see, every individual item works together and can be controlled with your voice or from an app on your smartphone. There’s lots of goodies to be won in this contest, and if you’re wondering what other gear you’ll need to make a smart home platform work seamlessly in your house or apartment, remember this general rule of thumb: If you have a smartphone, you can have a smart home. It’s as simple as that.

HOW TO ENTER:

You can only submit one entry for this contest. Browse Best Buy’s smart home catalog, and in a comment below this article, tell us one smart home product that you would like to add to your daily life and why.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN:

We will randomly draw three winners. One person will win the grand prize, one person will win the second prize, and one person will win the third prize. The prizes are shown here, and also in the Rules and Regulations posted below.

Grand Prize 2nd Prize
 

  • Nest Temperature Sensor
  • Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen
  • Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera
  • Nest Cam Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera
  • Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Indoor 1080p IP Camera
  • Nest Cam Wi-Fi Indoor IP Camera – Black
  • Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell
  • 2 x Google Home Mini
  • Google Home
  • Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera
  • Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Indoor 1080p IP Camera
  • Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen
  • Nest Temperature Sensor
  • Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell
  • Google Home

 

3rd Prize

  • Nest Cam Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera
  • Google Home Mini

This contest runs from October 15th until October 28th.

Remember, you can only enter once. However, you probably know someone who would love to add some incredible smart products to their home, so please share this contest and they too will have a chance to win one of these prizes.

Win Google and Nest Smart Home Goodies Rules and Regulations

Good Luck.  

We frequently have many contests running at Best Buy, so check out the “contests in progress” page for more great contests to enter.
Kevin McElligott
Kevin McElligott
Kevin cut his teeth as a journalist writing articles for trade publications in Dublin. He moved to Vancouver and honed his craft first as a copywriter, and now as an Editor at Best Buy. He enjoys cooking when he has the time, playing soccer, and just recently ran in his first marathon. Fitness is important to him, and he needs the exercise thanks to his fondness for donuts.
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1307 COMMENTS

  3. I would love to have the google home. Having that will make my TV, fridge and freezer the only non-google products i have

  4. The Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera would give me peace of mind when we are away from our home or just want to check on who is on our property.

  5. I would want a Nest Smart thermostat so that I don’t have to keep switching between AC and heat during these high fluctuating temperature weather days.

  7. I would love the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell. I’m sure that this was the one I recently saw in a news report that foiled a home invasion. A great idea for any home.

  8. I would love the Nest outdoor camera as it is always good to see who is hanging around your house when you’re not home

  9. I would love the nest thermostat for my grandmother. This way we good help her anywhere adjust the temperature.

  10. With the recent home invasions and robberies, our home could really use a security upgrade ! The indoor/outdoor WiFi cam would be so awesome to have so we can keep an eye on our house and give us peace of mind while we are not at home.

  12. I would like to have the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell. It would be nice to have! …we get so many telemarketers in my area.

  15. I would love to add the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera. It would just help me feel more secure as there have been break ins in my neighbourhood.

  17. I would love to have a Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera to assist in monitoring for break-ins or other crime in my neighbourhood.

  19. I would love to have the Nest Wi fi outdoor security camera to feel more secure with my little ones at home.

  20. I would most like the Nest Cam Wifi Outdoor security camera as it would help deter bike theft etc , would make us feel more secure as well , what a great product!!

  22. I would love the Nest thermostat. We supposedly have a programmable thermostat but my husband is always changing it which drives me crazy so I think this would be perfect!

  23. I would love to have the Nest thermostat so I could adjust the temperature before I arrive home and it is nice to be comfy when I open the door

  25. I would love to have the Nest Wi fi outdoor security camera as we live in an isolated spot where this would work well.

  28. I would love to have the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat. It would be awesome to be able to change the temperature remotely.

  30. Honestly, I’d love a Google Home just so that I could jam to tunes in the kitchen while cooking and get weather updates while getting the kids’ breakfast ready.

  31. The Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell would be brilliant to have because I never know if it’s neighbours, solicitors, teenagers playing pranks or postal carriers ringing the doorbell downstairs. Especially when it’s late at night!

  38. I would love to have the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat. It would be an amazing thing to have in our home, so thanks for this chance at it.

    Good luck everyone!

  39. I would like the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat so that by the time I get home from work the house would be warm and at the temperature I like it.

  40. I love the commercial with the parents of teens and the security cameras. I would like to have Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera and have some fun of my own.

  41. I would love to add the Ring Floodlight Cam to my home because there have been so many neighbours reporting seeing people prowling around at night trying to open car doors. This product seems like a great deterrent!

  42. I would love to have a Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera to assist in monitoring for break-ins or other crime in my neighbourhood.

  44. I want the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera to deter break ins. Crime seems to be on the rise around here.

  45. I would love to add to Nest Smart Learning Thermostat. It would be an amazing thing to add to my life and something that I need. Having a Nest Smart Learning Thermostat would save energy and money!

  46. Would like a wifi indoor or outdoor cam so I can see what is going on. Through wifi would be nice. I already have security cams, but do have a few blind spots to cover

  47. I like the Nest Hello Wi-fi Video Doorbell. It would give me peace of mind and help me keep an eye on what’s going on at my house whether I’m there or not!

  48. We have been considering an security upgrade. This would certainly qualify, ou current system has four legs, barks and messes up my backyard.

  50. We are seniors -both over 70- What an incredible prize! The Nest Cam IQ WiFi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera would provide safety and peace of mind.

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