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

  2. My favorite is the Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat because it will help cut down on energy bills. Thanks

  4. I would love the Nest x Yale Wi-Fi Smart Lock with Nest Connect. I hate fumbling for my keys when my hands are full or when its freezing outside! This would be great 🙂

  5. I would be grateful to own the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera to enable greater peace of mind regarding the security of our property. I appreciate its night recording abilities and the capability for audio communication with someone in proximity to it. I also like its discreet appearance that is subtle about its presence while still working hard to enhance safety.

  6. I would love to get a Nest Hello doorbell camera. we get a lot of packages to the house and would be nice to keep an eye on them until we get home.

  8. I would like the Ring Spotlight Wireless Outdoor Camera so we can see if anyone is around our house during the day or in evenings. There have been a lot car break-ins and it would be nice to be able to see if anyone is lurking around the house and neighbourhood. I like that it has night vision and LED spotlight, 2 way audio and a siren warning. Thank you!!

  9. I would love the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell to see who is at the door. I hate answering the door for salespeople.

  11. I would love the Nest Cam Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera. I live in the bush and need to keep an eye on the wildlife before I step outside 🙂

  13. II would love to have the Nest x Yale Wi-Fi Smart Lock with Nest Connect. I really dislike looking for my keys when I am carrying all my groceries in!

  14. I would love to win the Nest thermostat so that I can program the heat in my house more efficiently.

  15. Nest Cam Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera would be such a blessing; we are moving to a country house and frankly, I am a bit nervous of what’s around in the woods! Be so good to see.

  17. I would love to have the NETGEAR Arlo Pro Wireless Security System with 2 HD Cameras so much theft in our town this would be great to have

  19. The Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell is so awesome – you can see who is at your door and communicate with them without even having to open your door. It’s also great to see who is coming and going while away from home as well ! I really, really love this product !!!

  20. All these products are amazing! I would have to say the one I would love to have is the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi indoor 1080IP Camara. We have a lovely 50 lb Doodle that when we leave the house she likes to grab stuff off the counter and helps herself.

  21. I would love the Nest Video Doorbell! I want to know who’s at my front door, even if i’m not at home. The live always-on HD video stream of my doorstep is a fantastic feature. Especially today…i do a lot of online ordering….this can help curb porch thieves.

  23. I would like to add a Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell for security and the convenience of seeing who is at our door from any location.

  26. This might sound corny but I would love to win the Nest Indoor wifi security camera to keep an eye on my two cars while I’m not at home or on vacation :P.

  27. With my wife working from home every day, a video doorbell or camera set up to see who’s on the porch would be very reassuring.

  28. wifi video door bell. perfect to keep a close eye on my mother who has alzeimers. she does not have to open the door and we are able to see who it is. safer.

  29. The Nest would be perfect for me as Im in and out a lot and being able to monitor from the phone would be nice

  31. My top pick is the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell which would allow me to see who is outside my door before opening it up, and gives me a sense of security

  32. Having young foster children that I care for, health and safety is a top priority, and the Nest Protect Wi-Fi Smoke & Carbon Monoxide would give me some peace of mind

  33. I’d love to have the Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen in order to save on my monthly utility costs.

  34. I would like to have a Nest Wi-Fi Snmart Learning Thermostat because it would be so nice to have a system that heats the house based on my schedule. It would be cool when I am out and warm when I get home.

  35. I would choose the Nest thermostat. Then I could save energy and money from my pocketbook, by controlling the temperature in my house.

  37. The Nest thermostat is definitely number 1 on the list as any way I can save heating costs is worthwhile.

  38. I really like the idea of having a Nest Protect Wi-Fi Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm because I have pets in my home – it would be great to get notifications of potential issues when I am not there.

  39. First of all I would like to have a smart phone. It seems like I am the only one in the world who can’t afford one. After that then all the smart gadgets should fall into place.

  41. I could really use the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell & Google Home Mini from Best Buy so I can always know whos at my door when I’m away from home.

  45. I would absolutely LOVE the Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat because it programs itself to save energy, and you can use it from your phone!

  46. I would absolutely LOVE the Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat because it programs itself to save energy, and you can use it from your phone!

  50. The best thermostat would be my number 1 pick. Being able to adjust the temperature without getting out of bed would probably make my day.

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