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.

————————————

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.
Facebook Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

1307 COMMENTS

  1. I would love the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell. It would be great to be able to see who’s at the front door before you answer, for safety and also to avoid salespeople 🙂

  2. I want a Nest Thermostat. I love the idea of a learning thermostat that I can also control with my voice.

  3. I’d like the NETGEAR Arlo Pro Wireless Security System with 2 HD Cameras – White for the front of my house. There have been a number of break ins around the area, and this would be a major deterrent!

  4. NETGEAR Arlo Pro 2 Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Security System with 4 1080p HD Cameras is what would help me. There have been some thievery in the neighborhood so be nice to track it!

  5. Nest Smart Learning Thermostate is for me. We are quite aware of high energy costs and of wasting energy. This programable gizmo would help with these anxieties!

  9. I would absolutely love to try the Google Home! I can’t afford it myself but it has always intrigued me.

  10. I would love the Nest Smart Learning Thermostat as our home should be both comfortable and energy efficient. Thank you! Jaw dropping prizes!! Love it!

  11. Our Family could definitely use most of the Nest Smart Home Products. Right now though we would find the TrackR bravo Indispensable. My Father is living with us and is forever misplacing everything. His wallet, KEYS, phone etc.. the list is endless. I’m sure if his head wasn’t attached to his shoulders that would go missing as well. I know this would bring peace of mind to him as he is aging and getting a bit forgetful . It would make me feel better as well knowing this type of thing is making him feel better.

  12. The Google Home! We really wanted to get a cat but we’ll take an intelligent home system over that to make the house a livelier place over the coming cold months!

  13. I would love to get teh Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation. I have heard great things about Nest and would love to find additional ways of reducing my environmental footprint and bills.

  15. We live out in the country and we would like to try the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera. We are getting tired of paying ADTs monthly bill.

  16. I would really like to try the Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell, as we don’t live in a really great neighborhood.

  24. I’d really like to win an Evr-Green e40 Electric Vehicle Charging Station. Our houselhod now owns an electric Volt; and, having a charging station would be exceptionally handy – especially during the winter months, when a charge doesn’t last nearly as long.!

  25. I would love a smart thermostat like the Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation so that we can monitor our environment (and save money!)

  28. Google home would be a great addition to our house. Technology has sure come a long way in past few years and made everything more convenient.

  34. I’d love the phillips hue starter system! It would be nice to turn the lights on and off without having to go room to room

  39. The Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Pro is what I would love to have. There have been so many breakins lately, I would be able to keep an eye on things with this.

  40. I would love to have the Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Pro so I can keep an eye on who is coming to my door, even when I am not there!

  41. I’d get the NestCam Indoor security camera so I can monitor my place while I’m away. And to spy on my pets while I’m at work :0

  42. The Nest products are awesome. We would love to have the Nest Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera to see when the skunk is around who tears up our lawn and skunked our Black Lab Scarlett, not once but twice when we let her out at night. I can honestly say, not very pleasant!

  43. The Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation – Polished Steel would be my pick as I need to upgrade my existing thermostat to be more efficient.

  44. I would love to have the Nest Cameras for my home. Security is an issue in the area we live in and these would add comfort to my day to day life.

« Older Comments Newer Comments »

Comments are closed.