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:
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!
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.
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.
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 |
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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. Â
| We frequently have many contests running at Best Buy, so check out the “contests in progress” page for more great contests to enter. |
It’s hard to be focused on one product. I guess each product serves its own area.. smart smoke detectors are for one area, door bell another and speaker is to control or music. But you have to start somewhere I would say the smart lock / door bell as it will receive the most interaction. Then slowly build up the rest of the ecosystem.
I’d love the nest cam indoor because it looks like it easily mounts just about anywhere and it would be so handy to reinforce all the training I’ve been doing with our puppy while we’re not home!
My Fiancée and I are moving into our first house together. So I would love to have the Nest IQ outdoor security camera to ensure the safety of the both of us and any future family members that may come along!
The Nest Thermostat! I’m a student living with my parents and they still don’t have an eco thermostat and I know this’ll blow their minds!
The Nest Hello Doorbell would be the best addition to our home. Help keep an eye on those deliveries and general peace of mind. Great contest, amazing prizes.
I would love a Nest x Yale lock and a Hello doorbell. Nest Hello to see who is at the door before going downstairs. The nest x yale makes it easy to set codes for different family members and allows remote locking for piece of mind if we ever leave and can’t remember if we remembered to lock the door!
I’d love a smart lock and doorbell always thought it would be a cool feature for our home
I would love to add Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p Security Camera – White, to my house so I could see what was going on while I was away…
The nest outdoor wifi cam seems great since I have strong wifi coverage and don’t need to run internet to the camera.
Definitely the thermostat. It would be a huge money saver
A Nest thermostat, I really like the ability to control the HVAC when not at home. I would be ideal for travelling and is still missing from my smart home
I’d love a new nest thermostat to help regulate our south facing bedroom that gets too hot! Already have the nest camera doorbell which is amazing and use another camera as a baby monitor.
I would love to win a nest secure alarm system. I don’t currently subscribe to any security providers and having a reliable smart security like nest alarm would give me peace of mind when I’m away.
I would be interested in a nest Yale lock. The fact I can check using Google to make sure my house is secure makes me feel comfortable.
Would love the home monitoring cameras so I can catch a thief (if ever) but mostly to see what no good my kitties are up to when I am out
I love the products and love the idea of making my living space “smart”. I would be able to monitor deliveries, make sure the baby is sleeping, and on occasion see what the dog is up to when away for the day.
Nest Cam IQ, we’re away often during the winter and it would be good to see the front of the house
I would love the nest thermostat, this would help moderate temperatures in the house and keep bills low. And the google home would be amazing too!!
Nest Cam IQ, we’re away often during the winter and it would be good to see the front of the house.
I would like to add the Nest Hello to monitor the front door. This will also work grate with deliveries.
I would love the Nest Yale lock because it’s happened a few times where I’ve forgotten my keys and have had to go somewhere else while I waited for my wife to come back from work. Keys just don’t seem practical anymore in 2018 to lock a house. It would pair nicely with my Home Minis as well.
I’d probably go with the nest wifi cam. Nice added security and package watcher for the front door!
Some outdoor cameras would be good for monitoring the driveway. The Yale lock would also be really handy for giving access to friends and family without needing extra keys.
I would love an outdoor camera for our porch so that I can see whoever comes to our door, this Nest Cam Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080p IP Camera would do the trick!
I would like to win a nest doorbell, I’m often working in the garage and would like to be able to see if a delivery has come in.
The nest outdoor camera would be lovely, specifically as we’ve had a couple break-ins to the garage the last year, and so can no longer keep anything over value outside
I’d like to win the Nest Cam IQ Wi-Fi Outdoor 1080, I read the quality is amazing and that you can watch a live feed. This would be a nice security feature to add to the house.
I’d love to have an outdoor security camera for my yard with alert capability for when I am away from home!
I’d really love the nest hello doorbell/camera
I find it’s one of nest greatest creation. With face ID it’s just awesome
For me I’d love to add the nest wifi doorbell as an extra layer of security. Would tie in nicely with my Googlehome and Nest thermostat!
I would love some smart lighting. Discussion in the basement because my kids always leave the lights on and I have to go and turn them off
A Nest Doorbell would be great so I can ignore door to door sales people.
Smart lock and camera so I can have packages dropped inside
I would love to have a Nest IQ outdoor security camera to have the peace of mind knowing that my car is safe at night.
I would absolutely love to replace my thermostat with a Nest Smart Thermostat! Saving money on gas/hydro will give me more to spend on gadgets 🙂 LOL!
Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Pro so I can keep
Y family secured
Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen
Save on heating and cooling Bill’s.
i would love the ecobee4 Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat
i live in an old home and this would really help to regulate the temp
Love to have the Nest x Yale lock. My stairs are really long an it would allow be to unlock and lock remotely as well as with a code.
Nest protect wifi smoke detector. My smoke alarms have experienced and need replacing. Mine aways go off when cooking. Have to get a chair and disconnect. This nest protect I can just use my phone.
Definitely the outdoor camera! Too many car prowlings and would love this added security!
Nest thermostat
I will know when I leave and turn down the heat and I don’t have to think about it
I would love to add the nest yale smartlock and the doorbell cam. That would be awesome!
Keep my family safe and warm
Nest outdoor camera. Lots of car break ins lately.
Nest doorbell camera!
My wife and I would love a Nest or Arlo Camera system so we can see our dogs while we’re at work or away from the house
Google Home max with nest pro camera and Philips hue lights all around the home!
Would love to get the Nest x Yale smart lock with Nest connect! It would totally complement my google home experience and upgrade my front door lock!
Best thing I’ve added so far have been google homes, adding some neat cameras would be a great way to secure the home’ they are no doubt next on my list!
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