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.
| We frequently have many contests running at Best Buy, so check out the “contests in progress” page for more great contests to enter. |
I’d love to have a Nest Hello Doorbell to keep an eye on packages and mail, and people coming to the door. Also, useful for when the kids come home.
The ring video doorbell would be s great addition to our house!
I really wish I had a Nest outdoor camera. There have been multiple vehicle thefts and robberies in my area and I’m not kidding (have proof).
My neighbors have video footage of somebody attempting to steal thier car at night!
I was planning to go for a different brand or alternative to Nest as that subscription and the camera together is overpriced in my opinion, but if I won the Nest outdoor camera and only had to pay subscription that would be great!
Definitely outdoor nest cam! Hello my wife and family feel secure in the dark!
I’d love an indoor nest camera get a glimpse of home when I’m away from home.
We use a lot of Google Home devices and some Nest ones, but the Nest Hello Doorbell would be an amazing feature to add, especially with the face recognition. Being able to have it announce who is at the door, and even lock or unlock it according.
I would like to have the nest camera and thermostat for my flower shop. Needed those for the security and temperature control for the fridge.
I would like the Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell. Then I would know when packages arrive or if anyone was checking to see if anyone is home!
The Nest Thermostat would make my snooze button so much more useful. As I hit that extra five minutes on my alarm clock, and remain curled in my sushi roll of a blanket, I know my Nest thermostat is in sync with raising the temperature in the house making my excursion to the shower just a little more pleasant as I start my day.
Would love to have the Nest Cam IQ indoor as my wife and I are having a baby and will use it as a baby monitor.
Google home mini
I would like Nest system includes the control of wifi door and Window sensors, as well as Nest’s lighting & energy controlling and Chambelain garage openers. So, I can simply use one integrated Smart App to monitor the entire home.
Nest Cam IQ would be pretty sweet to watch my new son Cove sleeping in his bed while I relax, which is hard to come by at the moment. Sign me up for 2
I would love the nest thermostat because my family has a overlapping schedule and would love to take advantage heating the house only when someone is home to hello both my wallet and the environment
I would love a Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell!
I would love a nest thermostat cause I wont have to fiddle around with temperature settings ever again
A nest cam to watch the backyard would be nice.
Our family could us the Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub, so that Google Home could tell us when the garage door is up, and better yet, shut it for us.
Having the nest doorbell would be handy when unwanted solicitors show up
I would love to win nest protect to keep the family safe and secure
I’d love to add a Nest thermostat to our smart home system. It would be a great way to control the temperature better.
I’d love to add a Nest thermostat to our smart home system. It would be a great way to control the temperature better.
I’d love to add a Nest thermostat to our smart home system. It would be a great way to control the temperature better.
I’d love to add a Nest thermostat to our smart home system. It would be a great way to control the temperature better.
I’d love to add a Nest thermostat to our smart home system. It would be a great way to control the temperature better.
I’d like to add the Yale Assure Touchscreen Connected by August Bluetooth Smart Lock – Brass so I could make sure the front door is always locked from anywhere by using the app.
The best smoke detectors, I just wish they weren’t so expensive as I need 4 of them to cover the house.
The Nest Hello video doorbell. It would be nice to see who approaches the house, and it looks like it integrates well with other nest products.
The Nest Wifi smart learning thermostat. I’m am always adjust the temperature so would be so awesome to not have to get up to do it or do it while on my way home so the house is warm when I arrive.
I’d like to upgrade the smoke detectors in our town home as the current ones freak out my daughter every time they go off. Whenever cooking anything we have to be on the watch as they trigger over the smallest amount otlf smoke.
I’d love to get some nest cameras and a nest thermostat!
I’m planing the Nest smoke detectors for 2 floors as the current dummy ones are freaking out my daughter every time it goes off. I wish they weren’t so expensive.
Nest Hello. There have been a number of package thefts and break ins in my area recently and a best hello will help to protect my family and home
Nest Hello would be a great upgrade to your dummy door bell, plus it acts as a security cam to monitor the goodies that I order from best buy!
I’d like the Nest Cam IQ outdoor to know who is coming.
I would like a Nest Hello doorbell so that I could see if a courier were delivering a package when no one is at home and ask them to leave it on the porch, instead of those annoying delivery notices you have to pick up.
Nest x Yale, which sadly isn’t part of the prizes. Guess I’d have to get it to complete the smart house if I won. 🙂
I would like to add the Nest Hello Doorbell to my home, it would be great for knowing who is at more door, especially when we are away!
The Next Hello Wi-Fi doorbell seems awesome and I’d love to replace my current doorbell with it.
Nest smart thermostat so I can make my house as efficient as possible! Warm when I’m home and cool when I’m not.
Nest thermostat is high on my priority list. Would live to be able to turn my heat on before coming home.
I would love to have the nest doorbell in addition to our growing google home automation.
I would love to have Philips Vu Starter kit
The Nest Hello Wifi doorbell seems super useful and I’d love to replace my current doorbell with that one.
I would love to have Philips Vu Starter Kit.
Nest Hello Wi-Fi Video Doorbell is what I would like. As well as the indoor outdoor security cameras
I would love to have the Nest Smart Thermostat, to keep myself warm this holiday season as well as help save me money on my heating bill along with helping the environment.
I would love a Nest Hello doorbell it would be very helpful in knowing who is at my door. But I would totally love all these gadget because they are so helpful in many ways. Thank you!
The Nest WiFi Hello doorbell and lock would be great. Controlling the lock from anywhere with seeing who your opening it for, wether it’s kids or others in the family.
Id love to get the smart august lock or the nest smart learning thermostat because I do long hours of work and always lose my keys… also i come back really late so my apartment is cold.
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