Life with the Nest Protect: Are “smart” smoke detectors a dumb idea?
My smoke detectors were dying, with a scheduled end-of-life date of 2016. Because I'm the kind of person who over-researches even the best kind of hangers to use in his closet, this provided the opportunity to do something more than run down to the hardware store and pick up a couple of screamin' cheapies as replacements.
Instead, I would find and purchase the Best Smoke Detector Ever.
It turns out that particulate detection is not sexy; smoke/carbon monoxide (CO) detection devices have been ugly plastic frisbees for years. One of the few exceptions is the Nest Protect—yes, that Nest. This is the company that popularized a thermostat and elevated connected homes to the point Google came calling. So as you might expect, Nest's answer to a smoke detector is a connected gadget that looks great and has plenty of cool features.
