Very interesting!
There are more and more services adding smoke detector monitoring to their pro services. It will be a few months before I’m ready to look at something new, but there will definitely be more choices. 
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Some more info. They have all the right answers now. I was concerned about the system being cloud dependent:
The abode gateway does communicate with the abode server in the cloud, however all logic for devices that are connected to the gateway, and are processed locally by the gateway, this includes all intrusion security and home automation devices. Other approved home automation devices that rely on the homes Wi-Fi (Nest, etc) are connected and controlled by the abode server, using the abode web and mobile app.
If the gateway looses AC power, the backup battery will last about 12+ hours of backup, once AC is restored, the battery will charge back up.
If your internet is lost and you do not have the abode cellular service enabled, then you will not have remote access to the system, no notifications, and you will not be able to receive captured images from a motion camera during an alarm event. All local logic for automation scene, and intrusion alarm performance will not be affected and continue to operate the same with local siren. The Keyfob and keypad can be used to arm and disarm the system when internet connection is down.
If you enable the cellular service, and you lose connection to the internet, the gateway will switch over to the abode cell service and your system will provide all of the same functions as it did with the internet connection. Once the internet is restored, the cell service will switch off.
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And more information regarding their monitoring service and privacy of motion cameras:
When the system is armed, the motion cameras will upload the 3 images if movement is detected, and anytime the user request an image.
The monitoring services that abode has contracted with is a UL listed & Five Diamond Central Station. (UCC)
As to privacy, we too are concerned so we designed the system so that only when the alarm is triggered, can a monitoring agent have access to the images that were captured during that alarm event. They are also restricted to a time limit in which they can view those images. If the customer does not want to take advantage of the visual alarm verification, that could prevent a false dispatch resulting in a false alarm fine from the authorities, abode will turn of that feature for the customer. The customer should be fully aware that many of the sates and local jurisdictions will no longer respond to residential burglary without some form of verification. The program Function of Verified Response is a program that requires the alarm or monitoring company to verify that there is a legitimate need for a police response to a location prior to officers being requested.
Thanks for your questions
Is Chris or Brent providing you to this wealth of information, or their Hep Desk engineers? From the hands on experience, there are two limitations that prevent me from migrating my eligible devices to Abode. They have limits on number of automations allowed and they don’t culrrently allow event based automations, other than alarm events. BTW the system has performed flawlessly since installed.
Their Help desk engineer, Al. Can you give us examples of what you can do with their home automaton vs can’t?
Well not much home automation is possible right now. The automation features are geard towards security, which is expected:-) because that’s what they do…Alarm status, location and fixed schedule are the existing automation categories. I took a hard look at my HA set up this weekend and identified four main categories for which I was using ST. Audio/video, security and monitoring, climate control and lights. I plan by the end of the week to migrate everything but the lights out of ST. A/V returns exclusively to Harmony hub, Security/monitoring to Abode, including locks and hopefully climate. And will ride the awful ST service for lights until I figure something better.
Keep us posted. I use ST to control my blinds(Somfy), Nest thermostats, lights, locks and garage doors (MyQ). The Somfy is a show stopper as I love that integration with widgets and Alexa. Harmony TV I can do from IFTTT and Alexa if necessary.
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For the respect to SmartThings, this is my last post about my hands on experience with Abode. If anyone has any questions, please PM. This is also an update to my previous post regarding automations available in Abode. @diehllane I think you’d like this.
After speaking to them earlier today, they pointed out the automations available, so I started migrating some of my devices from SmartThings to Abode. The locks (Kwikset SmartCode 914) were included with no issues. I’ve also added several GE Link bulbs and created several automations to dim lights on lock/unlock. Everything works very well! The lag time is a lot less than what I was getting with SmartThings, for the same automation, which is very, very nice. Cannot be happier!
As far as automation goes, they need to add battery-operated motion detectors to use for control of lights and other devices. Not just cameras with motion. Then they’ll be a real contender for a dual purpose system.
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Going to dredge up this topic to say I purchased Abode after communicating with them for quite a while and asking a hundred questions. Big sticking point in my house was the door sensors being large, squared off, and white, but Abode has confirmed to me that they have tested and fully support http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0151Z49BO Aotech Recessed Door Sensor Gen5.
For all the reasons listed above - physical keypad, security-first approach, great camera options, and pay-as-you-go central monitoring, they have my business. Now, I wait for shipping… c’mon c’mon c’mon!
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Just in case anyone is still watching this topic and is on the fence on the Abode…
You can get it on sale right now for under $300 for the starter kit which includes a motion camera, 1 door/window sensor, and the keyfob.
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That’s a great deal! And just in time. They just submitted their official integration with Alexa and Nest and are working on expanding their rule engine…
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They have an Alexa skill. I wish Abode could integrate with Alexa like other hubs…I hope they are working on it.
I received my abode system last week and so far have been disappointed. There are too many limitations and bugs right now for it to be much useful. The support team is very responsive but as such they haven’t been able to fix any of the issues yet. Below are just the very few basic problems I am facing.
Automation options are very limited. It is nowhere close to what we have with smartthings. So if you plan to move away from smartthings to abode, that is not possible with current automation support.
Quick Actions are limited to just 5 devices. If you want to handle more than 5 devices with 1 quick action ( say switch off all lights and have more than 5 lights connected) you cannot do it with one quick action. You need to create 2 or more and split your devices within those and then run those many quick actions.
Bug with Motion Camera not capturing images. Had numerous emails with abode team and they are still trying to figure out the issue.
The state of Smart bulbs(supported ones) is not shown correctly. OFF switches are shown as ON or vice versa. So there is no way for you know the current state of devices when you are away.
These are just the basic ones and with so many limitations I am planning to return it back. Abode doesnt look ready yet. Looks like they were in a hurry to launch a half baked product.
Abode is a security company, first with aspirations of some Home Automation integration down the road. I am surprised about your motion cam issue. I have not had one problem with Abode since day one. For a startup security system, I think they’ve done an excellent job. It is no replacement of SmartThings flexible platform, but is a solid alternative for SHM replacemet. Had not once failed to arm, disarm, miss a chime, drop devices go haywire after an update. I have only good things to say about Abode, but have no expectations that my security system should be a replacement of a robust HA platform.
For me abode hasn’t worked one day properly since I have set it up 
. And I have spent so much time with support team without any actual fixes (very happy with their response time though).I personally feel abode has a long way to go before it can be used for anything other than for some hobby experiments. I wouldn’t be comfortable using it as something I rely on daily basis.
Wow, what a different experience. I can understand your frustration.
After months of working, Abode hits it out of the park with Nest integration. I wish ST folks would put aside their pride and offer users a true interconnected home…
It’s not pride on ST’s side as far as lack of Nest integration goes, it’s a difference in design philosophy.
SmartThings allows customers to write custom code which gives them full feature access to any device on the network. Nest limits the number of features which are open to integrations which have not been individually approved. SmartThings doesn’t have any way at present to limit available features enough to meet nest’s requirements. So Nest won’t approve an integration.
Again, it’s not pride on either side – – it’s just a different view of what IOT should mean.
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Great summation. BTW, I prefer ST’s view, not Nests, and I think we all should unless you want a bunch of walled gardens and having to pay for EVERY link between two ecosystems. Think of the $$$ matrix for that.