Given the projected feature set, the price will likely be significantly higher than $300.
Amazon’s first device, the full size Echo, tested the market penetration price points at $180. The first Dot did likewise at $100. Result: Echo Dot, Gen.2, $40 over the holiday season.
Do you think 4 million of those Smartbeings things would have sold this autumn/holiday season at $300+ per unit?
That said, it’s awesome that all these competitors are starting to emerge. It will force a reconsideration of many things. For example: instead of that thing in a tall can on a table, imagine it on a wall by your front door. You come in, look into the lens… it recognizes your face, and on that basis turns off the alarm. Then again, with the right software that’s already a possibility on a $50 android tablet isn’t it.
WooHoo retail price is $89. I think that’s a fair price given what it is expected to do. But it has a $9 a month subscription charge. Not sure what that’s for.
Woohoo is still just a kickstarter campaign. No telling when or if it will actually come to market, what features it will actually have, or what devices Amazon or Google might have released in the meantime.
It can’t be compared with real devices that you can buy right now except as an indicator of where market demand might be.
If you want facial recognition, netatmo has that now, from an established company without a monthly fee.
That Netatmo Welcome looks like the realization of what Canary originally promised. With the additional benefit of local recording, DropBox & FTP. Without the useless " air quality" sensors.
I would not be surprised to see it in a future Nest cam.
Why isn’t facial rec in Echo or GH ? Simple they are audio NOT VIDEO devices.
At the very least they should be able to know who you are. Apple finger prints a voice with “Hey Siri”. I am waiting for google and amazon to implement this for multiple accounts. Still one of the biggest things for them to solve IMO.
They are both working on voice biometrics. Google already has it in their phones; the race to integrate security-dependent services into their voice assistants will drive both to get it fairly quickly.
bamarayne
(Jason "The Enabler" as deemed so by @Smart)
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