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Strange not to see the new ring security in this. They must be having production issues.
At least in my area it’s a two-step, two appointment process. Kind of like Vivint.
First visit, they show you your choices, talk about what you need and “finalize your device selection.”
How many appointments are there?
There are 2 appointments. Your first appointment is an in-home visit where you can customize your package. Your smart home expert will review your package devices, answer any questions you have, finalize your device order and schedule the installation appointment
Then there’s a second appointment where they come back and set everything up.
Do I need a smart home hub?
Some packages require a smart home hub like the Wink Hub 2. This allows your smart home devices to communicate with each other, so you can create custom scenes and rules. If you already own a smart home hub, your smart home expert will adjust your package.
Also interesting: in my area, the cheapest “outdoor base package” doesn’t use a hub at all. It has Mr. beams outdoor motion sensitive light (part of the ring acquisition) a Phillips hue bridge with two bulbs, and echo dot, And an outdoor speaker. I wonder if they’ll try to upsell you to the Amazon connect camera package?
To me this indicates a couple of things. The in-home installations they’ve been doing for the last year with Amazon employees must’ve gone pretty well for them.
Second, installation is not Free in my area, there’s a per hour charge. But I’m guessing it’s the same one they had before, which is pretty low.
Third, they are making it easier to buy smart stuff by limiting the selection that’s available with the package, while having an actual person come to your house and help you pick stuff out.
Fourth, it’s so weird that they haven’t bought wink yet, they must have something in the pipeline waiting to replace it In the future, but that isn’t ready yet.
Fifth, one of the things that Amazon is really smart about is focusing on the customer experience. They have not made this an echo plus centered package, because I think they must know it’s not quite ready yet. They’re featuring wink instead.
Anyway, interesting
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I’m really curious to see what they do with Blink.
Blink was supposed to release a security system with multiple devices but with the cameras as the centerpoint. They announced it at CES 2017 but then this year all the discussion was on their video doorbell, which also has no release date yet.
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People will buy this. In a few years those same people will complain when Amazon raises prices by another 20% but they will be so tied into the Alexa infrastructure that they can’t or won’t be able to just drop it. Others will say the price hike is worth it.
I’m interested to see how they handle Blink products going forward.
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To me this screams big corporation not communicating between divisions. If there was plans to use z-wave security devices, why not include a z-wave radio in the Echo Plus? Also odd that they include YI as their camera of choice instead of Blink or Ring. And the Lennar version uses Arlo.
I’m also with JD that i’m surprised Amazon hasn’t acquired Wink yet. Especially with the DIY security camera binge they went on.
1 Like
Another thing I’m curious about is the dog barking via Echo device. Did they give Wink a special API to allow them to play sounds through Echo devices? Or is it an Amazon Music track that plays when you set your away routine?