Accessories
New Ring Cameras, Pet Tracker & Doorbell Concierge Upgrade Your Smart Home
Two new Ring cameras make it easier to keep an eye on your house, inside and out. Starting early next year you can get an Alexa enabled doorbell concierge that will handle a doorbell ring when you can’t answer and coming later this year you can set modes for your Ring devices to simplify managing alerts. Ring also announced a new pet tracker that clips onto your pet’s collar.
The new Ring Indoor Cam is $59.99 and available to order today. This is the first indoor camera from Ring, and while it is entering a crowded space the integration into a Ring enabled house is a big selling point. You can set this on any flat surface or mount it anywhere in the house. The new Ring Indoor Cam delivers 1080P supports night vision and like your doorbell two-way talk. You can use the app to disable motion and audio recording in the app and there is an indicator light so you know when Live View is on or the camera is recording. You can buy the Ring Indoor Cam at Amazon and Ring.
The new Ring Stick Up Cam is an indoor or outdoor camera that comes with three options from $99 to $148.99 so you can choose the right fit for your home and needs. This is an appealing option with a plug-in model for $99.99, a battery-powered model for $99.99 and a Solar Ring Stick Up cam for $148.99. All models record in 1080P, support motion detection, night vision, and two-way talk. The lens is a wide-angle to capture more of the room or your yard. You can pre-order today Amazon or Ring.
One of the most interesting new features coming to select Ring doorbells is the Alexa powered Doorbell concierge. This feature will arrive for the Ring Video Doorbell Elite in early 2020. When someone rings the doorbell, Alexa will be able to hold a conversation with them and handle tasks like letting a delivery person know where to put a package. This is something we are keeping an eye on and it will be interesting to see the real-world capabilities.
Coming to all Ring devices in November is a new Modes feature that allows you to set home, away and Disarmed options to toggle the settings on your Ring devices. This is something we’ve been wanting for a while, and it’s a free update.
As part of this announcement, there is also a Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit for $199 that lets you connect to a previously installed alarm system and use those existing sensors to work with a Ring Alarm system. This simplifies getting started with a Ring Alarm System.
A new offering from Ring is Fetch. This is a pet tracker that clips to your collar and connects to your phone so that you can monitor activity levels and get an alert if the dog leaves your home. Amazon is building out the Amazon Sidewalk network, which will help you track your pet away from your house once it is up and running. There is no price or release date yet, but you can sign up for more information.
Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant | |||||||||||||
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The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant is an awesome new way to use the Google Assistant in your home -- and with a screen. Essentially the Lenovo Smart Display is a vastly better version of Amazon Echo that looks like it should be in your home and with loads of features that Alexa doesn't deliver. The Smart Display is a Google Home with a screen, that comes in 8-inch and 10-inch sizes. In addition to standard Google Assistant controls, you can also interact with touch, and you can see your results on the screen. This works great with YouTube and other video results, recipes, directions and other activities. The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant built in is $199 for the 8-inch model and $249 for the 10-inch model with Bamboo back. The Smart Display arrives in early Summer 2018. | |||||||||||||