Smoke alarms have a reputation for being annoying and inaccurate. Most everyone has a memory of running around opening windows and waving a towel at a squawking smoke detector, all while food continues to burn. Or taking the batteries out rather than listening to the low-battery chirp. Smoke detectors are a static, necessary evil; essential for safety but annoying on a day-to-day basis.

The Nest Protect smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector has completely changed the game in terms of design and functionality. To start with, you can wave your hand once at the detector to silence nuisance alarms. That’s a lot easier than frantically waving a towel back and forth or popping the batteries out (leaving yourself unprotected).

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Nest Protect connects with your mobile phone and will send you notifications when you need to change the battery or when the alarm is activated. In an emergency, it sends you tips on what to do and numbers to call.

Every night, when you turn lights off, the detector quickly flashes green to assure you that it’s working properly– and that you’ll be protected while you sleep.

The Protect has a unique Pathlight feature. LED lights on the device will softly light your way as you walk beneath it, acting as an (optional) night light in your home that leads you to the bathroom.

In addition to typical alarm sounds, the Protect uses a female Voice alarm to help wake sleeping people, since some (especially children) don’t always wake up to beeps alone.

And if you have more than one alarm in your home, they’ll all connect wirelessly so you’ll hear alarms throughout the whole house, even if the danger is only in one room.

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The Nest Protect retails for $129 and is available in black and white. It’s still on preorder, so I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I’m just impressed by the way that Nest took a boring but necessary household appliance and made it beautiful, intuitive and even added features that no one expected. I’m excited to try it out once it’s available.

Posted on 10/10/2013

Written by Liz Wassmann

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