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Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

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Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#71

Post by manyxcxi »

wlesieutre wrote: post #27
ponker wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can’t Believe Google didn’t refund the $300.

It looks like they didn't originally plan to, but after the negative press and maybe involvement of the FTC, they did offer refunds: http://www.theendofownership.com/blog/2016/7/14/ftcs-revolv-... To clarify, the $300 wasn't a lifetime subscription fee, that was the whole price of the device which was sold with "lifetime subscription" as a major selling point compared to competitors with monthly fees. Another similar…

I’ve had a Wink hub since the firmware was pre v1.0 (about 7 years) and not only is it still physically working, Wink has maintained support for it. I’ve got another, newer hub, and have dabbled with some of their other hardware over the years.

The subscription announcement did seem very rushed, and oddly toned- kind of felt like “this is our last option and we’re probably going under without it”.

Here’s the thing, I believe they should’ve been charging it all along. Backend infrastructure isn’t free and hardware doesn’t usually have amazing margins (though maybe consumer IoT is better than some areas).

There’s a difference between Google and Wink though, Wink actually offers product support AND they’ve continued to upgrade their offering through the years instead of killing it off every 9-18 months.

Maybe Wink has changed (it’s been a long time since I interacted with anyone) but there was a time early on where I was on the phone with product support (who arranged for and called ME vs a 1-800 hold) with a pot (as in cooking) over my Wink Hub in the front yard with an extension cord trying to complete a firmware upgrade that had a very particular bug.

Later on, I was given an API key to create my own integration, just by asking for one.

I had gone years with them and all the money they ever had gotten from me was the $49-$99 (can’t recall) for the first Hub I purchased and all they did was continue offering a reliable service quietly.

I don’t ever recall them touting “forever free”, but I’m sure they mentioned no subscription somewhere in their advertising over the years.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#72

Post by jfim »

vikinglore wrote: post #66
rodgerd wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Particularly when Google are requiring you to port to a completely different stack to the one basically all games are written.

Wow, I didn't realize that Stadia games are running on Debian and Vulcan. https://stadia.dev/about/ That is a hard sell that you have to (likely) port your game to a completely different OS and graphics API for a presumably small customer base.

There's a large number of games that use premade engines (eg. Unity, Unreal). As long as the engine supports Linux and Vulkan (I believe both Unity and Unreal do), there's no real issue in supporting that platform.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#74

Post by txsoftwaredev »

pgib wrote: post #73

Damn. I just moved into a new place, and I was looking at getting the Nest Secure, as the ADT systems seem to archaic to me. Does anyone know of any comparable, high-tech systems?

Ring and SimpliSafe are two other options that offer similar services and hardware.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#75

Post by ksk »

MattGaiser wrote: post #3

I wonder, how many people consider Google products for something and go with another provider because you can't count on the product to exist long term?

Not only that, Google has a reputation on spying on users. Why would you want any more Google devices in your home that are always on and always reporting to the mother-ship? Especially ones with cameras, microphones etc.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#76

Post by programmertote »

MattGaiser wrote: post #3

I wonder, how many people consider Google products for something and go with another provider because you can't count on the product to exist long term?

I was tempted to buy a Chromecast Ultra because my Roku does not support Peacock app.

BUT I stopped short of buying it because I have Google home mini which never seems to be able to register my preferred temperature unit (Celcius) regardless of how many times I have tried on its not-so-intuitive home app (plus can no longer connect to its Bluetooth for playing YouTube videos for example). That and reading a bunch of news/comments like this thread helps me make a fairly quick decision to not purchase Chromecast.

I sincerely hope Google CEO or someone who really cares about their org's reputation see people complaining about their product strategy. They should learn how to keep what's working and most importantly, to not venture into anything unless they can commit to it for at least 10 years. Of course, they have their cash cow, which is the advertising/search unit, so maybe they'll never care.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#77

Post by unwiredben »

programmertote wrote: post #76
MattGaiser wrote: post #3

I wonder, how many people consider Google products for something and go with another provider because you can't count on the product to exist long term?

I was tempted to buy a Chromecast Ultra because my Roku does not support Peacock app. BUT I stopped short of buying it because I have Google home mini which never seems to be able to register my preferred temperature unit (Celcius) regardless of how many times I have tried on its not-so-intuitive home app (plus can no longer connect to its Bluetooth for playing YouTube videos for example). That and reading a bunch of…

Peacock has been available on Roku devices for the last month.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#78

Post by disillusioned »

ec109685 wrote: post #61
disillusioned wrote: post #42

I own a Nest Secure and actually really really love it. It syncs with my Nest + Yale door locks, so when I keypad into my house, it auto-disarms, which is amazing. I don't carry keys with me anymore, and the lock is gorgeous. It's also just _really_ nice. They put a lot of thoughtfulness into the Nest Detect motion/door open sensor. They filter out my dogs near perfectly. The voice warnings are great and useful. The…

Brinks is owned by ADT. We said no to an ADT system since it was expensive and required two year contract and favored Nest secure instead, so this is disappointing. It seems like Ring is in it to win it unlike Nest for some reason.

> Brinks is owned by ADT.

No, they aren't. They were acquired by Moni, a separate company.

Re: Google stops selling Nest Secure, still offers support

#79

Post by ec109685 »

disillusioned wrote: post #78
ec109685 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brinks is owned by ADT. We said no to an ADT system since it was expensive and required two year contract and favored Nest secure instead, so this is disappointing. It seems like Ring is in it to win it unlike Nest for some reason.

> Brinks is owned by ADT. No, they aren't. They were acquired by Moni, a separate company.

Fascinating. Original Brinks Home Security -> Broadview -> ADT. New one Moxi -> Brinks. https://www.securitysales.com/business/moni-ceo-brinks-brand...
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