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Home Security Is as Easy (and Fun) as Streaming YouTube

Home security is as easy as checking email or watching HBO Go.

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By Gear Patrol

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Home security has evolved. The same way we stream live events, watch movies, browse the web, navigate from A to B and pay our friends — all through a smartphone — we can also keep watch over our home. Case in point: the Nest Cam Outdoor ($199).

Launched this past July, the Nest Cam Outdoor joins the Google-owned company’s line of other smart-home products — including the Nest Learning Thermostat ($249), Nest Smoke and CO alarm ($99) and Nest Indoor Cam ($199) — and works with the same companion app. Unlike its indoor brethren, however, the Nest Cam Outdoor is weatherproof (IP65). Both cameras film up to 1080p at 30 fps, have a 130-degree diagonal field of view, night vision with infrared LEDs, and both allow you to talk to visitors on the other end (people or animals).

Specs

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Durability: IP65
Field of View: 130-degree wide-angle
Resolution: 1080p HD at 30 frames per sec
Night Vision: Yes
Battery: None
Buy Now: $199

Within the Nest app, you can view live footage from the camera at any point throughout the day. There’s an 8x zoom feature, too, in case you can’t quite make out what that “thing” in the distance is. If there’s any kind of significant activity — more than just a strong wind — the camera can send push notifications to your phone.

Nest also offers a premium service called Nest Aware. For either $10 or $30 a month (per camera), Nest Aware subscribers are able to scroll through recorded footage from the previous 10 or 30 days (as opposed to just the standard previous three hours), or create video clips and time lapses. (Yes, home security can be fun!) The app also helps you “find” the action, via a new feature called Sightline — it automatically creates a timeline of key moments so you don’t have to scroll through hours of your lawn or front porch looking immaculate.

These days, home security isn’t just home security. It’s a way to stay connected on demand. You’re able to keep a close eye on the kids (or dog) playing in the backyard. You’re able to feel present, even half a world away. And the Nest Cam Outdoor and app make it all just as simple as streaming videos on YouTube.

Buy Now: $199