- When I started Mr. Mobile,
I decided that I'd only cover technology
that takes you from your doorstep to destinations elsewhere.
But there's an awful lot of stuff
made for the home that's cropped up
over the past year that you've been asking about
and frankly, I don't know much about any of it.
So I hopped a plane to sunny, temperate,
neither of those things, Pensacola, Florida,
to meet up with someone who does.
This is Phil Nickinson, aka, Modern Dad.
And he's here to teach us about everything
I've been ignoring in home tech.
(rhythmic music)
- What are we talking about?
What are we- - Technology.
(laughs)
The Ring Pro is the first thing on my list.
- Probably, the most important gadgety thing
I have in my house at this point.
- Well, let's go back for a second, though.
- What is it?
- What is the Ring, yeah.
(laughs)
- [Phil] It's a doorbell with a camera in it.
- [Michael] Okay.
- [Phil] A camera and a microphone in a speaker, so...
- [Michael] So you can see whose at your door
even if you're not at home.
- [Phil] Even before that, you would see whose coming
long before they even get to your door.
And I can set the zone, so if it sees somebody
coming up my driveway, it will send me an alert.
It will automatically start recording.
- [Michael] And then you can review that footage later
if say... - I can review it live,
I can review it later.
- [Michael] A delivery driver ended up like
seeing something he liked and stealing your dog.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] Okay.
- Like when my kids start dating,
nobody can sneak out.
(laughs)
It's great, I love it.
- There's a second component to that.
- Mmhmm. - With the stick-up cam,
which sounds like something you use to rob a bank.
- [Phil] It's essentially just a stand-alone wireless cam,
micro-usb powered if that's how you roll.
I use the solar panel that they also sell with it.
- [Michael] This solar panel
gives it all the power it needs?
- [Phil] Yeah, yeah,
the solar panel charges the internal battery,
so even at night it still works, it's just fine.
- Phil.
- Michael?
- What the hell is this?
- It's another camera.
- [Michael] This is the Nest Cam.
- [Phil] This was one of the first cameras
I think I ever had.
This is their knower version, 1080p,
has a microphone, has a speaker, nice wide angle.
So basically I can see this entire room,
anyone who might try to come in.
But if I want to worry whether my kids are still
staring directly into the TV, I can turn this on
real quick on my phone and see.
- How much does this cost?
- $200.
- Why?
- It's a camera.
- [Michael] Can you get one cheaper?
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] Why is it- or you're just paying a Nest tax?
- [Phil] Yeah, you are paying a little bit of a Nest tax.
I like that it's part of an ecosystem,
so if you have Nest Thermostat,
if you have a Nest Protect,
it's all in one place.
You've seen the stories in the news about hackers
taking control of those things,
I have a little more faith in Nest
than I do in just rando company selling me things.
- Do you ever get weirded out that
there is a ton of cameras in your house
watching your every move?
- [Phil] I used to, and I used to wonder
who's on the other side of those seeing me.
- [Michael] Word.
- [Phil] Now I don't care.
- You wanna talk about the weather?
- I think we should.
- Why don't we?
- Let's.
- This looks like a $200 salt shaker.
- Yeah.
- What is it?
- [Phil] This is a Netatmo.
- [Michael] Is that how you pronounce that?
- [Phil] Yes, it's French.
- [Michael] It is, oh Net-at-mo.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] Net connected atmospheric monitor isotopic...
- [Phil] Ahh!
- What does it, what does it do?
- [Phil] So, the basic is the Indoor module,
which is this.
And an Outdoor module, which looks the same,
it's just a little bit smaller, goes outside.
So I have...
- [Michael] What good does it monitor?
- [Phil] Indoor temperature, CO2, so air quality,
outside temperature humidity.
- [Michael] What about precipitation?
- [Phil] Precipitation, you have to have a separate
monitor for that, so I have a separate rain gauge.
There's also a wind gauge,
but I didn't bother getting that,
'cause I kind of don't care.
- What does the whole thing cost?
- So, this, the indoor, outdoor, is about,
you know, Amazon friend prices $150, maybe a little less.
- [Michael] Hmm.
- [Phil] The rain gauge is like another 70 or 80.
- [Michael] Okay.
- [Phil] So it adds up. This is not inexpensive.
- [Michael] Speaking of cylindrical
home accessory things... - Yes.
- [Michael] One of those, is called the Amazon Echo.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] One of them, looks like an air freshener,
is called the Google Home.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] The other one looks like a
UE Roll Boom Sound Pillow or a Vitamin Capsule,
and it's called the Home Pod.
- [Phil] Apple's Home Pod is not coming out till December.
- [Michael] Alright, so Amazon Echo, Google Home,
you have both. Which one do you like better, real quick.
- Here's the thing about Echo though.
- What? Which one do you like better?
(sighs)
= I like Google Home better.
- Why?
- As a speaker, it's better because a cast target
is better than just a dumb Bluetooth speaker.
- What's a cast target?
- Cast target is Google has Chromecast, Google Cast.
- [Michael] You throw media into a TV.
- [Phil] Right. Or audio to a speaker.
So this just is direct audio in the way it should be.
- [Michael] Okay.
Is there a price difference between Amazon Echo
and Google Home?
- It really depends. Depends on what Echo you wanna get.
There is Echo Dot, which is the tiny $50 little puck.
This is the Echo Tab.
- Okay so this is the Echo Tab.
- Bigger than the dot.
- This is the bare essence of the thing.
Bigger than the dot, smaller than the...
- Smaller than full size Alexa.
- [Michael] The big full Alexa thing.
- Theoretically Alexa can do almost anything, right?
Answer general questions, play music back through
either Amazon Music or anything else that ties through that.
Or just as a Bluetooth Speaker.
You can be like, "Alexa, turn off all the lights."
as I'm leaving the house.
- [Alexa] Okay.
- And she turns off all the lights.
- You like this better because why?
- [Phil] I like Google Home better because,
first, I think Google has more answers,
and better answers to things.
But again, it's tough to beat a $50 Echo Dot.
- [Michael] Yes it is.
- [Phil] It's really tough, 'cause you can buy
three and four of these and stash them around your house.
= I don't know, I don't wanna have a debate
on the usefulness of these things.
But it strikes me that we've had a long conversation
today that has involved a doorbell that shows you
video footage from your front door no matter where you are.
- [Phil] Yup.
- [Michael] A weather station that gives you weather
information... - Wherever you are.
- [Michael] No matter where you are.
And home assistance that give you information
- [Phil] Wherever you are.
- [Michael] No matter where you are.
So it strikes me, Modern Dad,
that all of these are in fact mobile solutions.
- Just how mobile are we talking?
- Indeed. I'm just trolling.
- Oh.
(laughs)
- The one thing I'm still really missing from all this
is some sort of really good home hub,
that's not a phone, that is a tablet-esque layout.
- [Michael] Are we gonna see one of it?
- [Phil] I think we are.
Echo Show is coming very soon.
- [Michael] It looks like the slab from
2001: A Space Odyssey.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] It looks like a very ominous
piece of machinery.
- [Phil] Plus video calling through.
But something that is in a dedicate place in my home
where as I'm walking by, and then I'll look at it
and I can say, "Okay Netatmo says it's 97 degrees outside."
- [Michael] I hear a lot people and a lot of backlash
saying like, "No, we don't want another display,
we don't need another screen to look at."
The genius of these little things,
is that there is no display,
you just interact by voice.
- Right, but- - That's the new media.
- But these don't show me who's at the door,
on the Ring doorbell.
- [Michael] Okay, then in that case
do you wanna talk about the very last thing?
'Cause we're gonna talk about that, what's that, Echo...?
Echo Slab?
- [Phil] Echo Look. Or Echo Show.
- [Michael] Show.
- [Phil] With the display.
- But the Look is what I wanna ask you about.
- The Echo Look is crazy.
- [Michael] What is it?
- [Phil] It's another Echo.
So it has a speaker, it has a microphone,
it talks back and forth to you,
just like these do.
It also has a camera,
this is really meant for fashion.
So you take a picture of yourself everyday.
- [Michael] Right.
- Or you know whenever you're changing outfits or whatever.
And so, first, you've a record of what you've worn
and when you've worn it
so if you're- - Thank goodness.
- If you're the type then yeah.
It will also compare outfits.
So it will say,
"Alright, you're wearing this and you're wearing that,
"here's the one we think is better."
- [Michael] So you've tried it.
- [Phil] Yes.
- [Michael] Has it helped you dress better?
- [Phil] No.
- [Michael] Yeah.
- [Phil] But I also didn't think it will. If you're-
- [Michael] Well, so why does it exist,
I don't get it.
- [Phil] Because a lot of people do care
about these stuff.
- [Michael] But like how is a computer,
how is a stick, a camera on a stick,
attached to a Cloud computer gonna help me dress better?
- Algorithms. It's a middle-out thing.
- What? What?
- It's a middle-at, it's all about middle-out.
- What's a middle-at? What is, what?
- It's the updog of middle-out.
- I need you to get out of my house.
(laughs)
- Alright, let's talk about that
more in the next one. - Yes.
- 'Cause we're gonna talk again right?
- Sure.
- You're gonna show me more home stuff
that I've no idea how to work?
- We're just barely scratching the surface.
- Let's talk about that on the next video.
- Okay.
- Stay mobile, my friends.
- He said the thing that I say.
- [Michael] Remember folks,
Mr. Mobile is only in Florida for one week.
So, be sure to subscribe to Modern Dad on YouTube
so you stay informed about all the cool stuff
and home tech I'm about to go back to ignoring.
Until next time, thanks for watching,
and stay modern, my friends.
- I got a little rubber harness on it
because I love rubber harnesses.
- Loves the rubber harni.
(laughs)
- Yeah, this one's meant, this one's- (laughs)