苹果旧将第二款新品是烟雾探测器

    据美国国家消防局（National Fire Protection Agency）进行的调查统计显示，73％的烟雾探测器由于线路断开、损坏或缺少电池而未能在失火期间发出报警声。简单来说，这些设备只会发出吵闹甚至刺耳的声音。Nest Labs公司首席执行官（CEO）托尼•法戴尔解释说：“用户为此感到心烦。他们想要安装烟雾探测器，但他们只是想睡个好觉，也想能够不受干扰地做饭。”

    问题是，近几十年来烟雾探测器并没有多少改进。因此，法戴尔着手设计了一款充分利用当今科技的烟雾探测器。（法戴尔说：“我们认为有一个更好的方式来解决这个问题。”）

    他的成果是什么呢？就是Nest Protect。这款产品外形方正，正面是由孔眼形成的向日葵图案，看起来不太像过去几十年的烟雾探测器，而更像是一台小型机顶盒或者Mac Mini电脑。预计下月会在美国部分零售商——包括亚马逊（Amazon）、苹果（）Apple、百思买（Best Buy）和家得宝（Home Depot）——开始销售。Nest Protect的售价为129美元，白色，配有有线和电池供电两种款式。而黑色版的Nest Protec将由Nest Labs网站独家销售。

    Nest Protect改变了烟雾探测器通知用户出现紧急状况的方式。借助于一个叫做“小心”（Heads Up）的功能，Nest Protect会用一个真人的声音发布讯息，比如“小心，饭厅里有烟雾。”如果这台设备检测到烟雾或一氧化碳水平缓慢上升时，这项功能可以作为早期预警。晚上家里有小孩在睡觉时，Nest Protect不会发出传统的警报声，而是发出一个女性的声音。法戴尔之所以做出这个决定，是因为他看到的一项研究表明，小孩更有可能对人声做出反应，而对响亮的蜂鸣声却不太会做出反应。如果威胁迫在眉睫的话，那么Nest Protect会绕过“小心”功能的提醒，直接发出警报声。不管怎样，解除警报声很简单，这要归功于内置超声波传感器和活动传感器。大家不需要爬上椅子去解除警报声，只要在离Nest Protect六至八英尺（约1.8-2.5米）的范围内挥挥手即可。

    一个LED环灯提供多种功能。在发生紧急情况时亮红灯，当用户夜间关灯后会闪绿灯——表明传感器和电池的能量水平都处于良好状态。如果夜间有人在它们下面走过，或者只是想要一个夜间灯光的时候，这个LED灯也会发光。由于Nest Protect具有Wi-Fi无线网络连接功能，一台Nest Protect可以与安装在不同房间的其他Nest Protect进行通讯，向卧室里的人通报地下室发生失火。 Wi-Fi 连接还使用户能够借助用于Nest Thermostat温控器的同一款应用程序的更新版本来控制Nest Protect。

    对于Nest Labs而言，发布一款烟雾探测器作为其第二项产品，是在推出温控器之后下一个合乎逻辑的选择。这家公司目前的员工人数约为170人，已从包括KPCB（Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers）、谷歌风投（Google Ventures）和夏斯塔风投（Shasta Ventures）等投资者那里筹集到至少8,000万美元。法戴尔谈论烟雾探测器这个想法已有一段时间了，而一些Nest Thermostat用户曾经要求能得到Nest Protect。而且，家用报警器产品类别的业务完全要比恒温器多。法戴尔承认：“烟雾探测器的年销售量是恒温器的三四倍。”   

    According to the National Fire Protection Agency, 73% of smoke detectors fail to go off during fires because they were disconnected, broken, or missing batteries. Simply put, these devices can be loud, even ear-piercing. "People were annoyed," explains Tony Fadell, CEO and founder of Nest Labs. "They wanted to do the right thing, but they just wanted to get a good night's sleep, or they wanted to be able to cook without annoyance."

    Trouble is, detectors haven't evolved much in recent decades. So, Fadell went to work on designing one that takes advantage of today's technologies. ("We think there's a better way," Fadell says.)

    The result? Nest Protect, a square-shaped device with a perforated sunflower pattern that looks little like smoke detectors of decades past and more like a small set-top box or Mac Mini computer. Expected to arrive next month at U.S. retailers including Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Best Buy (BBY), and Home Depot (HD), Nest Protect will sell for $129 in white wired and battery-powered models. A black version will be sold exclusively via Nest's website.

    The Nest Protect changes the way users are notified of emergencies. With a feature called "Heads Up," a human voice pipes up with a message like, "Heads up. There's smoke in the dining room." It serves as an early warning if the device detects slowly rising smoke or CO levels. Instead of a traditional alarm, a female voice may also sound off at night in a home where children are sleeping, a decision Fadell made after reading a study that suggested that children are more likely to respond to a person's voice as opposed to loud beeping tones. If the threat is immediate, Nest Protect bypasses Heads Up and sounds an alarm instead. Regardless, turning off the alarm is a simple matter, thanks to built-in ultrasonic and activity sensors. Instead of climbing on top of a chair, one just has to wave their hand within six to eight feet of the device.

    A ring of LED lights serves several functions. It lights red during an emergency and briefly goes green after a user turns the lights off in the evening, to indicate sensors and battery energy levels are in good shape. The LED lights also illuminate when someone walks under them at night or merely wants a night light. And because Nest Protect has Wi-Fi connectivity, one model can communicate with others in different rooms, notifying someone in the bedroom about a basement fire. Wi-Fi also enables the user to control Nest Protect with an updated version of the same app used for Nest Thermostat.

    Releasing a smoke detector as its second product was the next logical choice for Nest, which employs around 170 people and has raised at least $80 million from backers including Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures (GOOG), and Shasta Ventures. Fadell had kicked the idea around for a while, and some Nest Thermostat owners had asked for one. There's also simply more business in the household alarm product category. "Three to four times more smoke detectors are sold per year than thermostats," Fadell admits.