Google Nest

What do you like best?

I like that I can record videos, the wide angle, the wall mount and how I can turm the camera on and off remotely. I also like the feature in which it detects movement/speech and lets you know. It's very easy to set up and use, although you may need to request a device “sign up” in order to connect it with an organizational wifi (like a university wifi network).

What do you dislike?

I don't like that they don't accept p-cards/only accept personal credit cards. I had this issue and tried to resolve it and they didn't even tell me that this was the problem over multiple phone calls and support requests. I wasted a lot of time waiting for them to resolve the additional information needed for the payment method. I actually ended up deleting one accound and just made a new one with a personal credit card and the person was later on reimbursed, since updating the payment method took way too long, even after I sent them pictures of my passport and the card etc. Also, if someone wants really high video quality and to see details then this may not be for them.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Definitely a good tool for home security or for when you need to record sessions of anything in a low distraction environment. If you want a highly detailed video, then it may not be for you. This is a really good tool to use for: 1) training purposes: to observe how to do something live or after from the video and 2) for coding answers to questions by multiple raters, so one person can record answers during the session and then someone else can verify those answers by watching the recording, or watching live from some other place! The pricing is apparently supposed to change soon, however I like the price, although if recording isn't a priority then you may also use the free version.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I use this at a developmental lab in which I record the study sessions (with consent from parents). This way, I can have a small camera set up that won't distract the children, show the parents when I cam turning the camera on/off and allow them to watch live from another room on an ipad! It helps with decreasing distractions, such as having the parent in the room, a lot!