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99View at Best Buy$249. 99View at Kohl's?Like the Nest Protect, the OneLink Safe and Sound detects smoke and carbon monoxide, sends an alert to your smartphone, and tells you the type and location of the fire or condition. But for those times when it's not warning you of fire, you can use it for a great many other things. With Amazon's Alexa and a very competent 10 watt speaker, the Safe and Sound can play music, listen to audiobooks, and access Alexa's thousands of skills. It's also compatible with Apple's HomeKit. However, the Safe and Sound requires a hard wired connection, and we found that the location of these connections doesn't make it the most conducive for using all of Alexa's capabilities.

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So in a way, your fancy new doorbell camera could be considered an infringement on your neighbor’s privacy. And the last thing you want is a disgruntled neighbor. Even if it’s not required by law, it’s best practice to run it by your neighbors before installing a doorbell camera. First up, we have the Ring Doorbell — the industry standard. The Ring Video Doorbell 2 is 100% compatible with Alexa. This powerful combination of devices lets you view, listen, and speak with visitors at your door.

 

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Plus, Ring's app has a neighborhood watch feature, which lets you see what's happening in your hood from other Ring users, as well as police and fire departments. Unfortunately, to view recorded video, you'll need to subscribe to Ring's cloud storage plans, which start at $30/year. Read our full Ring Floodlight Camera review. 53 View at Amazon$215. 99View at Best Buy$249View at Walmart?For those looking for a less expensive outdoor security system, the Arlo Pro costs just $189 for a single camera/base station setup; the newer Arlo Pro 2 is $299. The main tradeoff?The Arlo Pro records video at 720p versus 1080p for the Arlo Pro 2. Otherwise, you get a generous storage plan, a two way audio, a weatherproof camera and an excellent app with a lot of features. Read our full Arlo Pro review. Reasons to BuyExcellent audio, daylight videoReasonable cloud storage plansSimple to use, flexible softwareReasons to AvoidBlurry night videoMobile app not optimized for tabletsCord isn't fully weatherproof$94. 99 View at Amazon$99. 99View at Walmart$99.