Ring Products And Why I Love Them—And Why You Will Too

The Criticisms Of The System, According To CNet Are:

1. It is not terribly innovative.
2. It is not compatible with Alexa or any other smart home platforms (temporary shortcoming)

Cnet Also Highlights Where The System Excels:

1. It’s simplicity
2. It’s $199 price tag
3. It’s ease of installation
4. It is an ala cart system that you can customize for your needs
5. Great app
6. Easy to navigate and manage
7. Low monitoring monthly fee ($10)
8. Bought by Amazon in February of 2018—so integration with Alexa is probably a given in the very near future

The pros far outnumber the cons…

As you can see from the graphic below, the Ring Alarm Security Kit clearly stands out in terms of its low price. Not only is the starter kit the least expensive of the bunch, so is it’s optional $10-per-month professional monitoring and included cellular backup. The Ring is just the biggest bang for the buck. As mentioned, it has limitations, it is not currently compatible with other smart home platforms, but Amazon has this fix in the works, and I would wager the Amazon Cloud Cam camera compatibility will tag along as well. It is too obvious a miss, for the very smart people at Amazon not to integrate this low hanging fruit into their Ring portfolio.  Amazon also plans to add a leak sensor and other devices at some point. And while your Ring security cameras and video doorbells ($250 at Amazon) live in the same app as the Ring Alarm Security Kit, there aren’t any direct integrations between them today. Again, I am predicting this will change, in the very near future.

The Big Ones For Me:

1. The low cost of the initial equipment
2. The low monthly monitoring
3. The Amazon ownership
4. Great assortment of products in the assortment
5. Ease of installation
6. Really good app

DIY Alarm Comparison—A Head To Head Look At The Ring And Its Competitors.

Ring Alarm 1 vs Competitors 0

From Here Let’s Take A Look At The Security Cams…

The Flood Light Cam was our first Ring purchase. It was relatively easy to install in the spot we had a regular floodlight. I am not the handy type, but it was a simple installation after watching a You Tube video. and I used my existing wiring. I guess you could say this is where the Ring romance started. The geeks at Tech Hive, summed up my opinion perfectly, when they said, “Ring built a better mouse trap.” The competitors are coming out of the woodwork, but few have built a better smart doorbell. Kuma and Netatmo introduced a version in 2016. But the real competitor pool is only now starting to take shape.

• The Presence Camera has onboard storage in the form of a 16 GB microSD memory card. It does not have a cloud storage option.
• Netgear’s Indoor/Outdoor Arlo Pro 2 has 5 days of storage for up to five cameras
• Maximus Camera Floodlight
• Nest has cameras, (Nest Cam Outdoor and the Nest Can IQ Outdoor) but no floodlights come with the camera
• RCA Floodlight Cam
• Versonel Nightwatcher Pro Motorized LED Security Motion Tracking Floodlight with Camera
• Freecam Floodlight Camera Motion-Activated HD Security Cam
• Solla 22W Led Security Floodlight Camera
• DIGOO Floodlight Outdoor Cam

Tom’s Guide verdict was spot on. There are a lot of new players in this space, but Ring dominates with strong lights, sharp camera focus, and a great app that makes Ring Floodlight Cam the best at securing and illuminating your yard. They gave it a 4.5 out of 5. I could not agree more! I really like the neighborhood watch feature and I am also a huge fan of the night vision capabilities on the Ring Floodlight cam. This You Tube video review below really drives home for me why this is a superior product.

Of the competitors above, The Maximus is by far viewed as the closest competitor to the Ring and positioned as a substitute—but as you can see from this side by side review by Lifehacker, it does not measure up!

Now Let’s Mosey On Down The Road To Look At The Ring Doorbell…

The geeks over at Wirecutter tested 7 DIY smart doorbells for 330 hours and came away ranking the Ring Doorbell the best. For people wanting to screen and record visitors, as well as check on deliveries (combat those notorious porch pirates), the Ring Doorbell is for you. It alerts you to motion faster than most doorbells, and reliably records video in 1080p and audio and can be powered by existing doorbell wiring or by a removable rechargeable battery.

The folks at Wirecutter liken it to a “cross between a modestly aggressive guard dog and a trusty digital butler.” I could not agree more.

We primarily use it to see my 13-year-old daughter into the house when she gets off the bus after school. We use it to track packages and monitor them on our porch. We use it to screen visitors that show up unannounced, peddlers, solicitors and door to door missionaries. We use it as a security device that protects the front area of the house… the Ring is our eyes and ears to the street front.

The Nest Hello is ranked high on this list. It has the slimmest profile and is widely viewed as the most advanced DIY doorbell system on the market, according to the people at Wirecutter. And for the advanced features that comes with this juggernaut, i.e., it records 24/7 video, it also tags clips that detect motion, and it utilizes facial recognition software, the price tag is quite hefty. In multiple reviews, the word overkill was thrown around a bit. The subscription is also on the pricey side, topping out at $30 a month.  

The Competitive Landscape In No Particular Order:

1. Aunex WIFi Doorbell 
2. Awakingdemi WiFi Doorbell 
3. Nest Hello
4. Debark Smart Video Doorbell
5. Skybell
6. Arlo Audio Doorbell
7. Zmodo Greet Smart Doorbell

For my money and purposes, the Ring Doorbell more than delivers.

Ring Doorbell 1 vs. Competitors 1.25

And Finally Let’s Look At The Outdoor Camera Comparisons

The Ring Stick Up Cam again is my choice, but let’s see what the tech experts at H.A. Reports have to say.  They compared the Homeboy, Blink, Butterfleye, Arlo, Canary Flex and Ring Stickup outdoor cams.

They start with the Homeboy. Its battery powered and completely cordless. But because it is 100% battery powered, the hardware is not as powerful. It has been around the longest. It has low resolution and cannot livestream. These two limitations make it a hard pass for me.

Blink excels in the power department, and also has excellent night vision technology. Blink uses IR LED night vision. These cordless models have the strongest battery life of models without cords.  The camera can live stream and record at a higher resolution. Blink Cameras offer a two-year battery life. The excellent battery life is owed to a technology called Sync Module. Sync is a base system that must remain plugged into a wall. Though the individual Blink Cameras are cordless, the entire system is not 100% cordless. However, the latest Sync module, launching soon, will add 4G Cellular and battery backup, so your cameras will continue to function even without internet and power. Blink has a monitoring plan, $19.99 a month. The cons on the Blink system are 1.) Not having a rechargeable battery, 2.) It requires the Sync module.

The Butterfyeye is 100% cordless and can operate without an internet connection. The one feature that really appeals to me is that the Butterfleye is smart enough to know and distinguish between a human a dog and an object. I also really like the software that helps you go through footage faster. It only sends you the stuff you really need to see. I also love that it has facial recognition. The main cons is that it only has a 2-week battery life.