Nest, the Google subsidiary devoted to home automation, announced a refresh to its product line Wednesday, which includes a second-generation smoke detector, a unified Nest app, and the rebranded Dropcam, now called “Nest Cam”. Almost a year ago today, four months after being acquired by Google, Nest bought Dropcam for $555 million. Over the past twelve months Dropcam has been redeveloped into Nest Cam, which early observes have noted, seems very similar to the previous Dropcam Pro. Product development appears to have focused on integration into the Nest ecosystem, and rebranding. Nest Cam records 1080p video with a 130-degree field of view, and has infrared night vision. There’s a microphone built in so you can hear and be heard in your home, and it will alert you in a smartphone app if there’s unexpected motion and sound in your home. It’s a Dropcam Pro, just slightly better. Dropcam’s back-end service for watching and storing your […]