today we're taking a look at the Zhu Li
smart plug a Bluetooth connected outlet
that's going on sale at major vendors
now for 60 bucks now this is the first
connected outlet that works with nest
which has pretty significant
ramifications for a big population of
consumers you probably know that
bluetooth can be pretty spotty but the
Zhu lis smart plug really gets the most
out of that technology now this may look
ridiculous but part of what it does is
it calibrates the Zhu Li smart plug to
be able to know when you enter the room
and when you leave the room so when I
took my phone and held it at the edge of
a room it was accurate within six to
eight inches of whether it was in the
room or out of the room the plug itself
doesn't even come with an instructional
booklet the app simply guides you
through step by step how to set up the
plug similarly setting up zones in my
house and walking around and waving my
phone all over to try to calibrate the
plug was involved but it was fun it
wasn't complicated
despite its strengths the Zhu Li smart
plug has three major drawbacks first
there's no remote access for when you're
not directly connected to your plugs
through bluetooth second the Bluetooth
range does struggle a little bit in
larger houses and third to take full
advantage of the presents technology
which is what works with nest you have
to dish out a hundred and sixty bucks to
get at least three plugs that said
anybody who is interested in nest in the
future of its integration technology
should really try to keep the Zhu Li on
their radar for more coverage on our
smart outlets and plugs check us out on
cnet.com for CNN appliances I'm Dave
prease
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