Gadgetory

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