Way back in October of last year, Ring announced “Ring Protect” — a modular, no contract, DIY home security system.
After a few delays, a bit of legal drama and Ring being acquired for a billion dollars by Amazon, the alarm is finally about to ship — albeit with a slightly different (better!) name.
Ring Protect has been redubbed as the more intuitive Ring Alarm — a better name if only because competitor Nest has both a security product and a totally different product (a smoke detector) called Nest Protect.
Ring’s base level alarm kit starts at $199, which includes a keypad (for arming/disarming the system), one door/window sensor, a motion detector and a range extender. You’ll probably want to add more components, and, fortunately, they’re relatively cheap: another door sensor, for example, is $20, while the motion detectors are $30.
Nest’s competing security system packs a few tricks that Ring’s doesn’t (Nest combined the door/motion sensors into one, for example, and it’s got a fancy RFID system for PIN-free disarming), but it also costs $200 more… and that’s after a $100 price drop that, presumably not by coincidence, just happened yesterday.
The system doesn’t require any sort of contract — but if you want professional monitoring, it’ll be $10 a month. That’s a pretty good deal, especially because if you’ve got any of Ring’s cameras (like its smart doorbell, or its floodlight cameras), that plan includes unlimited video storage for all of ’em.
Ring says it’s got more products on the way to expand the system, including smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and flood sensors.
Ring’s security system is up for pre-order now and, if all goes as planned, will start shipping on July 4th.
With Nest’s first smart video doorbell right around the corner, Amazon is busy buying up the competition. After acquiring Blink just two months ago, Amazon is now acquiring Ring, makers of the self-titled Ring doorbell (plus a bunch of other security gear, like solar security cameras, floodlight cameras, and a in-home security alarm). Geekwire broke the rumor this afternoon, and… 
The new design and branding are intended to be more appealing to traditional homeowners looking for something more appropriate for their existing decor, and less sci-fi – and there have been functional improvements to the product to boot. All told, the Ring has proven itself a terrific addition to my connected home setup, and one that proves its worth at a basic level more often than… 
It’s been almost a year since Takuro Yoshida and his team blew up Kickstarter with the Ring, a wearable that uses simple wand-like gestures to control gadgets in the home.
Promises abounded: You’ll be able to control the lights in your home with the flick of a finger. You’ll be able to change the song on your iPhone, turn up the music, or even snap a photo. 
