The Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro isn't cheap at $249, but it's prettier and more sophisticated than the similarly priced Ring Video Doorbell Pro ($249) and the Nest Hello ($229). Vivint offers one of the best professionally installed and monitored smart home/home security solutions on the market, but you don't necessarily need to buy the entire system to deploy this doorbell. You will, however, want to sign up for the ostensibly optional cloud storage plan, which costs $4.99 per month. Without that plan, you only see a live view from the camera (Ring's doorbells and security cameras have the same limitation.) But Vivint will install this doorbell for you at no additional cost, even if your home doesn't already have the low-voltage wiring in place that it depends on for power.

Vivint Smart Home has announced the Outdoor Camera Pro, a new security camera that it says can detect a potential intruder and warn them they are being watched, encouraging them to leave the area. If the camera detects someone hanging around a monitored area, it sounds a warning tone, turns on a red LED encircling the camera's lens, and sends a push notification to your smartphone. You can customize the schedule when lurker monitoring is active, so you're not overwhelmed with alerts. Like the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, Vivint's new outdoor camera is outfitted with a 4K HDR image sensor, but both cameras have lower bandwidth requirements than the new Arlo Ultra 4K camera because they stream video in 1080p resolution. The advantage of using a higher-resolution image sensor comes into play when you zoom the recorded footage to examine details, such as facial features or to read a car's license plate. You can customize how the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro monitors your property so you're not bombarded with alerts.

Before now, smart-home-as-a-service provider Vivint was happy to sell you a smart speaker--either an Amazon Echo or a Google Home--on top of its other offerings. Today, the company announced that it has partnered with Google to include two Google Home Minis in all its starter packages. Amazon had a long head start with Vivint, a Utah-based company that sells and services custom-installed smart home systems. Customers could use Amazon's Alexa digital assistant and Echo devices with Vivint Smart Home for months and months before they were able to do the same with Google Assistant and Google Home hardware. I know, because there's a Vivint system in my own home.

When one product is better in one aspect, but it's competitor is stronger in another, the easy answer is to recommend both. You might want a Sony TV in your home theater, for instance, but Anthem's A/V receiver, Bowers & Wilkins' speakers, and a subwoofer from SVS. Well that dog won't hunt when it comes to smart speakers, especially if you're looking to control your smart home. No one wants to remember one wake word to turn on a light, a second to stream music, and a third to lock the front door. With this in mind, I evaluated the two most popular smart speakers--Amazon Echo and Google Home--using seven important criteria, but giving smart home control the heaviest weight. If you can't stand the suspense, my current opinion is that the Amazon Echo series is superior to the Google Home series.

Echo Plus is one of the latest Alexa-enabled devices. You'd like to say "Alexa, turn off the lights," or "Alexa, lock the door," and have it all happen without you having to get up out of your lounge chair. No question, but it will cost you. Based on the costs of purchasing items, trying to install them and then giving up and then paying someone else for installation, USA TODAY estimates a figure of at least $2,200 to get started with smart lighting, doorbell, lock, thermostat and security. Compared to the options a few years ago, that's a bargain.

But I encountered a significant difference using Google Home devices to control my Vivint Smart Home system compared to Amazon's Echo. When I say "OK Google, turn on my kitchen lights," the Google Assistant responds "OK, here's Vivint." He said if Vivint were to choose the other method, which would allow the Google Assistant to control the home more directly, Vivint would need to allow Google to access the state of the home on a full-time basis. I was told it explains how Google's smart home API works for third parties that integrate directly.

For the 2017 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, smart home innovator Vivint decided to announce not one but three major partnerships and a brand new artificially intelligent home assistant. After revealing collaborations with the accommodations giant Airbnb, solar leader Vivint Solar, and Citizens Bank, Vivint also lifted the veil on its new smart device secretary, Sky. Perhaps equally as impressive as the announcements was Vivint's own CES booth, which showed off its array of smart-home gear and highlighted the new additions. Concerning its link with Airbnb, Vivint aims to give users of the housing service keyless access to rented properties, the capability to greet and verify customers via its doorbell camera, and 24/7 home security and monitoring. To help Airbnb hosts with the transition, Vivint says it will provide its professional team of smart-home pro installers to take the lead on setting up an entire home or apartment.

A version of this essay was originally published at Tech.pinions, a website dedicated to informed opinions, insight and perspective on the tech industry. There has been a lot of talk recently about advancements in the smart home arena, especially about new ways to control smart home devices. I have heard Amazon's Echo referred to as a smart home device, and just this week, web service IFTTT announced new partnerships that are intended to allow smart home devices to connect in an automated fashion to other devices and services. However, what we're still missing when it comes to the smart home is a true smart home assistant -- a counterpart, if you will, to the smart assistants that come baked into every modern smartphone operating system. This post dives into what that means in practice, and who might be best positioned to deliver on this vision.