Nucleus Anywhere Intercom with Amazon Alexa, 2 Pack

I bought these from Amazon.com as they are not yet available in the UK, but they arrived quickly and with the minimum of fuss.I'm powering them using POE so no need for wall adapters. Nicely boxed, well presented and very easy to setup and install. Alexa didn't work very well when first installed, but it had not been launched in the UK, so I wasn't expecting it to. It does now, after a fashion, but I expect the services available via Alexa to increase and work a little better.The intercoms themselves now work fine, there were some early issues with them freezing and needing to be reset which has been cured by a firmware update (delivered automatically). I have to say I have been incredibly impressed with the customer support. When I mentioned the freezing issue, they said that others had it and they were working on a fix. I received surveys both before and after the firmware update to check that the problem had been dealt with. Any queries have been dealt with almost instantaneously.Now to the intercoms themselves. I was looking for something like this for a while, not necessarily with video, but a simple push to talk intercom for several rooms in the house. I investigated the cheaper alternatives (cheap android tablets with Skype or Zello), but I would have struggled to power these, have them always on, wall mount them, have simple push to talk without any other apps visible and have them locked down so they could not be fiddled with and therefore no longer work as required. Yes, Nucleus is expensive, but once I totted up all the extra bits and pieces I would need to make an alternative system work it didn't seem so bad. It is a nicely polished system, that I only expect to get better with future updates.I will certainly be buying some more.

I've had this product for almost 2 years and it's ok. It's fine for video calling, but it's not an Echo Show or a wall mounted iPad. Think of it as a dedicated video phone with some minor Alexa capabilities.I bought the two pack to help my aging mother who lives an hour away to keep in touch with my young daugter. As a video calling device, it's simple and effective. I don't think I've had any calling issues. The killer feature is the ability to set the device up to auto-answer, so my mother doesn't have to click anything or load any apps. We can just drop in on her at any time. Sometimes I call her and I can see that she isn't home.The other great feature is the single click to connect icon with a photograph. It's super easy for my daughter (who was 3 when we first got it) to call her grandmother without any help from a grown up. Now that she is able to read and use a tablet, the feature isn't so important now that she can just ask her mom to Facetime people. My son is still very young so the feature may become in handy again in the future.The mobile app is fine for calling between app and Nucleus, but you can't use the app to call another app.I took off 2 stars because it pretty much only functions for video chat. The Alexa function works for the basics like weather, music, timers, and a few skills but don't expect much else from it. Also the the mic is seriously low end. It doesn't have the sophisticated array of mics like the Echo does, so you basically have to be sitting in front of it to use Alexa. I keep mine hanging on a wall in my office next to my desk and I mostly just turn the Alexa function off because it seems like I have to lean close to it and speak in a loud voice for it to hear me, yet Alexa speaks up all the time when I'm not talking to her.To sum it up: it's handy as a simple video calling device. It's a poor substitute for an Echo.

I was a little hesitant to try this new smart home product as I am generally not tech savvy and technology despite its intended purpose, tends to make my life more unnecessarily complicated than it already is. The Nucleus Intercom sounded like another gadget that I would never figure out how to use and would soon be relegated to a forgotten drawer never to be utilized. We were looking into intercom systems for our house anyway and I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try. After utilizing the various features of the Nucleus I can honestly say this is a revolutionary product that I now cannot imagine living without. Below are my thoughts on the product and why I consider it indispensable.PROSSET UP- Like I said, I am not technologically savvy, so this was the part I feared the most. (I once spent the better part of a week setting up a nanny cam which ultimately was not successful and ended with the device in the trash and my fist in the wall). Setting up the Nucleus was a breeze. Plug it in, set the stand up, and follow the step by step instructions to connect to your home wifi. That's it. Set it and forget it. If you want to add users to your network, that's easy too and can be done via email by signing up for an account. Using a smartphone App with the product is also just as easy. I couldn't believe that the product was up and working in minutes instead of the hours I had set aside. I used that extra time for playing around and discovering the features...EASE OF USE - Simple to follow. Group folks into in network and out of network. One touch and I can access whomever I want. As an intercom system, it has made getting the kids downstairs for dinner a simple task. We use it as a baby monitor as well. It also provides security when we are in other areas of the house. The possibilities are endless. Everytime I think I've exhausted all the possible ways to utilize this technology, I find another use. Just the other day, we realized the kids (3 and 18 months) can easily figure out how to call their grandparents whenever they want and they actually connect with no efforts every time. Contrast that with facetime and skype which always fail and dont have that instant connectivity that the Nucleus enables. It has made dinner time and family time just that much less stressful.QUALITY - Despite reading some negative reviews about the video quality, I have never had any issues at all. I actually think its as good as face time if not better. Audio is crystal clear with none of that intercom or phone feedback.PRIVACY - This was also a concern of mine initially fearing that the technology would lead to unwanted interruptions and privacy violations. Again completely unfounded. There's a cover for privacy and a do not disturb mode, so you can easily disconnect when you don't want tech interfering in your life. Its amazing how simple and easy it is to get away from it when you want to.CONSThe Nucleus comes up with some additional bells and whistles that I don't utilize, but are also pretty cool. It integrates with Alexa and Phillips Hue lightbulb system, but those are products I dont use. For some other consumers, this would obviously be a pretty cool PRO, but its outside of what I need.Overall, I can't recommend this product enough. Whether as an intercom, a family connecting device, or one of the myriad in between creative uses, this product is a total game changer.