Amazon Completes Purchase Of Smart Doorbell Maker Ring

Amazon has completed its acquisition of smart home company provider Ring, which it purchased back in February.

Amazon paid more than $1 billion (£699m) for Ring, which is most famous for its smart doorbell. However the firm alongside its video doorbells, also provides security cameras and camera equiped floodlights to provide a ‘ring’ of security around people’s homes.

To celebrate the move Amazon has permantely dropped the price of the first ieration of its smart doorbell from $180 (£126) to $100 (£69).

Ring purchase

Amazon announced the completion of the deal and said that two companies will work together to accelerate Ring’s mission to “reduce crime in neighbourhoods with affordable, effective home security products and services.”

“Our mission to reduce crime in neighbourhoods has been at the core of everything we do at Ring,” said Jamie Siminoff, CEO and Chief Inventor of Ring.

“Together with Amazon, we will accelerate our mission dramatically by connecting more neighbours globally and making our security devices and systems more affordable and accessible,” he said. “The entire Ring team is excited to continue working hard to create products and services that bring real benefits to people’s lives and build safer communities for all our neighbours.”

Amazon has been making a number of moves in the smart home sector lately. It purchased Blink, a smart home company in December. This firm sells battery-powered smart doorbells and security cameras.

The speculation is that Amazon will seek to integrate Alexa into these products going forward. Amazon has already made considerable inroads into people’s homes with its Alexa powered Echo smart speaker products.

“Ring’s talented team has invented home security products and services that customers love,” said Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices and Services.

“We’re excited about their work, their products and their mission, and look forward to teaming together to keep delighting customers. And this is just the beginning – we will continue to move quickly and work hard to empower customers with a suite of security solutions that provide an affordable, effective way to secure homes and neighbourhoods.”

Device prices

Amazon’s is not reducing the price of Ring’s monthly cloud subscription (that allows people to access any saved video captured by the doorbell).

Customers can however use the doorbell without this subscription and just utilise the live video feed.

It is also not reducing the price of its second generation Ring doorbell, which offers a higher resolution camera and which is priced at $199 (£140).

But Ring is cheaper than some of its rivals.

For example Nest’s smart doorbell is $229 (£210).

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