This is the only Christmas gift for all online shoppers

“Why should I need one?” asks my slightly conservative husband, who prefers a DVD player over a Netflix account. “I just want a cord!” I still hear him exclaim when another app needs to be downloaded to get the new washing machine running. I get him, really. Innovation is only okay if it brings improvement, and sometimes we go overboard with hassle. We are writers, not technical early adopters.

But we do order packages. And I find it incredibly annoying when they are just thrown in front of the door and I find them under a sad blanket of rain-soaked cardboard on my doorstep after a long day at work. So when an invitation came for a Ring meeting, I was immediately up for it. If only to convince my love.

A boy's book

I heard so much more than I expected. That Ring is a typical garage startup: the American equivalent of a company that started in an attic. Started in a garage in 2012 and acquired by Amazon in 2018. That’s definitely boy's book material. And Ring is so much more than a doorbell, I learned that too.

Hands-free

Yes, of course it’s wonderful when I see on my phone that someone is at the door and I can tell the delivery person, even without pressing a button, that he can slide today’s catch under the table. If you have a Ring echo device, you can talk to the front door via Alexa and Alexa can then tell you who is there. So if you’re cooking, changing a diaper, or baking a pot, you can still talk hands-free via Ring with the person on the other side.

Also handy if you’re on your way but running late, and your friend with whom you have a walking date is already at the door. Or the cleaner. It gives me a nice feeling during vacations that I can just pretend our house is occupied. If someone rings the bell, I can at least respond via the Ring doorbell and pretend we’re home. Moreover, such a camera greatly deters potential burglars. They better watch out.

So much more than a doorbell

Ring has grown into a complete security system with indoor and outdoor cameras. Ring also has sensors that notify you when a window or door opens. Ring has what they call a holistic approach; they want to keep you close to your loved ones. That’s why you can use indoor cameras to see if your dog is having a good time while you’re at work. You can move that camera 360 degrees and it has night vision, so even if you’re away in the evening, you can see where your furry friend is. Because your new lover or your guests might not appreciate having a camera pointed at them, you can turn off those indoor cameras with a click. You can even turn a switch on the Indoor Camera so that the camera is automatically turned off.

There are different types of doorbells, depending on your wishes. For types like my love, you can take a simple Ring doorbell that is connected to your home’s electricity network. Or if you prefer, you can choose a variant that works on batteries.

How brilliant is the panic button

But you can go as far as you want. What seems ideal to me, for example, is the panic button that you can press if something is really wrong. If you do that, your loved ones, best friends, or whoever you have designated will get a signal that something is wrong with you. Super nice for our fathers and mothers. And there is also a glass break sensor that alerts you if a window breaks and there is likely a burglary.
Smart head who can still resist this. I am Ring-ified, if only because they now have indoor cameras in five different colors!

And then this

You can save the Ring camera footage for a certain period, so you can always hit someone with it. So if my love has no idea what he wants for Christmas again this year, I now know what will make him happy.