Nest launches its first product since becoming part of Google: A smart camera called 'Nest Cam'

Nest, the smart thermostat and fire alarm company that Google bought last year, is launching a new smart camera, the company announced at a press conference in San Francisco.

Called "Nest Cam," the device is essentially a new-and-improved version of the Dropcam camera that it acquired for $555 million last June.

Nest Cam marks the first new product the company has launched since Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion in January 2014 and the first major integration we've seen between Nest and Dropcam.

The new product will be easier to set up and place around your house (with a versatile stand with a magnet on the bottom), and have higher resolution and better night vision than the original Dropcam camera.

It will also have audio capabilities that will let you use it kind of like a walkie-talkie. For example, if you see on your Nest Cam stream that your cat is on the table, you can make it say "Get Off!" to your cat out loud.

It's available starting today and shipping next week for $199. Nest Aware, the online service that will let users store their video streaming history, will cost $10 per month.

The company also announced that it's revamping all of its other products so that they work better together, and releasing a new app to make product integration more seamless.

"Our products will work together, talking securely and safely, doing more together than they can do independently," Fadell said at the press conference.

For example, if you own a Nest Protect smoke alarm and it senses a problem, it will automatically tell your Nest Thermostat to turn of your heating system, since carbon monoxide leaks cause a huge number of accidental deaths in the US. Or, if your Nest Protect smoke alarm is going off, you can switch over to your Nest Cam video feed, to see if there's an issue before deciding whether to turn the alarm off or take emergency action.

Here's a look at the new connected home app:

It's second edition Nest Protect smoke alarm has new sensors that make it better at detecting both "fast" and "slow" fires, and is better at preventing false alarms. The company is also fixing a common complaint that users had and making it easier to silence the alarm: You can now turn off the beeping with a simple tap of an app.

Nest says that it started from scratch with this new model, to make it much more sensitive than the last one - including to detecting fires from different materials - and put it through laborious testing (and it self-tests constantly). This edition will last 10 years, versus the 7 year life-line of the first.

Nest's mission is to re-invent "unloved products" people own - like thermostats and smoke detectors - and create a more "thoughtful home."

In May, Google announced a new Internet of Things system called Project Brillo which will work with Nest products, and Works With Nest products, including this new one. Nest said at the press conference that 9,000 companies are currently working on Works With Nest Products.

We'll be updating live with more information and photos, but here's the leaked image of the device surfaced Droid Report earlier this month:

Here's a photo from the press conference: