NextAlarm ABN

[Mike]

Verify it is fios. They have a dsl option in some areas. There is also two levels of service. For $10 cheaper you can get 10mbps down I think.

If you are truly hooked on cable, order fios (and port your number, it will show up in the cable company system then, call cable to cancel and they will put a specialist on the phone with you. You will get the option to get some of the lowest pricing they offer (which I think will be like the triple play minus a few bucks and one box, not positive on that). They will lock in the rate for two years for you.

I wound up getting more (2 boxes, one a hd dvr) for about the same as my post triple play price. They will buy out your contract to get you back if you switch and want to return (or at least I was told they would). I may be able to save a few bucks if I took them up on it, but as of this time I have no urge to. Based on that, you could try it, see how you like it and switch back if you prefer cable still. I think I wound up getting $100 in gift cards from Verizon as well.

I occasionally has stuttering on my VOIP (I do a lot of conference calls so use it a bit) it was rare but I would notice it at least once a week. Now I never have to worry about that (they did note they would put a tech on the issue if I wanted to stay).

Hope this helps.

 

[Digger]

I emailed NextAlarm yesterday and I have not recevied a response yet. I also called today but they would not let me talk to Dan but put me through to a Tech Support person who told me I have to use the ABN. When I asked about going directly to the receiver with the ELK he did not seem to understand.

I will wait and see if they answer my email but to be honest I am not to impressed so far. I will give them until the end of the week. If I dont hear back I will do some more research unless I hear that others really love the ABN.

 

[rfdesq]

I opened a ticket with NextAlarm when this thread resurfaced. I specifically asked that they ask Dan to jump back here to answer some questions. I never got a response either.

 

[Mike]

I need to configure my system more and play with it more.

I will say (and it may just be ignorance!) that I did not see a lot of offerings similar to NextAlarm. They focused heavily on supporting data collection and viewing via the internet (and a variety of notification options).

I was frustrated with the 'it's coming' and then nothing regarding direct internet monitoring as well. However, there must be something tied to this as it is not something others have (it would be a strategic advantage).

I figured for the amount I spent on the equipment (Damn that total function in the Automated Outlet account history!) a hundred dollars (really a little less as three months of monitoring come with it) was not a big price to get some of the functionality that was listed. If it doesnt work, there is no contractual commitment. You can cancel monitoring at anytime (will just cost a little more per month). You may even be able to return the ABN but I wouldn't hold your breath on that one.

Time will tell.

Business idea out there: Setup internet based monitoring and sell it to the other monitoring companies by converting to their native formats. Sell the black box (so you don't have to worry about the secure/redundant setup environment) as a packaged solution they can deploy on site. Then again, not sure on the size of the target market, which may be why we haven't seen movement. I suspect the hesitation may be tied more to liability (although that can be disclaimed away) due to less reliability of ethernet service. Then again perhaps not, the ABN is similar just using a proprietary product.

On that note, they are being asked to shoot themselves in the foot so to speak: They get money from monitoring and from hardware sales. That investment ties their customers to them alone (the ABN cannot be used with others). No one else supports the ethernet monitoring at this time so it is not affecting them to not have it. Yet on the other hand, if they do offer it, they lose their hardware revenue (which could be at any stage in the payback) and their lock in of those looking for that functionality. This is the real reason why I suspect you will not see them do it without other changes in the market. I may be cynical (and may be completey off base), but I also can't blame the logic there. Unless someone else offers it, why should they offer this and give up their other advantages and revenue?

Regardless, they seem to offer more functionality than the competition (again, I may be missing things though). With no contracts, your exposure is about $55 when you factor in the free monitoring (assuming you used the service for the three free months only). They also don't seem content to stay put, they appear to have been adding in functionality. Listen in, camera support, etc. On that front though, why not add other functionality that all can use, versus functionality that a small fraction can use.

I'm happy to share my experience as I get it better configured and use more of their services. So far it seems good.

 

[Steve]

That's disappointing. I think many people (including myself) signed up with NextAlarm at least in part due to Dan being being here answering questions, much like people buying into Elk because of Spanky, etc. I have been using the straight dialup stuff with NextAlarm but was anticipating the direct connect also. With the lack of responses if another vendor comes up with a direct solution I would not hesitate to jump ship, whereas I think I would be alot more loyal and wait with better communication from NA.

 

[Digger]

I didnt try and call Nextlarm again today but its been two days and no reply to my email from Monday. I dont think I will ever get a reply but I will wait a few more days before giving up on them.

I really havent heard anything negative about them but I am concerned about there unresponsiveness.

 

[ctwilliams]

I didnt try and call Nextlarm again today but its been two days and no reply to my email from Monday. I dont think I will ever get a reply but I will wait a few more days before giving up on them.

I really havent heard anything negative about them but I am concerned about there unresponsiveness.

I emailed several days ago and asked that my mail be forwarded to Dan (whatever his last name is) and have received no reply either.

 

[DeLicious]

well, I must give my opinion.. NextAlarm is great. I opened a ticket (albeit, as a paying customer, and not with regard to the Elk) and got a response the next day. For me, their customer service has been excellent.

 

[rfdesq]

well, I must give my opinion.. NextAlarm is great. I opened a ticket (albeit, as a paying customer, and not with regard to the Elk) and got a response the next day. For me, their customer service has been excellent.

I agree. When it comes to NextAlarm questions the support response is quick and accurate. When it comes to Dan Elliot the response is silence.

 

[ctwilliams]

well, I must give my opinion.. NextAlarm is great. I opened a ticket (albeit, as a paying customer, and not with regard to the Elk) and got a response the next day. For me, their customer service has been excellent.

I agree. When it comes to NextAlarm questions the support response is quick and accurate. When it comes to Dan Elliot the response is silence.

I received an email last night from Dan in response to my inquiry on their website:

------------------------
Hi CT,

Thanks for the e-mail. The Elk receiver has been pushed back a bit. I stopped posting on Cocoontech because I never seemed to have any real updates on that question. The sad fact is other projects (video, two-way voice, E-Notify enhancements) came to the forefront. We still have the receiver and it will be integrated with our web servers, but I can't say exactly when.

Dan Elliot

-----------------------


I guess that answers that question. It was good to get an update, even if a bad one. It looks like it will be some time before the Elk integration. I would assume that they would make more money off the other projects than they would with the, I would assume, relatively small number of people that would use that function. I wonder if it is a lot more work to integrate it into their system than they initially thought?

 

[Digger]

well, I must give my opinion.. NextAlarm is great. I opened a ticket (albeit, as a paying customer, and not with regard to the Elk) and got a response the next day. For me, their customer service has been excellent.

I agree. When it comes to NextAlarm questions the support response is quick and accurate. When it comes to Dan Elliot the response is silence.

I received an email last night from Dan in response to my inquiry on their website:

------------------------
Hi CT,

Thanks for the e-mail. The Elk receiver has been pushed back a bit. I stopped posting on Cocoontech because I never seemed to have any real updates on that question. The sad fact is other projects (video, two-way voice, E-Notify enhancements) came to the forefront. We still have the receiver and it will be integrated with our web servers, but I can't say exactly when.

Dan Elliot

-----------------------


I guess that answers that question. It was good to get an update, even if a bad one. It looks like it will be some time before the Elk integration. I would assume that they would make more money off the other projects than they would with the, I would assume, relatively small number of people that would use that function. I wonder if it is a lot more work to integrate it into their system than they initially thought?

I got an email this morning saying about the same thing. But they also stated they never received any previous emails from me but I have the ticket numbers for some (maybe all). It might be that I am not a paying customer yet.

Anyway no big deal. Now we know.

I might buy an ABN and give it a try. From what I see here people who have it love it so its worth the time and money to try it.

 

[CollinR]

Has anyone actually had NextAlarm dispatch?

 

[rfdesq]

Has anyone actually had NextAlarm dispatch?

Yes.

 

[DeLicious]

also yes

 

[Dan_NA]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I stopped posting here. The sole reason for that was I never had any updates on our Elk IP support, and since that's what the security forum here is all about, I didn't see a reason to keep posting. I see now that that wasn't the right thing to do, and I'll be around from now on to answer questions. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to let me know.

That said, Elk IP support is still in the pipe, but not near the top. Our video service, the VoIPAlarm receiver (which is of great interest to central stations, probably not as much to people posting here) and a few other things took precedence over it. Our development resources are limited, and while the Osbourne-Hoffman receiver is a great product and an exciting opportunity for us, it doesn't have as broad an appeal as some other things. We have the receiver and we will integrate it into our service, but I can't say exactly when.

Please reply to this thread with any questions or comments. I promise I will read and reply