Nest Protect looks unlike any other smoke detector (pictures)

The Nest Protect's blue light shines during setup and testing.

From the side, the Nest Protect is about as thin as a standard-issue smoke detector.

The Nest Protect blends in about as well as a traditional smoke detector.

Box contents. The simple packaging is welcome.

A yellow light indicates a warning but not a full-blown emergency.

The Nest Protect glows green when all is well and to let you know that it's done testing its surroundings.

The red light shines when smoke or carbon monoxide are at emergency levels.

From the front, the futuristic Nest Protect looks cooler (and a little more like Hal 9000) than this run-of-the-mill model.

The Nest's instruction manual is a thing of beauty compared with those of traditional detectors.

The Nest Protect compared with a traditional CO detector.

The Nest Protect is a little larger than a standard smoke detector, and also, in our opinion, better looking.