Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased a Nest thermostat several days ago based on the recommendations of various people (all Apple lovers) and favorable reviews. The Nest is elegant, and it does have an Apple-like look, but I didn't like it. I tried to convince myself that I would learn to like the Nest by repeating over and over, "The Nest is a neat thermostat, you're going to love it. The Nest is a neat thermostat, you're going to love it.", but it didn't work. The Nest has a number of annoying features that bugged me to the point where I had to get rid of it. I returned the Nest, and I purchased a Honeywell RTH9580 "Smart Thermostat". * The temperature swings allowed by the Nest are much wider than any Honeywell thermostat I've owned. Honeywell thermostats keep the temperature to within +/- 1 deg. of the set point; Nest seems to have a tolerance of either +/- 2 or +/- 3 deg. (other reviewers say +/- 3). Sometimes the area was too cool, and other times it was too warm. The main purpose of a thermostat is to keep the temperature stable, not to look pretty. This much temperature variation just isn't acceptable. * I really missed having the current temperature, set temperature and humidity displayed on the front of the unit. And I missed having the display stay on so that I could glance at it without stopping to get its attention. Here are the advantages of the Honeywell RTH9580 over the Nest: * Better temperature control: +/- 1 deg. rather than +/- 3 deg. * Continuous display of current temperature, set temperature and humidity. You don't have to stand there while the Nest figures out you want its attention. * Ability to schedule automatic/no/circulate fan mode for each period. * Easily selectable permanent or temporary temperature hold with a simple button press. (The Nest is the only thermostat I've ever seen that didn't have an easy way to permanently hold a temperature.) * Ability to set the number of days you'll be away on vacation. * Simpler and clearer guidance as to how to configure gas heat and electric A/C which I have. I got it wrong with the Nest. * Ability to set a +/- temperature offset between what its sensors think the temperature is and what it will display and use as the current temperature. I used a 2 degree offset to make the thermostat agree with a lab-grade thermometer I own. * E-mail alerts if the temperature exceeds set limits or if some other events occur. Here are the advantages of the Nest over the Honeywell RTH9580: * More elegant (but less functional) look. * Ability to schedule more than 4 time periods per day. This sounds good, but I've been using a Honeywell thermostat with 4 time periods for over 15 years, and I've never felt the need for more than 4 periods. Good features in both units: * Web page to make programming and setting easy. * iPhone/iPad apps to control the thermostat, set the schedule, check the status, etc. * Other than the difference in the number of scheduling periods, remote control of the two thermostats is essential the same. However, the Honeywell does allow you to schedule fan mode, which I like.