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Google takes control of your thermostat

by on14 January 2014



We know how warm you like it

Search engine Google announced a $3.2 billion deal to buy smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker Nest Labs. Nest gives Google access into an important new market at a time when consumer appliances and Internet services are increasingly merging.

Everyone thinks that there is big money to be made by web connecting household appliances. After all it is really cool that your Facebook page flags that your toaster has popped up toast and your fridge wants milk. Nest will continue to operate as its own distinct brand after the all-cash deal closes, Google said on Monday.

The deal is the second largest in Google's history after the $12.5 billion acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012. Nest makes a thermostat that displays temperature and changes hue to match the colour of the wall. It also tracks usage and employs that data to set heating and cooling temperatures.

The Tame Apple Press has rushed to point out that it also means that that Google gets Tony Fadell who created the iPod along with co-founder Matt Rogers and more than 100 of Nest's 300 employees have worked at Apple in the past. This is to cover Apple in the future, if all this takes off.

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