One of the big trends seen at CES, both the most recent and the year before it, is home automation. Google has clearly been paying attention to that because it has paid $3.2 billion to acquire a company that connects smartphones to a smart thermostat and smoke detector. Nest Labs has gained attention and plenty of customers thanks to its well-designed Wi-Fi-connected thermostat that is capable of auto updates and making adjustments through an iPhone app. The company also sells a smoke detector with internet capabilities.
Google will not interfere with Nest's products, according to the Nest announcement. The company will continue to operate under its own brand, sell its products, and provide support to existing and future customers. Nest gives an evasive answer about if it will share customer data with Google, but synergies between the two products are bound to pop-up eventually. Google has made sensors and knowledge a major part of its services, so it wouldn't be a surprise if some form of home monitoring pops up in Google Now next year. As for the immediate future, Nest says:
"Nest's product line obviously caught the attention of Google and I?m betting that there's a lot of cool stuff we could do together, but nothing to share today."
source: Nest
No comments:
Post a Comment