Google is knocking at your front door. It wants to come inside, make itself at home, and quietly turn all of your boring home devices into "smart" connected gadgets that learn about your patterns and preferences, talk to each other, collect data about your habits and make life easier by assisting with daily tasks.
On Monday, Google announced it was buying smart-device company Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in cash. This is Google's first major foray into connected homes, and news of the deal ignited a flurry of speculation about what the Silicon Valley giant really wants from Nest, as well as some privacy concerns.
Nest currently only sells two products: a smart thermostat that learns your habits over time and adjusts the temperature accordingly, and a personable smoke and carbon monoxide detector that doesn't panic when you burn toast.
While the devices have been popular, on the surface they don't seem like they move enough units to be worth such a hefty investment, even at $130 to $250 each. It's what's behind the scenes and inside the gadgets that makes Nest a coveted get for Google.
Nest makes impeccably designed hardware powered by clever algorithms. Its staff comes from major companies like Apple, Sling and Logitech and is experienced in machine learning, product design, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Nest is a standout in the increasingly crowded connected-home market. It may only have two products, but those devices are considered some of the best in the field.
For now, Nest is expected to continue operating as its own brand headed by co-founders Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, but down the line Google could tap the team's expertise to help with its own hit-and-miss attempts at creating and selling devices (remember the Nexus Q?).
The Nest thermostat uses motion, light, temperature and humidity sensors to collect information about what's going on in the home and uses that information to control heating and cooling and predict patterns. The end result is a customized, more energy efficient home. Like any good smart device, it can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet so your house can be prewarmed before you get out of bed or return from work.
"It's amazing to see how they have taken important but unloved devices and made them beautifully simple and useful," said Google CEO Larry Page in a brief post announcing the deal.
Aside from the financial windfall, there's a lot Nest could gain from having Google as its parent company. Nest has been slow with product releases so far. The first thermostat came out in the fall of 2011, and the company didn't release a new product for another two years, when it announced the Nest Protect smoke and CO detector.
www.benlatestnews.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment