Google announces they will buy Nest (smart home thermostat maker)

[Rosco T.]

http://phandroid.com/2014/01/13/google-buys-nest/

Google announces they will buy Nest (smart home thermostat maker) for $3.2 billion

Heads up, ladies and gents — Google has just announced a big acquisition worth $3.2 billion in cold, hard cash. That money will go toward buying Nest, the company that makes smart home thermostats, smoke alarms and CO2 detectors.

(snip)

Google says Nest will continue to operate as its own brand and entity under CEO Tony Fadell, much like what Motorola did after they were acquired by Google in 2012. Google expects the regulatory approvals process to last only a few months, and fully expects the sale to successfully close within the first half of this year.

Nest’s line of products have been at the forefront of the connected home movement, giving folks a very nice option for being able to monitor and adjust home conditions on the go. Their thermostat helps save energy by allowing you to adjust heat and cooling while you’re away from home, so you can leave the thermostat off while you’re at work, and have it cool or heat your home just before you get back for the day.

(snip)

It’s a big move for Google who has been previously rumored to be working on their own smart home solutions. While we still have yet to see Google’s own plans come to light in official fashion, this sale definitely tells us their hat is in the smart home arena.

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I've been expecting this for a while. Much rather them than Apple, then you would be locked into the IOS universe. Google makes both android and IOS Apps (Gmail, Maps, Play Music..)

[MADem]

1. I'll stick with my crappy little programmable thermostat that runs on a battery.

Why do I need to turn the heat up or down from somewhere else, really?

[Rosco T.]

2. You miss the point....

the NEST system monitors the house.. if it's empty if can keep the thermostat down, turning it up before you come home. Read and research before throwing the luddite card

[MADem]

3. Yeah, it's like the system you can get from COMCAST for twenty nine bucks a month for two years.

My programmable thermostat can turn up the heat before I come home, too, for free!

Or, I can just keep a sweater on for fifteen minutes after I come home, and turn the darn heat up myself!

I don't even like Google's free email--why would I like their thermostat?

I don't think I "miss the point" at all--I'm just making a different point. This is one of those trendy things that people pay through the nose for, but they really don't need.

[Glassunion]

4. The Nest has no monthly fee.

[MADem]

10. It's hooked up to your internet though, yeah? So there is an associated fee--it won't work w/o the

net? What goes out can go in, what goes back can go forth...some jerk could hack the thing for kicks.

And GOOGLE owns it?


You'd trust them? Look at the mess they made with G Mail! They emailed a guy's ex who had a restraining order out against him ... without his explicit permission! He got tossed in jail!

I'd as soon not have Google decide stuff for me.

If it works for you, though, go for it!

[Glassunion]

12. That's not a monthly fee for the service however.

If you choose not to have the internet the unit will still work, you just cannot get remote access unlike the comcast service.

Yes I am aware a hacker could indeed hack the unit. But that is not more so than the computer or cellphone I use to access the internet daily.

Do I trust google? Meh. But over a year ago when I bought the unit that was not a thought. I shall see.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. I got one for free by reupping with Green Mountain last fall...

More trouble than it was worth. Hopefully that will change with time like anything new, but I had them come out and remove it and stick my old (well comparatively at 5 years) Honeywell back on.

[wandy]

5. I'll agree. I have two older Honeywell programmable thermostats (Zoned) .........

One is so old that I can't even find a picture of it. Old as they are the still work just fine.
That says something.
Honeywell does make a "smart" thermostat similar to Nest.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_486110-74493-RTH9580WF1005_4294821952%2B4294962546__?productId=4746117&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=Honeywell

Truth is, I'd rather stick with something that does what I tell it to do rather than something that will try to figure out what I might want it to do.

Although mine are 7-4. they would be similar to this...........
http://www.lowes.com/pd_39500-74493-RTH6350D1000_4294821952%2B4294962546__?productId=3429098&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=Honeywell

While we are at it. For anyone not having a programmable thermostat , most times they can be installed with little trouble. They do save on heating bills. They can even be "trained" to get the house warm enough so you can make that first pot of coffee.

[MADem]

11. Those are jazzier than mine! Mine, I can auto-change the temperature

something like four times a day. I can also hit a button and "hold" the temperature at a certain point, like say if there are a lot of old people in the house.

It does the trick.

[philosslayer]

7. I was in Europe recently...

And realized that a cold snap had come through my town, and the temperature in my house was dangerously low. I was worried about pipes freezing. It was great being able to turn up the heat from 6000 miles away.

[MADem]

9. If your lifestyle is such that you need to do that, well...more power to you!

I'd call my neighbor with the key, and say "Hey, run over to the house and bump the thermostat up" if I left the house too cold.

Otherwise, if I were going to Europe for several weeks in the dead of winter, I'd bump up the heat just a tad to cover for such an eventuality.

I don't have any pipes on exterior walls in my house (it is stone and brick).

I think it's more of a toy than anything else. The real "sexy" monitoring systems have the whole PANIC ROOM vibe, that tapes every room, can turn lights on and off, you can spy on people in your living room or where ever you stuff a camera, turn the outside lights on and off, etc. That's the thing COMCAST is selling....if you're gonna go for it, might as well go for ALL of it.

I have a box that calls me if my shack in ME gets too hot or cold. I don't have to pay anyone to monitor, and it is a "dumb" system. It's just a temperature monitor hooked up to the phone, basically. I then have to call someone else to do anything about it, but aside from annual tests, I've never had to use the thing.

[Glassunion]

8. I have one. Love it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11281931

I should update the rest of the year.

[jsr]

13. Nest users will be converted into Google+ users

and their home temperatures will be broadcast to the world.