At Apple, he was known as one of the ‘Godfathers of the iPod’. Now, he’s just sold his new business venture, ‘Nest’ to one of the world’s most powerful companies.

His name is Tony Fadell, and when he left Apple in 2008 with another Apple engineer, everyone was keen to know what they would come up with next.

He came up with two revolutionary devices, the smart smoke detector ‘Nest Protect’ (R1,300), and the smart ‘Nest Thermostat’ (R2,500) – both of which are controlled by an app on your phone.

The smart thermostat connects to Wi-Fi to analyze and compare the outside weather with your indoor environment in real-time. The thermostat even has a sensor with a 150-degree range to detect when you’re not home, so it can adjust the temperature accordingly, and save energy.

So why would Google buy Nest for a reported fee of $3,2 billion?

It’s a movement toward ‘the conscious home’, an environment where mundane and simple appliances will become as synchronised, as advanced and as upgradeable as a smartphone.

But in order to have a ‘conscious home’, you need a unifying platform. Google is going to be that unifying platform.

Amid fears that Google will begin mining data from your home, and requiring you to sign in to Google+ before you can unlock your door, Google was dismissive of a total home takeover.

For now, they’re just happy to have acquired the only next-gen company out there that is producing successful smart home devices. In many ways, Google has taken a giant leap over its competitors with this unexpected acquisition. Frank Gillett, a tech analyst with Forrester, said:

Google didn’t have anything in the home outside of Chromecast. Google TV has not been successful and Chromecast is just getting started. Nest quickly gives them something they can point to and say, ‘Look, we have these amazingly powerful things in the home.

Google co-founder Larry Page put it quite simply:

We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!

Nest has yet to reveal any of its figures, but those in the know suggest that they are shifting 50,000 smart devices each month. Cue evil laughter from Google offices worldwide.

[Source : Daily Beast, Mashable]