The now Google-owned Nest thermostat is now available for purchase in the hardware section of the Google Play Store for its regular price of $250. Now where are those Boston Dynamics robots?
The networked home is something of an emerging zeitgeist, offering today’s consumers a domestic dreamworld in which every object in your house can be remotely controlled, synced together, and activated according to preset patterns, from heating systems and coffee makers to alarms and personalized lighting.
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Better known for the company’s hardware that reports the weather outside, Netatmo has teamed up with Philippe Starck to create a new device that gives you complete control over the climate inside your home from your smartphone. And unlike similar wireless thermostats from Honeywell
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With people plugging more and more devices into the power grid, public utilities across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to effectively manage during peak demand. Honeywell’s line of Wi-Fi-connected smart thermostats are now doing their part to help.
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It never fails. The moment you finally get comfortable under your covers is the moment you realize that you haven’t turned down the thermostat. Rather than choose between a toe-stubbing trek through darkened halls or sweating through the night, check out Honeywell’s new voice-activated thermostat. You stay snuggled safely in bed and save energy—win, meet win.
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Matt Rogers is the Founder and VP of Engineering at Nest and brought his latest thermostat – a steel-clad beauty with improved design and sensor placement – to our stage at CES 2013.
This year at Nest has been full of changes. The company launched a new version in October and improved the iPad/iPhone app. They also began sending emails to users describing energy usage in their area and detailing how much they’ve saved during the period.
Rogers told us about their recent outage, explaining that their activation servers went down because they had sold so many units. It was, he said, the only thermostat that people wanted to leave under the tree for the holidays which, I believe, is a first in the realm of home electronics mostly associated with Home Depot.
He also talked about the market for the thermostats, explaining that 10 million are sold every year in the U.S. and Canada. He expects to see updates to the device and software and, most interestingly, plans to expand out of the country.
Nest was not the first smart thermostat to reach the hands of consumers. But it was the first that made our parents (and maybe even some of our grandparents) raise an eyebrow. Its cylindrical form and simple GUI are nothing, if not inviting to use, and its ability to learn from your usage habits not only offers convenience, but possible savings when it comes to the power bill. Now with the second generation iteration of Nest—one that is slimmer and guaranteed to work with 95% of home heating systems—the product wants to go from being a buzzy new product to a mainstream, must-have home gadget. More »
It’s been just about a year since former Apple exec Tony Fadell unveiled his newest project, the Nest Learning Thermostat. At the time, it was notable for being the sexiest thermostat in the history of household automation, with WiFi connectivity, mobile apps and an iPod-like click wheel for adjusting the temperature. Today, Nest Labs announced the follow-up to that product, and while it boasts the same tricks as the original, it’s noticeably slimmer and will work with a wider array of heating and cooling systems. Oh, and the company is finally releasing an Android tablet app, while the current iOS and Android phone applications are getting updated with new features as well. It’s up for pre-order now for $249, while the old model has gotten a price cut to $229. That’s the short version, but if you head past the break we’ll give you a more detailed walk-through of what’s changed.
Gallery: Nest Learning Thermostat (2012)
Filed under: Household
Nest Learning Thermostat gets refreshed with a slimmer design, improved scheduling features originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.
Sometimes you just can’t remember if you turned off the toaster oven before leaving the house. Sitting at work, you might wonder, “is my house burning down?” or “should I go home and check?” You could run home, of course, or you could just link that croissant cooker up to the internet and switch it off from your phone. SmartThings promises to let you do just that, offering a system that connects everyday physical objects to a cloud-based control center. The project aims to provide users with a bevy of end-devices — automatic door locks, thermostats, humidity sensors, presence sensors, power outlet switches and more — that connect to a router-like SmartThings hub. From here the user can easily see and control these devices on the SmartThings mobile app.
That alone would be pretty handy — but the SmartThings team decided to take it a step further by building SmartApps, that is, applications for further customizing how SmartThings devices (and the user) interact with the every day objects they’re attached to. The platform is going to remain open, too, allowing owners and developers to build custom applications to fit their needs. Better still, the project is on a tight time line, and aims to put its product in backer hands by December — of course, it’ll have to reach its $250,000 Kickstarter goal first. Check out the team’s pitch after the break, or hit up the source link below for more details.
Filed under: Misc
Insert Coin: SmartThings wants to connect your dog, mailbox and kitchen cabinets to the internet originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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