In Google’s purchase of Nest, some wondered what would happen to the connected home company. Was Google simply conducting an ‘acquihire’, using Nest for their IP and patents? A new report suggest the Nest team will become Google’s hardware division — sort of. By keeping them intact, just working under the auspice of Google, more great things are likely to come of the purchase.
According to TechCrunch, Nest will remain entirely as it is, just working as a Google company rather than independently. They also won’t be limited to connected home products. Google is asking that Nest work on products that “make more sense for the company”, though what those are isn’t clear just yet.
Nest CEO Tony Fadell, incidentally, has some chops when it comes to product design. Aside form his work with Nest’s thermostat and smoke detector, he is formerly of Apple. There, he helped design two of their more iconic mobile products, the iPod and iPhone. He was actually a founding member of the iPhone development team, and has an adept understanding of the relationship between hardware and software.
Google is also reportedly not asking Nest to adhere to a budget, and has given them carte blanche to do as they please. With Nest and Tony Fadell, has Google found their Jonny Ive? With a slew of Motorola mobile patents and an already robust mobile ecosystem in Android, Google may just be building a hardware division from the ground up.
In jettisoning Motorola, it became fairly clear to many that the patents kept were the goal all along for Google. In purchasing Nest, we’re now learning the goal is hardware beyond the connected home. Looking at the big picture of recent Google activity, we’re seeing a company that may want to round into shape as a consumer goods company. Whether or not it will work remains to be seen.
