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iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

techcrunch.com

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Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#21

Post by absconditus »

oldstrangers wrote: post #7

From a business standpoint, it seems like Nest Labs will be spending a lot of their time explaining the reason their product is relevant to the consumer. The market is there, but like Tony said in the video, its at a contractor level. Rarely does a consumer decide they need to purchase a thermostat on their own. So if they're honestly planning to sell to consumers directly, they'll have to basically create a marketpl…

Have you never seen the numerous thermostats for sale at a home improvement store?

Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#22

Post by wooster »

This is genius. My parents have a variety of crappy programmable thermostats, none of which they can figure out (or I, given the amount of time I've spent with them… the devices always seem to reset to factory settings eventually).

I will be buying at least one of these.

Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#24

Post by rmoriz »

Home automation AND iOS devices would definitly be the next megatrend.

Hopefully they will stick to already existing implementation standards (C-BUS, X10) or develop a free usable standard (beware of patents)

ah, and please offer a RESTful api for the rest of us :)

Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#25

Post by notatoad »

TamDenholm wrote: post #11

I assume its trivial for a device as advanced as this, but has anyone spotted if it supports Celsius? Not a big deal in an American market but i'd totally buy one for my home but we silly British people use the metric system.

from the zip-code prompt on the intitial configuration screen, it doesn't look like they're targeting the non-american market (at least not yet)

Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#27

Post by pedalpete »

Very cool. I wonder if they will one day interface with your local weather as well (or if it already does).

The entire product is non-obvious, but when they've gone this far, seems they'd take the extra step to see if it is going to be 75 outside, and you like it at 70, and it is currently 68, to not turn on the heater, but use the air-conditioner to keep things cool.

Re: iPod godfather and ex-iPhone team launch previously stealth startup

#28

Post by pyoung »

This is genius. If they can prove that the thermostat actually results in significant energy savings, there is potential to take advantage of utility sponsored rebates for the device in certain states.

Also, there is the potential to hook this up to the smart grid, allowing utilities to remotely adjust thermostat settings based on the supply/demand balance on the grid. (Utilities would pay for this capability, further offsetting the costs of the device).

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