ControlTrends had to reach outside of our HVAC box for a better catch-up understanding — as to what the Google purchase of Nest (for $3.2 dollars) means. Fortunately, Therese Sullivan once again, has offered some clarity as to where the end game of this move really is: Contextual O/S. As you read Therese’s insight, consider your basic lunar landing, and realize for this SMALL January 2014 second, how LARGE your life and your business are about to CHANGE!
Thank you Therese: “Last month I felt secure in describing Nest as a company comfortably traveling along in Apple’s orbit. I even linked to Matt Turck’s November TechCrunch article “Battle for the Connected Home”, wherein he suggests that Nest — a Lilliputian among Gullivers — needed to be acquired by Apple before it was crushed. Today we see that he was off by a few Silicon Valley miles. Why Google? Why now? Why $3.2B?
Maybe I have all the answers here in my hand. It’s right under this glass that I’m tapping and sliding my finger across. The battle over the software that will run next-generation smart phones and tablets is The War. The fledgling home automation market is only a skirmish for Google vs. Apple. And they are both developing contextual operating systems. The vision they share is that soon, when you or I walk into a space at home, at work, or during a stroll around town, our mobile devices are going to know where we are, our usual activities at that time and place, and the environmental conditions. The contextual OS will understand when we speak to it, tap into it, or communicate via gestures. And it will keep things sleek and simple, only serving up those apps that make sense in the contextual setting.” Rest of story
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