We didn’t hear much regarding Google and Nest in the months following the former’s acquisition of the latter, but that’s changed this weekend. Not only did Nest snap up security camera service Dropcam for $555 million, but now a top-level Nest executive is reportedly leading Google’s hardware charge.
According to a report from The Information, Nest founder Tony Fadell is in charge of Google’s consumer hardware group. The publication claims that Fadell “owns” the division after Android and Chrome lead Sundar Pichai “dismantled almost all of the Android team’s hardware initiatives” in a move to give Fadell more freedom to do as he pleases.
What’s interesting about this is that Tony Fadell previously worked at Apple. During that time, he helped to create the iconic iPod. While it remains to be seen exactly what Fadell will accomplish as head of Google’s hardware team, the fact that he helped bring products like the iPod and Nest smart thermostat to market certainly gets me excited to see what he can cook up at Google.
Did you ever own any iPod models? If so, which ones did you have?
UPDATE: Tony Fadell has refuted today’s report, saying that the details are “100% wrong” and that Nest is run “as a separate biz w/ its own mgmt & brand.”
Via The Verge, The Information, @tfadell
