Fancy new thermostat - Page 2

glatt · 10-25-2011, 09:05 AM

My brother, a silicon valley tech guy who has moved from one cutting edge company to another, joined a new company about a year and a half ago. He wouldn't tell us what he was working on then, just that the company was headed by the inventor/designer of the ipod/iphone and that the new product was an every day item with a twist. This new company's version would save a tremendous amount of energy across the country and revolutionize the market.

So over the summer, I saw him and actually got to see this new product, but still wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it. Now the secret is out, because the head of the company, this ipod guy, went public.

It's a thermostat. And I've seen this thing first hand, and played with it, and can tell you that it's the coolest thermostat I've ever seen. It's visually very striking. Looks a lot like an iPod, except it's totally different looking. Basically just looks like a shiny hockey puck. You can twist it and push on it to control it. That's it. Very simple and elegant looking. No crazy system of switches and buttons like the programmable thermostat I own now. You can access it remotely from any computer or your smart phone to program it. I love this idea, because there have been many times that I've gone on vacation in the summer time, turned off the AC for the two weeks I was gone, and wished I could turn it back on several hours before I expected to come back so the house would be cool upon my return.

It's supposed to learn your behavior and respond based on how you interact with it. It appears to be turned off when you aren't using it, but when you walk up to it, it senses your proximity and lights up for you. If it's located in a hallway, that might get annoying, lighting up every time you walk by, so it somehow senses whether you are just walking by or are walking up to it on purpose.

Basically it's just a sexy looking new programmable web accessible thermostat. There are others out there, but they look like hell and are very complicated to use and program. This is extremely easy to use.

No idea what it will cost when it reaches market or if I'll buy one. I'm stingy. But maybe I will.

10-25-2011, 09:05 AM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Fancy new thermostat My brother, a silicon valley tech guy who has moved from one cutting edge company to another, joined a new company about a year and a half ago. He wouldn't tell us what he was working on then, just that the company was headed by the inventor/designer of the ipod/iphone and that the new product was an every day item with a twist. This new company's version would save a tremendous amount of energy across the country and revolutionize the market. So over the summer, I saw him and actually got to see this new product, but still wasn't allowed to tell anyone about it. Now the secret is out, because the head of the company, this ipod guy, went public. It's a thermostat. And I've seen this thing first hand, and played with it, and can tell you that it's the coolest thermostat I've ever seen. It's visually very striking. Looks a lot like an iPod, except it's totally different looking. Basically just looks like a shiny hockey puck. You can twist it and push on it to control it. That's it. Very simple and elegant looking. No crazy system of switches and buttons like the programmable thermostat I own now. You can access it remotely from any computer or your smart phone to program it. I love this idea, because there have been many times that I've gone on vacation in the summer time, turned off the AC for the two weeks I was gone, and wished I could turn it back on several hours before I expected to come back so the house would be cool upon my return. It's supposed to learn your behavior and respond based on how you interact with it. It appears to be turned off when you aren't using it, but when you walk up to it, it senses your proximity and lights up for you. If it's located in a hallway, that might get annoying, lighting up every time you walk by, so it somehow senses whether you are just walking by or are walking up to it on purpose. Basically it's just a sexy looking new programmable web accessible thermostat. There are others out there, but they look like hell and are very complicated to use and program. This is extremely easy to use. No idea what it will cost when it reaches market or if I'll buy one. I'm stingy. But maybe I will. Attached Images Last edited by glatt; 10-25-2011 at 09:38 AM.

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