Works With Nest
Google's Nest seems to be setting out a home automation standard, partnering with Whirlpool, Mercedes-Benz, Jawbone, LIFX, IFTTT, Logitech, and Chamberlain. Over the weekend, Quirky announced its $79 Wink hub, partnering with Home Depot, Honeywell, GE, Rachio, and Philips.<p>The two announcements were obviously timed against each other. It's hard to tell who is reacting to whom, but my bet is that Quirky is hurriedly reacting to a pending Google I/O announcement this week, and getting the word out by giving the NYT an exclusive [1]. It also looks like Nest has an actual, planned microsite vs Quirky, who only has mention of GE on their website (<a href="https://www.quirky.com/ge" rel="nofollow">https://www.quirky.com/ge</a>) and doesn't have much of an official Wink page yet (<a href="https://www.quirky.com/wink" rel="nofollow">https://www.quirky.com/wink</a> is bare).<p>Add to that Apple's Homekit, announced at WWDC, partnering with Osram Sylvania, Skybell, TI, Chamberlain, August, Honeywell, Haier, Schlage, Philips, Black and Decker, Netatmo, Withings, and others. More brands/logos, but it's early.<p>Regardless, it's at least a three-horse race and we'll see it get worse before it gets better. All have serious brands on board and consumers will be confused for quite some time. A single, open, interoperable standard is coming but the race will encourage a flurry of product investments to get smarter devices in the initial stages.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/technology/quirky-hopes-wink-will-speed-adoption-of-smart-home-products.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/technology/quirky-hopes-wi...</a>