The Nest, the thermostat designed by iPod creators Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, gets a sequel-- one with a slimmer (by 20%) design and increased compatability with low-voltage home HVAC systems.
The 2nd generation Nest design features a stainless steel ring serving as both control dial and outer housing, while an "invisible" front plate eliminates the open grille from the previous model.
The backplate also gets a revision, with 2 new connectors allowing the thermostat to control most heating and cooling systems available-- including 2nd stage cooling, 3rd stage heating, dual fuel, emergency heat and whole-home humidifiers and dehumidifiers.
The software (now at version 3.0) is Android tablet compatible and carries "System Match," a means to automatically set the thermostat for specific kinds of heating and cooling systems. Other features (such as auto-away and the auto scheduler) also receive further improvement.
It all sounds very promising, even if the thermostat has one problem-- Nest still has to confirm an actual European release.
