Nest Labs, the maker of the internet-connected thermostats and fire detectors that Google (GOOGL) acquired recently for $3.2 billion, has stopped sales of its smoke alarms after finding a possible defect that could cause users to temporarily disable the alarm by accident.
Nest Labs CEO Tony Fadell said the company is fixing a problem with a feature called ‘Nest Wave’, which allows a user to switch off the device with a wave of the hand. Faddell, one of the creators of Apple iPod (AAPL), apologized in a letter posted on the company’s website for the problem, which was discovered during recent laboratory testing.
“We observed a unique combination of circumstances that caused us to question whether the Nest Wave….could be unintentionally activated. This could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire,” Fadell said. “The fact that it could even potentially happen is extremely important to me and I want to address it immediately.”
Fadell is obviously worried, and rightly so, that people would unintentionally activate the Wave feature and find the alarm not working during a fire.
He also said that his company, which has offered a refund to customers who wanted to return their Nest Protect smoke alarm, has halted sales to ensure no customer buys the product which requires an immediate update.
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