RIGHT SPEAK: Google and Nest...the Odd Couple?

If you were already worried about the scope of Google's data mining, news of a recent buyout may have you ready to rip that glowing thermostat from your wall.

Surprising everyone who assumed Apple would've been the likeliest parent company for one co-founded by two former Apple engineers, Google announced it has purchased Nest Labs for $3.2 billion. In an official press release, Google confirmed that like Motorola, Nest will continue to operate with its own distinct brand identity which, in the latter's case, is headed by CEO and "father of the iPod" Tony Fadell.

Fadell explained to GigaOm's Om Malik why his company decided to take Google up on its acquisition offer.

"I was spending nearly 90 percent of my time on building the infrastructure ofs the company," Fadell said, "and I wasn't able to spend enough time and cycles on what I love doing: products and creating differentiated experiences for our customers. That is where my love is, and Google offered to let us focus on that, but with scale that will help bring our horizon closer to us, faster."

Barely 4 years-old, Nest has already become a leading name in home automation thanks to its Nest Learning Thermostat and last year's Wi-Fi-enabled smoke detector called Nest Protect. Both devices are at the forefront of the burgeoning buzz phrase "Internet of Things," which refers to the growing number of common household devices and appliances that can be controlled remotely via the Web.

At face value, this buyout helps Google take that one giant leap it needed toward home automation, which it had hyped as a major project at its I/O Conference back in 2011 but has yet to make good on in terms of the products and services that were demoed.