NEW YORK (AP) The high-tech home monitoring device company Nest Labs is disabling a feature on its smoke alarms due to the risk that owners could unintentionally turn off the device with the wave of a hand.
Nest was acquired this year by Google Inc. for $3.2 billion.
Nest developed technology which it calls the Nest Wave that allows owners to turn off the Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide alarm at a distance, among other things.
Founder and CEO Tony Fadell said on the company's website, however, that a "unique combination of circumstances" could delay an alarm going off in the event of a real fire.
The Nest Protect costs about $130. In comparison, other smoke and carbon monoxide detectors typically range between $50 and $80.