Generally speaking, it’s sensible — strategic even — to be an early adopter. If nothing else, who doesn’t love saying, “I knew about that before it was cool”? Answer: owners of Revolv, the over-priced hockey puck that was once a part of the Internet of Things, but is now being shut down by parent company Nest. Now, in an attempt to appease angry Revolv owners, Nest (which bought the company back in 2014) is now considering compensating consumers “on a case-by-case basis.”
Revolv owners, we're here to help. Please get in touch so we can find the best solution for your needs: help@revolv.com
— Google Nest Support (@googlenesthelp) April 5, 2016
In a statement given to the Verge, a Nest spokesperson said, “We’ve been working with the small number of Revolv customers on a case-by-case basis since we sent out the first customer notification in February to determine the best resolution, including compensation.” But this rather ambiguous statement doesn’t reveal much about the nature of the compensation — will it be the full price of the Revolv hub? Some sort of recognition for wasted time? Another type of smart home system? Nobody knows.
Of course, it’s no great surprise that customers are none too pleased with Nest’s decision, especially given that Revolv once guaranteed a “lifetime subscription” with the sale of its hub, which meant that the device would be constantly updated “for the lifetime of the product” to ensure continuous, seamless activations. Needless to say, the company has reneged on this promise, and users have certainly noticed.
In a post on Medium, Revolv customer and CEO of medical app company Televero, Arlo Gilbert, noted that the end of Revolv would mean that “[his] landscape lighting will stop turning on and off, [his] security lights will stop reacting to motion, and [his] homemade vacation burglar deterrent will stop working.” He asked, “Is the era of IoT [Internet of Things] bringing an end to the concept of ownership? Are we just buying intentionally temporary hardware?”
While Nest and Revolv may not have an answer to that particular hard-hitting question, customers are encouraged to contact customer support at help@revolv.com for more information on the compensation piece of the puzzle, and hopefully, be made to feel slightly less ripped off in general.
