Tony Fadell, ‘Father’ of the iPod, Takes Control of Google Glass

Tony Fadell, creator of the Nest thermostat and ‘Father’ of the iPod, has been put in charge of the Google Glass project in an effort to resuscitate the ailing project. Glass is to become its own separate division, no longer a Google X experimental project, but is being taken off the market through the Explorer program, only selling to commercial interests in lieu of a full consumer launch.

Fadell, former Senior Vice President of Apple’s iPod division, helped develop the original iPod mp3 player, and later co-founded home automation company Nest Labs. He will run the newly-autonomous Glass project, with current head Ivy Ross retaining day-to-day authority under him.

“Early Glass efforts have broken ground and allowed us to learn what’s important to consumers and enterprises alike,” Fadell said. “I’m excited to be working with Ivy to provide direction and support as she leads the team and we work together to integrate those learnings into future products. I remain fully committed to Nest and am equally excited about our work there, which continues to accelerate.”

Though Google now owns Nest Labs, bought for $3.2 billion early last year, the company will remain a separate entity and Fadell will retain control of the company he helped found, in addition to his duties on Google Glass.

Source: The Verge