By Anya George Tharakan
(Reuters) - Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) said it had removed Nest Labs' Internet-connected thermostats from its U.S. online and retail stores, a year after the home automation maker was bought by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) for $3.3 billion.
Nest, led by the "godfather" of iPod Tony Fadell, earned plaudits for its thermostat - a round, brushed-metal device with a convex glass screen that displays temperature and changes hue to match the color of the wall it attaches to.
"We regularly make changes to our merchandise mix in stores," Apple spokesman Nick Leahy said in an email on Friday.
However, checks by Reuters showed that the product was still available in Apple's online stores in some countries, including the UK, France and Ireland.
Nest spokeswoman Ivy Choi did not comment on the removal of the company's thermostats from Apple's U.S. stores, but called the iPhone maker a "valued partner".
"Our new products will be available through Apple in the coming weeks," she said.