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By Alexei Oreskovic and Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc took its biggest step to go deeper into consumers homes, announcing a $3.2 billion deal to buy smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker Nest Labs Inc, scooping up a promising line of products and a prized design team led by the godfather of the iPod. Nest will continue to operate as its own distinct brand after the all-cash deal closes, Google said on Monday. The deal is the second largest in Googles history after the $12.5 billion acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012. Like the Motorola deal, which marked Googles first major foray into hardware, the Nest acquisition gives Google a stepping stone into an important new market at a time when consumer appliances and Internet services are increasingly merging.