photo via hue

Claire Cain Miller at the NYTimes reports that the demand for the “Connected Home” or “Smart Home” is growing but not quite mainstream yet:

Tech companies have been talking for years about the so-called connected home, in which home appliances and accessories connect to the Internet. Judging from Christmas with my family — as well as the news expected at the International Consumer Electronics Show next week — this year it might become a reality.

The most popular example has been a fridge that sends a text message when the milk is running low. Some home builders imagine building a connected home from the ground up. But most consumers and suppliers are starting by connecting smaller devices that use smartphones as a remote control, said Frank E. Gillett, an analyst at Forrester…

…The connected home is still more popular with classic early adopters than with mainstream consumers, according to Forrester. Just 1 or 2 percent of people have connected devices to control lighting, climate, energy, appliances and home monitoring, Forrester found. About a third say they are interested in connecting their homes, but almost half say they are not interested…

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