CES 2013: LG and Whirlpool Unveil Smartphone Controlled Home Appliances

Leading manufacturers of household consumer goods, LG and Whirlpool will introduce innovative home appliances at CES 2013. The appliance lists include dryers, washing machines, and refrigerators. The most interesting feature that is incorporated in these home appliances is its facility to get connected with consumers' tablets and smartphones. This is made possible via a connection over WiFi.

Users can easily manage their home appliances using smartphones. Consumers are provided with information like when the filters of the appliance need to be changed. They are also intimated about the cheapest time at which the machine can be powered on and also about the scheduled maintenance.

In the case of refrigerators and microwaves, users can send SMSs or emails to take care of routine actions. According to Warwick Stirling who is the global director of Whirlpool, their objective is to make home appliances maintenance simpler and easier along with increased efficiency.

These smartphone-controlled home appliances from LG and Whirlpool are all set to reach the market globally by March of this year. But there are no details concerning their availability in India. There are discussions among reviewers on whether it is feasible to launch such products in India where the internet penetration and WiFi functionality is not very extensive.

Another key element in the discussion is that there is only a small percentage of people who would go for these costly home appliances. Most are likely to stick to regular appliances which can be purchased at a much lower price tag.