The development of existing technologies and the introduction of new ones is slowly but surely making the smart home dream a reality, writes Stephen Fenech.

Is 2011 the year of the smart home?

Recent advances in technology and the release of smart new products are certainly pointing that way.

This notion has been helped along nicely with the speedy adoption of not only the home entertainment hardware but also connectivity – wired and wireless – which can now link them all together.

Australians have always been willing to try new things in the tech world particularly because our nation is so far away from anywhere else and communications – be it via the internet or a mobile phone – were important to us.

This love affair with the latest technology has blossomed in many other directions including one introduced in 2010 – the tablet computer.
While Apple’s iPad has been hailed as the device which started the tablet revolution it should be noted that tablet PCs have existed for a decade albeit as high-end niche products.

What Apple did was take their software expertise developed on the iPhone and their superior hardware design and manufacturing skills and combine them into a tablet format designed for everyday consumers.

It was an immediate success and we’ve since seen similar products announced and released from well-respected companies like Samsung, Dell, Acer, Toshiba and BlackBerry.

So what do these tablet devices have to do with smart homes?

Well, everything.

Here we now have a device that can easily be integrated into the home’s control system to make it the ultimate remote control.

Companies like Control4, Opus, Revox and Pioneer already have iPad apps which can turn Apple’s touch screen device into a sophisticated remote control.

And not only can it let users operate their hardware but it also taps into the home’s network to access the stored audio and video content right there on the device and decide where in their connected home they’d like to enjoy it, whether it’s the dedicated home theatre or in the kitchen.

A touch screen device to control your entire home is nothing new. They have been around for years as a matter of fact, but these dedicated control devices also came with a hefty price tag usually in the thousands.

Today most of these iPad apps are no more expensive than a cup of coffee, and many are free. Some companies who have entered this arena but who were already in the control space will charge a licence fee to get complete functionality from these apps so they can still make money, but it is still only a fraction of the price of the older control touchpad.

So now it is not only cheaper but also more accessible for everyday consumers to entertain the possibility of owning and operating a stunning smart home.

The year 2011 will also see further innovation on consumer technology including improved 3DTVs. There will even be designer 3D eyewear for users to view 3D movies and content in comfort and style.

The latest video players and recorders will also connect to the internet and your network as easily as it connects to your display.

Being able to access content from the internet will also be easier and more popular than ever. 2010 saw the biggest move to date with this trend thanks to products like Telstra’s T-Box, iiNet’s FetchTV, Foxtel’s new on demand service and the latest version of Apple TV.

The amount of content being offered is at an all-time high. Even high definition content is easily accessible which leads many to believe the DVD and Blu-ray player in your home theatre may face the same fate as the standalone CD player in this digital world.

On the subject of downloading internet content, we’ve also seen a noticeable increase to the household monthly broadband limits. A generous limit used to be 10GB per month. Today there are 500GB and 1TB monthly plans, which are perfect for users who wish to indulge their love of watching movies accessed from online libraries.

Before this, renting or buying one or two movies online – a download of up to 6GB – would mean the monthly download limit was wiped out and the kids had either no internet or a slowed-down service to complete their homework.

With limits now in the hundreds of gigabytes this is no longer an issue. Expect movie downloads – and hopefully school homework – to flourish in 2011.

This year we will see even more TVs which will provide direct internet connectivity to access movies and other video content directly to the panel. Some TVs available can already perform this trick as well as access popular online sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Users will also be able to look up other information like news headlines, weather, traffic updates right there in their set. The screen in our lounge room which was only used to watch the programs the stations scheduled for us to watch will become a window to the world.

Another trend that will emerge in 2011 is use of apps designed for TVs. Apps have already set the world alight on smartphones and tablet computers and is already a market generating billions of dollars in revenue.

Well imagine that on the biggest and best screen in your house. Apps that can tap into your network and the system at the heart of your smart home that can inform, entertain and make your life easier and more comfortable.

These apps will also be able to interact with their smartphone and iPad counterparts for a truly multi-platform experience.

The iPad, and many other tablet devices powered by the Android system, will also allow users to take control of other parts of their home including climate control, lighting and security.

Internet connectivity also means we can do these things remotely as well. Want to check the security cameras at your holiday home from your office? Done. Want to watch or record a favourite TV show on your set top box from the other side of the world? Easy.

The iPad and the other tablets we’ll see hit the Australian market this year have the potential to become the household’s touchstone when it comes to accessing the content available, determining where that content is played, controlling the devices that play it as well as ensuring our comfort and security inside our homes.

The reason people create a smart home in the first place is to make their life easier and more convenient and to enjoy the things that are important to them in their own home in a manner that suits their lifestyle.

The fact that technology is developing so quickly plays right into the hands of those who will achieve this goal in the coming months.
For them it will definitely be the year of the smart home. And so will every other year after that.