Connected home devices slowly becoming reality
The concept of home appliances such as televisions, Blu-ray players and other devices communicating with each other in an interconnected home network ecosystem is becoming a reality, but it is still in the early stages and there are several challenges to overcome.
That is the assessment of Norm Bogen, vice president of research for digital entertainment at In-Stat, who added that there is an initial base of consumers who are demanding such interconnectivity between devices.
Pointing to the research firm's surveys, Bogen said "power users" which account for 12 percent of the U.S. population, for example, are already setting up appliances that are connected to each other or are attempting to do so, while "social users" will follow suit in the "next two to three years".
"Passive users" are those that may never decide to watch Internet video on their main TV screen, but this demographic is "shrinking", the analyst told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail.
His comments come after Google recently announced plans to collaborate with fellow IT vendors Sony and Intel to bring to market Web-enabled TVs and other hardware, which will run on Google's Android mobile OS.
When quizzed, a Sony spokesperson said in an e-mail that the move toward "open systems" is where the market is now heading, which in turn leads to more "innovation, value and choice for consumers".
He cited Sony products that are DLNA-enabled (Digital Living Network Alliance) as an example of the company's commitment to this move to help make the setup and communications of devices in the home "a breeze".
The tie-up with Google to provide a "new range of rich, Android-based hardware products for the home, mobile and personal product categories" is another such instance of Sony's vision of connected consumer electronics (CE), noted the spokesperson.
Roadblocks still to overcome
However, the Sony representative told ZDNet Asia one of the challenges that exist for manufacturers is the "perceived incompatibility" between the products of various technology brands.
"For instance, many still see Sony's cameras as devices that store data using only [our proprietary] Memory Stick when, in fact, a growing number of our cameras are compatible with both Memory Stick and SD (secure digital) cards.
"[This example] shows that we are offering consumers more choice, convenience and greater compatibility," he said.
Intel threw up another challenge: the lack of standardized silicon platforms and more robust CE-optimized OSes.
This void has made the application integration process "very time-consuming" for CE manufacturers, said Lance Koenders, director of marketing for Intel's digital home group.
"The lack of CE silicon that delivers the necessary application performance, advanced 3D graphics capabilities needed for next-generation user interfaces and full Internet compatibility, is our biggest challenge," he noted.
Koenders added, though, that the company's Atom processor, in particular the CE 4100, will help solve this problem.
He also noted that the transition to "smart TVs" such as the ones envisioned by Google will require time for consumers to learn about the new products and for CE manufacturers to engineer and deliver new products to market.
Sony's spokesperson concurred, adding that the ideal of a home with connected devices will "continue to evolve as technology advances".
The Japanese CE giant, for one, will be introducing its Internet TV--the world's first TV to incorporate the Google TV platform--at the end of the year, he said, noting that this may be considered "the beginnings to an ideal connected home".
In a report by ZDNet Asia in April, a Samsung executive told The Korea Herald that the company is looking into the "business feasibility" of making Google TVs.
Samsung is the world's biggest TV maker, having shipped 38 million units last year. If it does commit to the Google TV project, its involvement would be a significant boost to the search giant's plans to disrupt the consumer electronics market, the report stated.