For decades futurists have prophesied that all your home’s gadgets will talk to one another. This year a host of players, from communications providers AT&T and Comcast to hardware makers Sony and Samsung to startups like Nest and Quirky, are launching Internet-powered products and services that could help fuel the long-awaited machine-to-machine movement. Consider the Dropcam Pro, a surveillance camera that began selling at Apple Stores on Oct. 22. Using a low-energy version of Bluetooth, the camera’s radio chip could allow it to communicate with other Internet-enabled devices in your home. Dropcam is betting that in the future its product might serve as an Internet hub, allowing you to manage other devices from the same smartphone app that lets you remotely peer inside your home. Here are some other companies pursuing similar strategies:
Dropcam Pro
The surveillance camera has added Bluetooth capability, so it potentially can function as a hub, connecting other devices in the home.
Nest
The thermostat maker recently launched a developer program so that third parties can create software that links other devices — for example, your home-theater controls — to your thermostat.
AT&T Digital Life
Making its debut this past April, the service allows customers to connect home items like light bulbs and door locks to the Internet and control them remotely via a smartphone.
The Egg Minder
Coming out of a partnership between GE and the startup Quirky, this Internet-connected egg tray informs you of how many eggs you have left in the fridge — and which are the oldest.
Samsung Smart Fridge
With an eight-inch screen directly above the ice dispenser, this connected refrigerator comes packed with apps — Epicurious recipes, Pandora for music, Google calendar, and more.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
The kitchen edition of this water-resistant tablet comes loaded with recipes and includes an iGrill wireless thermometer.
This story is from the November 18, 2013 issue of Coins2Day .