Filed under: Kitchen, Bedroom, Your Home, Living Room, Fun Stuff, Design, etc, News & Trends
Four new home technologies that will make your home smarter, more relaxing and, yes, better looking.At least once a day, we daydream about new home technologies that will improve our lives. So when we heard about the latest home technologies being shown at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we got all kinds of excited. These products are poised to make just about every room in your home a better place to be. The only downside? They're so new, you won't be seeing them in stores for at least a few more months.
Mirror or TV -- why choose? Photos: AOL
TV/Mirror
Maybe you hate the look of a big flatscreen TV hanging on your otherwise perfectly-decorated wall. Or maybe you prefer watching your lovely face over "The Office"? Ciil Technologies Mirror TVs not only switch back and forth from, well, a mirror to a TV, but can also do both at once (see how it works, in the photo above, right). The frame around it is an especially nice touch. You may be seeing these in hotels or shops soon, but we'll have to wait to bring one home.
Appliances that can be controlled from on-the-go. Genius! Photos: AOL.
Smart Appliances
No more calls from the supermarket: "Hey, do we have any carrots?" If you're in yoga class and need to turn down the oven, you can do it in between poses. And if you need to change your washer to a different cycle from a friend's house, no need to rush home. A new line of smart appliances from LG, thanks to THINQ Technology, allows your smart phone to "talk" to the oven, refrigerator or washer and dryer.
Don't let those energy costs run up: Track them! Photo: AOL.
Energy Saver
When you're on a diet, you monitor calories. When you put your home on an energy diet, you get this EnergyHub. It tracks your energy usage and how much you're paying for electricity at every moment of the day and night. You can even access the data from your computer or smartphone, which helps you know where your energy dollars are going and how to cut back. Plus, it allows you to remotely turn off appliances. Left for work with your alarm radio still blaring? Fixed!
A bed that helps you fall asleep. Photo: AOL.
Massaging Bed
No quarters necessary. We promise. The Prestige II Memory foam bed from Vivion will massage you to sleep thanks to body-mapping technology and a Brookstone massage system. You can select different modes, like Gentle Vibrations, Wave or Shiatsu-style pulse variations. And yes, there's a remote control and timer, so you won't wake up in the morning with pulses going up and down your back -- unless you want to!
Want more CES goodies? Check out CrunchGear's awesome coverage (they've even got the scoop on a window-washing robot!)