The Much Anticipated Networked Home Appliances: What is the Key to Popularization?

ABSTRACT

Amidst the boom for digital household technologies like flat-screen televisions and digital cameras, a new wave of anticipation has begun to swell for networked home appliances - digital devices that utilize an Internet or Intranet connection. Yet, despite all of the excitement, the market for these technologies is not meeting expectations.

Previous surveys have concluded that the current demands of consumers are, on the one hand, "to be able to enjoy digital contents like movies and music wherever and whenever they want," and on the other hand, for "piece of mind about their health, their parents' health, and about the worsening crime and a growing lack of safety in society." Even though products and services that meet these needs have already been commercialized, their use is not widespread.

It has been found, based on recent surveys, that two main consumer anxieties are preventing the popularization of networked home appliances. The first is about security and the threat towards one's personal privacy and the second is a concern about the inter-compatibility of products. Finally, another important problem is that consumers are still not sufficiently informed about what networked home appliances are and how they are used.

The key to the popularizing networked home appliances is to allay these primary consumer anxieties and, at the same time, to better inform the consumers about how such technologies can improve their daily lives.