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While brands like LG, Samsung, and Kenmore all showed off their own
special brand of Jetsonian appliances at CES this year, Sub-Zero was
close by touting a stable of 30 automation-ready products and a
partnership with Control4 that could make them a contender for home
automation domination. Sub-Zero's ZigBee-based system uses preexisting
serial ports (initially installed for diagnostic purposes) to connect
users to appliances via touchscreens, smart phones, and other enabled
devices. The system lacks full control of potentially dangerous
appliances like the oven, instead acting as an alert system when, say,
your turkey is done roasting, but it does grant complete access to
things like your refrigerator or freezer. Other systems might sport
increased functionality, like LG's Thinq, which allows users to set
oven temperatures remotely, and Samsung's fridge, which lets you tweet
from a built-in touchscreen, but Sub-Zero is hoping a second-quarter
release will put them at the head of the pack. We'll see if a head
start makes a difference in the glacial appliance market, when Samsung
rolls out its smart refrigerator this May and Kenmore's system comes
to fruition in 2012.
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