SEOUL, April 19 Asia Pulse - South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. (KSE:066570) said Tuesday that it will globally launch this year refrigerators and other home appliances with wireless-fidelity (WiFi) connectivity that can be controlled from smartphones.
LG plans to release Web-connected fridges and washers this month in the domestic market, which can send information to smartphones wirelessly, inform consumers how to repair a product and send alarms when food expiration dates near, it said in a statement.
The upcoming side-by-side fridge, which has a 10.1-inch liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on the door, can be tapped by fingers to add a list of groceries and set their expiration dates or to download recipes, LG said. The product is priced at 4 million won (US$3,676).
Its washers can be set to select the hours when the energy rates are the cheapest as it receives energy-rate information from a wireless connection, it added.
LG plans to increase the portion of its WiFi-enabled washers to 20 to 30 per cent of its washing machine models this year, Lee Young-ha, the head of the company's home appliance division, told reporters.
Home appliances are the latest consumer electronics empowered by Wi-Fi connections amid growing needs among consumers to stay constantly connected on the Internet.
The consumer electronics industry's previous attempts to expand functions of home appliances through wireless connections met a tepid response from consumers in the past. LG rolled out an Internet-connected fridge 10 years ago, but its sales underperformed with a high price barrier and a low penetration rate of broadband in the country.
The WiFi-enabled consumer electronics are poised to become popular in coming years, however, LG said, as their prices became affordable and more households are equipped with WiFi connections.
According to Pike Research, the market for Web-connected home appliances is forecast to grow to 6 trillion won in 2015.
(Yonhap) cg 19-04 1819
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