This week’s Smart Living roundup features the most influential Internet of Things technologies, a mobile giant’s leap to connect cars, chatty smart appliances, and a condominium that offers smarter solutions.

TiE’s Top 5 most influential IoT techs for 2014

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a nonprofit trade group dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and sponsor to TiECON, the annual conference for entrepreneurs from technology companies, venture capital firms, and service providers, released an infographic that highlights industry insights and predictions on the Top 5 Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for 2014 (full infographic below).

According to the infographic, the Top 5 most influential IoT technologies this year are smartwatches, health and fitness tracking, connected retail, virtual and augmented reality, and the automated home.

The automated home market is expected to reach revenues of $35.6 million by 2016, reports TiE, as more consumers leverage technology to help them save on utility bills. A homeowner can expect to save up to 20 percent in their home costs per year, an average of about $1,154 annually.

One of the most widely adopted home automation systems available today is temperature control, with popular products including the Nest smart learning thermostat and Belkin’s WeMo line of home automation solutions.  See here for a list of top solutions for smart home owners.

We can expect to learn more about the interesting developments in the IoT at this year’s TiEcon which will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center next week.

Nokia moves to connect cars

“Connecting people.” This is a phrase you’ve most likely heard in one of Nokia’s commercials for its mobile devices, but since it has sold its phone business to Microsoft, the Finnish company is now free to focus on other areas of the tech industry such as automotive.

With more connected cars coming our way, Nokia is shifting its focus to connecting cars as well. The initiative isn’t a surprising move, since Nokia already has a formidable mapping service, HERE.

The project’s funding will be managed by Nokia Growth Partners, the company’s $700 million venture capital arm and the top priority is to look for investments that will support HERE.

In the connected car market, Nokia will face the same competition it had in the mobile space. Google, Apple, and Microsoft are already working on their connected car platforms and it won’t be long until we see a vehicle utilizing a platform from the three giants.

Though it may seem like another losing bet for Nokia, newly appointed CEO Rajeev Suri may just be what the company needs to ultimately recover.  Suri is a veteran Nokia executive who joined the company in 1995 and served in various parts before serving as the CEO of Nokia Solutions and Networks in 2009 and now, the company’s CEO.  Suri is heralded as playing an instrumental role in driving the Nokia Siemens Networks’ Services business unit’s revenue to grow from less than a third to about a half.  Nokia’s board remains positive that Suri will be able to “deliver innovations that have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

LG launches HomeChat enabled appliances

At CES 2014, LG showcased a set of new smart appliances with a new feature that allows users to chat with the home appliances.  Dubbed HomeChat, the feature uses Natural Language Processing and Line, a mobile messaging service, so users can communicate, control, monitor and share content with smart appliances.  The smart appliances connect to your home’s WiFi network and in some cases, NFC can be used to control some appliances.

HomeChat has three modes: Vacation, Away and Return-home which allows for automatic actions depending on which mode a user chooses.

The line of HomeChat-enabled appliances include a refrigerator with a camera, a washing machine that allows users to start and download wash cycles remotely, and a Lightwave oven that supports both NFC and WiFi.

LG has now made this new line of smart appliances available for purchase in Korea with the US next on its roadmap.

A condominium that embraces smart technologies

If you’re in Arizona next week and looking to purchase a prime piece of property, you might want to head on to 7726 East Baseline Road in Mesa for the grand opening of Villa Rialto Condominiums.

Source: trutankless

What makes this different from other condominiums is that it offers forward-thinking technologies such as the Nest learning thermostat and trutankless, a line of tankless electric water heaters than can be monitored and controlled using your mobile device.

“Smart home technology has become increasingly attractive for today’s buyer,” said Hudd Hassell, real estate developer at Bela Flor. “Our technology upgrade includes trutankless and Nest Learning Thermostats, both of which allow homeowners to adjust settings and monitor usage from anywhere in the world via an iOS or Android mobile device. It helps us offer a truly hassle-free ‘lock-and-leave’ lifestyle, which is very appealing — especially for homeowners who travel a lot.”

See TiE’s full IoT infographic below:

feature image: samsungtomorrow via photopin cc

car photo credit: PhotoDu.de / CreativeDomainPhotography.com via photopin cc