*OT* Man, I love the net and it makes all this great communication about the stock market possible, but why the hell would I WANT to communicate with my washing machine??? Do I load it up, go on vacation, and then get on the net to turn it on??? Do I have to buy the Compaq networking kit first and put an ethernet card in my washer? Can I connect it via phone line networking?? Lord, will the day come when we will NOT BE ABLE TO DO OUR LAUNDRY WHEN THE NET IS DOWN?? Too much....
John <gggg>
December 2, 1999
This Washer Cleans -- and Thinks;
Merloni's Machine Utilizes Net
By KEVIN J. DELANEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Italian consumers can take digital washing machines for a spin
starting next week, in what Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA says is
the first commercial roll-out of a household appliance that
communicates over the Internet and GSM wireless networks.
With the Dec. 9 launch of the margherita2000.com washing
machine, Europe's third-largest appliance maker hopes to get a
leg up on rivals like Sweden's Electrolux AB, which are still
developing their own smart appliances. And, in the process,
Merloni is overhauling its whole line of products so that within
three years, every washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher and
stove it sells will come ready to go online.
The new margherita2000.com will use the Internet to alert Merloni
repair teams when it needs servicing. In addition, owners can
send messages to their washing machines using their mobile
phones to turn them on and check their status remotely. It is
relatively straightforward, but impressive technology, developed
in cooperation with the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Boston.
Wired for Data
But the real benefits of the digital appliances won't arrive for at
least a few more months, when the Fariano, Italy-based company
releases other machines that can communicate using the same
standards. Once installed in a home, they will be able to pass
data to each other over home electrical wiring, allowing the
freezer and the oven for example, to confer about cooking times.
In addition, the appliances will be able to upgrade themselves by
downloading new software and looking up information on the
Internet. They will also be ready to engage in e-commerce, as the
refrigerator, for example, orders up groceries online when its
shelves are getting bare.
Available in Italy on Dec. 9, the digital washing machines will hit
the British market in May and France in September. The
company will also roll out related lines of digital refrigerators,
ovens and dishwashers in March, beginning in Italy and then
reaching throughout Europe.
In some cases, buyers will have the option of signing up for
additional services. They might, for example, be able to get a
washing machine for free and then pay each time they do a wash
or have their machine automatically order laundry detergent after
a certain number of loads. But, details of the specific service
offerings in each country aren't yet available. Electrolux is testing
such a program in Sweden.
And it isn't clear how quickly the market for smart appliances will
materialize, especially if consumers have to ante up extra for that
e-oven. The margherita2000.com comes with a 1,200 euro
($1,209.60) to 1,400 euro price tag, and owners have to foot all
communications and Internet-access costs on top of that. "The
retail [price] indication given for this machine does not put it in the
mass market," admits Francesco Caio, chief executive of
Merloni.
Nonetheless, the company expects to sell one million digital
appliances next year, 30,000 to 50,000 of which will ship with the
highest-technology GSM wireless features. And it's not alone in
its optimism about this market. Two months ago, appliance
maker Electrolux AB and telecommunications giant Telefon AB
L.M. Ericsson kicked off a joint venture whose first product, a
"Screenfridge," is due out before the end of 2000. Like Merloni's
washing machine, the appliances will be linked to an
Internet-ready communications system, which would allow for
automated home shopping and make them operable from mobile
phones, PCs and remote controls for television.
Rivalry Heats Up
Even before any products have actually hit the market, the
competitive battle over smart household machines is already
heating up. "Merloni's new technology surely is very convenient for
their repair guys," said Folke Hammarlind, a spokesman for
Electrolux in Stockholm, who added, "It's an after-sales system
that will inform the company when their appliances are broken.
But that's not what Electrolux is after. We want to offer an entirely
new business model and technology that is open to anyone. We
hope that one day, Merloni will join our system."
So far, its Italian rival isn't biting at the offer. "They have said they
will launch their products in a year," said Mr. Caio, adding, "Ours
are already here."
The success of the smart appliances in fact depends on the
manufacturers' cooperating to develop the standards that let the
machines communicate with each other and the Internet. With the
margherita2000.com, Merloni has put its own plan forward, a
communications language called WRAP, or Web Ready
Appliances Protocol. The company said it will make that protocol
available to other smart appliance players and plans to create a
subsidiary company next year to market WRAP. |
