Imagine pre-cooling your room while you are on your way home by sending a text message to your AC. Or imagine a microwave oven that tells you the number of calories in the food being cooked. Or imagine, for that matter, a refrigerator that doubles as an FM radio and MP3 player. Come to think of it, you don’t have to imagine at all. These wonder machines are actually available at a store near you.

Given the rise in disposable incomes and the fact that the Indian consumer now wants the best that the world has to offer, most manufacturers of home durables have come up with “smart” appliances that lend an edge to everyday air conditioners, washing machines, televisions, microwave ovens and so on.

Take Godrej Appliance’s Digifresh refrigerator that comes equipped with a digital panel that tells you when your jelly has set. Priced at Rs 30,330, it also has a mechanism to put the fridge on “holiday” mode. This ensures that it runs on minimum energy, thereby freeing you from the hassle of having to empty it out before going on a vacation. Another “smart” refrigerator from the Godrej stable is the Edge SX MuziPlay that has a built-in FM radio and Mp3 Player and costs between Rs 12,690 and Rs 15,660.

Those who want to keep their homes squeaky clean could cock their eye at LG’s robotic vacuum cleaner. Priced at Rs 32,360, this vacuum cleaner has two built-in cameras to check out a room and come up with a programme to clean it efficiently. In yet another smart innovation, Onida’s pre-cool AC, costing between Rs 23,000 and Rs 27,000, comes with a special mobile phone and sim card. Once the mobile and AC have been installed and synchronised, all that the user needs to do is to text AC ON or AC OFF to the AC mobile to turn it on or off.

Needless to say, all these products cater to a niche segment of the market. Says Manoj Kumar, chief operating officer, consumer durables and electronics, EZone, India, “Thanks to India’s growing economy and increase in disposable incomes, the demand for premium products is growing faster than mass-market products. Since many consumers are looking for things that enhance their lifestyle, smart appliances have received quite a good response.”

Indeed, almost every home appliance manufacturer has made the “smart” move and come out with products that are pitched as “intelligent”. So if Samsung’s new washing machine has “aqua sensors” to dry your clothes and an air wash system for dry washing (Rs 45,900), Electrolux has a Talky Washy (Rs 14,990) — a washing machine that has a voice guidance system.

Cooking appliances are the other product category where a host of “smart” features are on offer. Onida’s Black Beauty Power Barbecue, priced at Rs 14,990, comes with a calorimeter. LG’s Charcoal Lighting Heater microwave (Rs 21,290) enables you to turn out naans and tandoori dishes. And Samsung’s Talking Microwave (Rs 15,690) comes with a voice guidance system.

Televisions have gone intelligent too, with Internet-enabled TVs being the latest offering in the market. These are for the technologically savvy consumer who wants to mix his entertainment content — Internet or television — seamlessly. In other words, these TVs allow you to use them for Internet surfing, chatting or watching regular television content. You can also use your smart phone as a remote for your TV by simply downloading the “media remote” application on your phone. Sony Bravia’s smart TVs cost between Rs 2,09,900 and Rs 3,59,900.

So how many Indian consumers would be willing to fork out that kind of money for a TV set? A fair number, according to Masaru Tamagawa, managing director, Sony India. “The Indian consumer has become extremely technology savvy and is completely updated on the latest trends in the market. Given this scenario, the prospect of Internet television is extremely positive in India.”

Agrees Devita Saraf, chief executive officer, Vu Televisions India, “We are at a time when most people want to be up to date with everything. There is no reason consumers will want to be left behind when it comes to the products they use in their daily life.”

Of course, not everyone roots for “smart” appliances in their homes. For the average consumer they may be nothing but needless luxuries. Says Priyanka Jain, a Jaipur-based homemaker, “These appliances are expensive. If at the end of the day, these fancy products do the same work, why should we spend more on them?”

No doubt, India lags far behind the West in terms of the number and variety of smart appliances available in the market.

Most manufacturers say that they are still sussing out the local market to decide if the country is ready to receive more sophisticated and high-end products. Take Samsung’s Wi-Fi enabled refrigerator that has a touch screen LCD panel and applications like memos, recipes, photos, AP News, calendar and Twitter. The product is yet to be launched in India as Samsung is still studying the market to decide if it will be a hit here. LG’s new range of products with “LG THINQ technology” are also not available in India as yet.

These products can be interconnected with a smart phone and all of them come with smart meters to ensure that they keep energy use to a minimum.

Still, India is certainly waking up to the “smart” technology wave. It is just a matter of time before they become a must-have in every affluent urban home.