We've known for a while that the kitchen of the future will be full of connected gadgets. But you won't have to wait long to see these. Xiaomi, the Chinese company - or Internet company, as it calls itself - has just launched an induction heating rice cooker. Yes, they're still making phones and pretty good ones at that, but that doesn't mean they're not getting into the Internet of Things space. In fact, they've got other products up their sleeve and now have a brand called Mi Ecosystem under which you'll see more connected products soon. There's no date announced for an India launch yet, but it shouldn't be long.
The cooker looks very neat and simple. And white, from the pictures available of it. It has an iron and teflong coating on the inside. But never mind that: the companion app, Mi Home, will let you scan a barcode on the rice packet and the rice cooker will know how to adjust cooking time for that particular variety of rice. And that's your problem right there with bringing it into another country but China where the company has worked with vendors - products have to come out with such codes to begin with. There are some workarounds, such as using photographs and feeding that to the app or an app like Blippar which could perhaps work with rice companies to put its augmented reality to work here, but none of this has been talked of outside of China yet.
Xiaomi also has air purifiers, water purifiers, security sensors and other home appliances in China. Going by pricing there, it seems obvious that Xiaomi plans to continue what it started with smartphones: a formula of affordable yet high quality products, and that's what it's beginning with the Mi Induction cooker.
The Mi cooker may take its time to navigate it's way to India, but connected products are beginning to find their way home.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
