Imagine the convenience of a microwave oven that can download 1,000 recipes and automatically set the optimal cooking temperature for each dish, or a refrigerator whose contents you check via your cell phone.
These are just some of the benefits you can enjoy by going online with your appliances. Yet, major consumer electronics makers developing these so-called Internet home appliances are wondering who would be willing to pay tens of thousands of yen extra to own such products.
Many firms say they have yet to come up with the "killer" features that would make conventional products look obsolete and win over consumers.