Product Review

The easy way to control your home appliances

Do you want to control common household appliances and amenities from your smartphone or tablet, wherever you happen to be? Home Automation For Dummies guides you through installing and setting up app-controlled devices in your home, such as heating and air conditioning, lighting, multimedia systems, game consoles, and security and monitoring devices—and even suggests popular products to consider.

The saturation of the mobile market with smart devices has led to an upsurge in domestic devices, such as thermostats, refrigerators, smoke detectors, security systems, among others, that can be controlled by those devices. Both Google and Apple offer fully-integrated solutions for connecting mobile devices to home theater and audio systems, and now Google has branched out into smart thermostats and smoke detectors. If you've caught the bug and want to get your feet wet in this cool new phenomenon, Home Automation For Dummies gives you plain-English, step-by-step instructions for tech-ifying your home without breaking a sweat.

• Provides clear instructions on remotely controlling your home appliances
• Shows you how to set preferences to automatically adjust lighting or temperature
• Explores digital "life hacks" that explain how non-app-ready appliances can be controlled via smart phones using third-party go-betweens
• Covers an emerging segment of the industry that was one of the primary focuses of this year's Consumer Electronic Show

If you're looking to find new ways to simplify and better control your home environment using app-driven devices, your phone, or tablet, Home Automation For Dummies makes it easier.