Boiling up the future

It seems like it will only be a matter of time before you have the option to replace every appliance and utensil in your house with one that is connected to the Internet or to your phone. We've seen smart refrigerators, smart thermostats, the smart fork, smart locks, the smart smoke detector, and now there's what UK retailer Firebox.com calls the "world's first WiFi kettle." Now getting up early in the morning to boil water can a tedious task. What if you could just lie down in bed and have your water boiled at your bidding? This is the concept behind iKettle. This kitchen gadget can be controlled using an iOS or Android smartphone as long as the accompanying app is installed. The aptly named iKettle is what you expect it to be. The stainless steel 1.8 liter kettle has a wireless-equipped base station. When the kettle and smartphone are on the same network, using the app you can not only turn on the kettle but also set the temperature. Even better, the app has an alarm that allows you to turn on the heat as you hit the snooze button so your hot water is ready and waiting when you get out of bed. That's the good news, but the bad news is that at this stage, it will come with a standard 3-pin UK plug, so if you want to use this cool new gadget outside of the UK and Ireland, you will need an adapter. But it will hopefully all be worth it when the iKettle, which retails at US$160.79, ships next month.