Buyers may someday ask you: “Is this home powered by Android?”

The ability to control a home via smartphone may not be too distant in the future, experts say. Google is setting the way for home owners to use its Android software to control everyday household items, everything from turning on and off the lights, the dishwasher, a lamp, and more.

Google’s Android@Home software would be built into appliances and light bulbs so it can wirelessly communicate with Android devices. For example, LightingScience this year released LED light bulbs that can connect with Android devices to turn off the lights without having to get up to flip the switch. Google also introduced the Open Accessory toolkit, which will help developers create other everyday household items that are compatible with Android devices.

“Everything should be Android-ified,” says Andy Rubin, head of Android. “We should just take it to new levels. It’s no longer something that people will go to the store to buy and then bring to their home or bring to their office. It’s something that will actually bridge those things.”

Source: “Turn Your Android Phone Into a Remote Control for Your Home,” The New York Times (May 10, 2011)