Nokia intros Home Control Center platform

World's-largest cellphone maker Nokia on Thursday announced it is developing the Nokia Home Control Center, a platform that will allow users to control their home electronics, security systems and energy management systems via a mobile device. It's an open platform that will allow third parties to write their own smart home solutions for use in mobile devices or PCs and control all compatible devices in their home either locally or remotely.

With the Nokia Home Control Center, users will be able to view and control their home's electricity consumption, turn devices on and off, and view current temperatures, camera views and motion sensor status.

Nokia is considering offering a dual-branded version of its technology for high-volume customers. It will use a Linux 2.6-series kernel as the interface in the devices while a Z-wave or security radio will also be integrated to communicate with the home devices.

Finland's handset producer will partner with one of Europe's largest home energy providers, RWE, to allow users to control the temperature in their homes via the Nokia interface. It is planned to launch late in 2009 and will consist of a central control unit together with remote-controlled thermostats for the radiator. RWE plans to offer the necessary devices with new energy supply contracts.

Nokia is also working with five other companies to develop smart home solutions in the near future. The Finnish cellphone maker will demonstrate its new technology at the Nokia World event in Barcelona, Spain on December 2-3.