TV does laundry better than a PC or cell phone

That's the major conclusion being released tomorrow from the Internet Home Alliance's much-publicized Laundry Time project, an eight-week field trial of 'Net-enabled clothes washers and driers.

Bottom line: The regular folk involved in the test run say it's kind of useful - and certainly novel -- to see laundry-status alerts pop up on their TV screens. Not so much for getting those alerts on the PC. And, as for the cell phone, well, did they really need a focus group to figure that one out?

We first wrote about Laundry Time back in July - "Your washer is calling and the dryer is on IM" - just before the trial got under way, bankrolled by such household names as Whirlpool, HP, Microsoft, Panasonic and Procter & Gamble. As pilot's go, this was a rather exclusive one in that it involved only three Atlanta families, but here's a taste of what the vendors say it revealed.

"Laundry Time is a viable solution that represents an improvement over regular washer and dryer functionality," boasts the press release. "Pilot participants said that connecting washers and dryers to a central home system makes sense and promises to be a beneficial component in a home control system. Remote notification stood out as a key benefit, enabling participants to handle the laundry chore more efficiently thus processing more loads during the day."

Makes sense? Promises to be a beneficial component? ... Not exactly "When and where can I buy me a set of these life-altering laundry machines?"

To be fair, though, one of the testers does wax a bit poetic about her experience, even going so far as to suggest that an Internet-enabled laundry room can foster what passes these days for family togetherness.

"I love the pop-up notifications as I tend to forget everything when I am working," says Lisa Gunning of Roswell, Georgia. "It really does save time as it allows me to get my laundry done while I am doing other things. ... On odd days when I just do one load at night, getting the alerts on the TV is great. Even when I'm not watching TV, one of the kids will come and remind me." Which demonstrates once again that there will always be a place for the tried-and-true sneaker net. (No word, however, as to whether the kids volunteered to do any folding, which would be a breakthrough worth bragging about.)

The pilot results were not so promising for mobile-phone network operators who might be envisioning 'Net-connected laundry rooms as the next text-messaging gold mine.

"Participants did not see a benefit in getting Laundry Time messages on their cell phones," acknowledges the press release in a rather stunning bit of corporate candor. "However, because phone keypads were rather difficult to understand and use, it's unclear whether getting messages by phone would appeal to more consumers if phones with more intuitive keypads were used."

Maybe they'd do better promising whiter whites and brighter colors.

• Software