by Andrew Knight

In the lives of today’s home buyers, their smart phone or tablet offer a control panel for almost every aspect of their lives, from holding digital movie tickets to monitoring when kids get home from school to offering reminders for their weight-loss program. So it shouldn’t be surprising that customers are increasingly expecting the same out of their new homes.

Fortunately, tech manufacturers have developed a wide array of offerings that make it possible for builders to offer comprehensive digital control of everything from the thermostat to the blinds, all from one place.

Technologies that used to sound like something out of The Jetsons are becoming increasingly available. You can build homes with smartphone or tablet-control functionality—today.

Forgetting to close the garage door has become a thing of the past, because Liftmaster’s MyQ Technology allows users to control the garage door, access gate, or interior lighting of their home from a smartphone.

With Nest, users can control their existing thermostat from their smartphones or tablets. Their site claims installation takes less than 30 minutes and it offers a compatibility check tool to see if it works with an existing system.

Want to add control over even more appliances and home fixtures? SmartHome might be the place for you, offering users apps to control lights and various home appliances in addition to the thermostat. Check out their home automation apps for Android and iPhone users.

Ever wanted to rig a house with a completely wireless stereo system that could be controlled from a central hub—an iPhone or tablet? Meet Sonos. This stereo system isn’t like others in that it is connected to a Wi-Fi system that can be controlled from, you guessed it, your tablet or smartphone. No wires mean that a house-wide system could be set up and controlled with ease.

So, as we snuggle up on the couch and light our iPhone controlled fireplaces, let’s not forget that we can use our phones to call people, too!