Cozi, Whirlpool to Organize Families on the Fridge

Speaking of the digital home, I got a look at the way I think we will be organizing our family lives from the kitchen hub one day soon.

I wrote about Whirlpool's CES introduction of the $1,999 Central Park side-by-side refrigerator with hardware that accomodates snap-on electronic devices for photos, iPods, and a whiteboard. Well, the one device that stands out as something families actually would use every day is the Clio Vu tablet PC loaded with Cozi software for organizing family calendars, shopping lists, and other daily must-dos.

Cozi is a free online calendar service with a simple, clean interface and a smart color-coded tab system for organizing individual family members' schedules and to-dos. The company has adapted that service to a Clio Vu tablet PC that can be snapped into the Whirlpool fridge accessory and removed to use elsewhere in the house.

The sad news is this PC and Cozi software will only be available this year on Whirlpool's new $2,000 refrigerator, out of reach for many families. The good news is the Clio Vu tablet is well priced at $800 and the snap-on hardware that holds it and the other accessories will be available on all Whirlpool and KitchenAid refrigerators, low end to high end, within a few years, Cozi CEO and co-founder Robbie Cape said.

He also expects and hopes the $800 price of the tablet will drop as the technology becomes available to more families. That would be great, especially for families that can use an extra PC for homework, bills, and other computing needs.

In addition to the color-coded calendar, which syncs with Microsoft Outlook, Cozi has lots of great features.

• Shopping, chores, and other lists can be added to with a pen/stylus by writing directly on the tablet and hitting Enter. The shopping lists can be sent via text message to phones or via email. If you're away from home and want the list, you can call a toll-free number, hit a few menu buttons, and have the list sent to you. 

• Photo collage screen saver that displays a slideshow when you're not using the tablet PC.

• A message center to leave notes for family members and to send text messages and emails directly from the tablet PC.

We're not there yet, but this is one of the closest things I've seen that combines our love of the refrigerator door with organizing family life.