The boundaries between, TV, PC, mobile and every other gadget in your home are slowly blurring. With the arrival of superfast Internet and wireless technology, we're entering a new age, the era of the connected home. See where we're headed in our showcase guide.

The 30 second brief

Televisions aren't just TVs anymore. With the arrival of Internet TV (IPTV), they're screens, no different from your computer monitor or even your phone's display. Right now, you can use them to access shows and multimedia, over Wi-Fi or even remotely through a mobile 3G connection. But in the future, it'll be just as easy to control every other device too - your washing machine even - with your phone acting as a universal remote. The goal is the elimination of wires, even the mains cables, and the end of any delay in getting what you want, when you want it.

Isn't that just like what we have now?

There are plenty of ways to stream media around your house already, which are efficient and effective. The last few years have seen an explosion in entertainment download services, from music to TV, movies and even games.

But we're only just seeing the start of the next step: Instant streaming services, on tap from the media industry. Instead of having to download whole, huge files, before being able to enjoy them from anywhere in your home, or on your phone, you're now able to summon up any song you want to listen to, or any high-def movie you fancy, as soon as you want. Today, many connected devices still also use cables, so you'll need ethernet ports to plug them in to the Internet instead of Wi-Fi. It won't be long though before those cables disappear completely.

So why doesn't everyone do that?

We're on the cusp of the completely wirelessly connected home now, with all sorts of on-demand, streaming media services on every device, from phones to consoles, TVs and Hi-Fis. But there are still no common platforms - no single website for all on-demand TV, for instance - meaning you're facing a stack of different subscriptions, bookmarks and logins to keep tab of in order to enjoy them all.

The next step, wireless electricity, powering your gadgets without any cables connecting them, is still in its infancy. Technology companies have yet to crack a system that will power a high-energy device like a flatscreen TV, and the science is just the start. An industry standard will eventually have to be hammered out to make it commonplace too. Power efficiencies are already being ramped up, so it won't be long before that day arrives.

The world will be a better place because...

When every gadget, from a lowly digital watch to a washing machine and even your gas meter are wirelessly connected, and capable of being commanded, from anywhere, you'll cut so much stress and wasted time from your day. Imagine being able to turn on the heating and run on a bath on a wet journey home, choose what movie you want to watch with your phone, then use it as a remote when you sit down on the sofa, ready to stream it in HD. That's the future of the connected home, and we're on the brink of it already.