Samsung smart fridge: It runs Android apps like Evernote (video demo)

Smart refrigerators have been an object of ridicule among those covering and reading about Consumer Electronics Show 2013. But Samsung’s newest smart fridge isn’t a joke. With a 10-inch display that shows you the weather, your calendar, notes from your family members, and other news, it’s a good example of how a “smart appliance” means more than just connecting to the Internet these days.

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The Android-based T9000 refrigerator (not to be confused with the T-800 from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator movie) also runs apps such as Evernote, the popular note-taking and memory-aid app. Evernote lets you create notes, share web clips, photos, links, and videos. You can then sync them with any other device you have that runs Evernote. That means that your spouse can use Evernote to create a grocery list on the refrigerator. That list will instantly sync to your smartphone, and you’ll be able to get the message in time that you need to pick up more milk. You can also display recipes that you have copied to Evernote, and you can share photos via an Evernote update.

You can’t install Android apps on the fridge yourself, so no Angry Birds Star Wars. But it does have a variety of preinstalled apps that are useful. Another cool app is Epicurious. You can look into your refrigerator and list the ingredients in the fridge. Then Epicurious will search through its database to find a recipe that you can make. If you have beef, bacon, onions, and cheese, you can make a meal like bacon-cheddar burgers with caramelized onions. Unilever has an app sends coupons and recipes to your fridge. You can then send them to a mobile device to use them at the store.

The app screen has a menu of icons at the bottom. You can write memos, view AP news, update your calendar and customize it with photos (which you can upload via a SD card, Picasa, or through AllShare). You can add your Google Calendar and show calendars side-by-side. The kids can enter their own appointments by typing on the screen.

The 32-cubic feet fridge itself has a lot of space in four compartments (where, as you can see in the video below, you can fit a giant lobster). You can configure two as freezers, or just one, and up to three as refrigerators. The refrigerator is coming this spring for somewhere around $4,000.

You can make fun of that price, of course. If you buy an iPad for $600, then spend $600 on a refrigerator and $50 on an iPad refrigerator mount, you can save a good chunk of change.

Check out our video of the T9000 below.