JACKSON, Miss. – Benjamin Duncan said it's been an uneventful year since he brought his roughly 50-year-old home into the 21st century.

But the benefit of making the improvements was spelled out to him when he witnessed a neighbor's car being stolen at gunpoint. If it had happened to him, "with this, I could have run in and called the police" the Jackson resident said, gesturing toward the central control panel of his new home-automation system. It allows him to view the inside of his home, control lighting, adjust heating and cooling and receive severe-weather alerts through his mobile device.

Smartphones and other mobile devices stream audio and video, take pictures, store grocery lists, bank account data and scores of other information, so using them to control many of a house's core functions seems the next logical step in an increasingly technology- and convenience-driven world.