Some of the biggest names in consumer technology have failed to make the smart home a thing, but this week, Ikea has waded into this apparent quagmire with its new smart home portfolio. With monstrous brand recognition, Ikea has already solved the distribution problem that the likes of Apple and Google have encountered – it already knows how to sell people things for their homes. For Ikea, it’s a case of home+tech, while for the smartphone platforms, tech+home is a lot trickier as consumers aren’t in the habit of buying homeware from them – or even making the kinds of routine and habitual visits to their stores. Ikea has marketed the notion of repeat trips, with each visit an opportunity…