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Around The Home
ChillChaser adds a little entertainment to outdoor heating
By Jude Garvey
15:26 November 16, 2009 PST
As winter approaches, it’s hard to reconcile with the fact that it won’t be long before it’s too cool for outdoor entertaining. A range of outdoor heaters from UK company ChillChaser, might have you enjoying the great outdoors for many more months. The heaters generate warmth from patented carbon fiber tubes which, according to the company, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% when compared to gas-powered heaters and the latest model, Poseidon, features an inbuilt media player and speakers. Read More
Rihanna kitchen scales with in-built iPod dock
By Paul Ridden
14:45 November 16, 2009 PST
Kitchen scales are essential for making sure your culinary delights turn out as expected. ADE-Germany has included another ingredient in the soon-to-be-released Rihanna model which is squarely aimed at those who like to listen to music while they rattle about in the kitchen. Currently in the prototype phase, the Rihanna kitchen scale is claimed to be the world's first to feature an iPod docking station. A recipe for success or iPod overkill? Read More
The bathroom scale evolves with wireless and Twitter integration
By Paul Lester
16:05 November 12, 2009 PST
Bathroom scales are one of the more unlikely beneficiaries of the technology revolution and you’ll now find all manner of weird and wacky additions to standard weight readouts – check out Omron’s space-aged number that houses a built-in pedometer for example. Withings has now stepped things up a notch by producing the world’s first WiFi enabled body scale, capable of uploading your vital statistics to a secure webpage or iPhone. Read More
The Labyrinth Aquarium - we're a bit lost
By Jude Garvey
15:36 November 9, 2009 PST
We’ve shown you the washbasin aquarium, a fish-n-flush toilet and some designer wall-mounted fish tanks. Now there's the Labyrinth Aquarium - a maze of interconnecting aquarium bowls with which to confuse your fishy friends and bemuse your human ones. Read More
Bodum’s Bistro Flatbed Toaster expands your breakfast options
By Jude Garvey
17:17 October 28, 2009 PDT
Bodum’s Flatbed Toaster can not only toast a piece of humble bread, it can also warm the most delicate of French pastries and take care of late-night munchies and cravings – just don’t try and find the toaster slots! Read More
Dribbling teapot enigma solved
By Jeff Salton
22:10 October 27, 2009 PDT
You may not be entertaining the Queen of England but when pouring someone a cup of tea from a proper teapot it’s annoying, nay embarrassing, when the tea drips down the spout and splashes into the saucer or onto the cucumber sandwiches (well, at least a plate of biscuits). French scientists know this feeling only too well and have employed technology to put an end to this horrendous social faux pas. Read More
Delta’s Pilar kitchen faucet offers unique touch-technology
By Jude Garvey
16:06 October 20, 2009 PDT
With the rise and rise of celebrity chefs and cooks on our screens, more home cooks are getting down and dirty in the kitchen, which (like it or not) may include using hands as mixing utensils. This is all well and good – until hand-washing time - when it is almost impossible to avoid covering the taps with your latest culinary offering. Help may be at hand - Delta has recently released its Pilar kitchen faucet - which can be turned on or off by a simple tap or touch anywhere on the spout or handle. Read More
Dyson ditches blades on Air Multiplier desk fan
By Paul Lester
14:45 October 15, 2009 PDT
The humble desk fan wouldn’t be top of many people’s list when it comes to modern technology that needs reinventing, but James Dyson, who knows a thing or two about manipulating airflow, has decided that it’s time to do away with those pesky blades that would seem a fundamental part of any design. Read More
The Finger Hinge prevents fingers being caught in the door
By Jude Garvey
11:20 October 8, 2009 PDT
Children and adults can suffer painful injuries, or even risk amputation, from getting their fingers caught between a door and the door jamb. A unique door-hinge design from an Australian inventor could prevent these injuries from occurring. The Finger Hinge is a full-length door hinge that completely eliminates the gap between the door and the wall and therefore removes any possibility of getting crushed fingers when the door is closing. Read More
Brinno's Digital Peephole Viewer lets you see who's knocking at your door
By Jude Garvey
00:08 October 6, 2009 PDT
If you enjoy your privacy and like to keep unexpected guests at bay, then a new security device from Brinno might be just what you need. Simply press a button and the Digital Peephole Viewer gives you a clear, wide view of your visitor via an LCD screen. Another press and you can zoom in for a closer peek. It gets better though – unlike regular peepholes, this one doesn’t darken whilst viewing – so your visitor will never know you can see them. Read More
Pump off the jam with the Onis ultrasonic dishwasher
By Paul Lester
17:12 September 30, 2009 PDT
The fight for more environmentally-friendly ways of living continues and this time household appliances are getting a boost from innovative French manufacturer De Dietrich, which has come up with an efficient new way to clean the dishes - less power, recycled water and detergent-free. Read More
Hourglass coffee maker cold-brews your joe, very slowly
By Alan Brandon
22:13 September 28, 2009 PDT
If you like your coffee hot, strong, and fast, then the Hourglass coffee maker is not for you. Another topsy-turvy coffee brewer, the Hourglass uses cold water to reduce acid and improve the taste of your coffee. The catch? It takes 12 to 24 hours to brew your cup of joe. Read More
Ravi cools wine at the very moment it is poured
By Karen Sprey
17:28 September 21, 2009 PDT
Most of us know the feeling of having a bottle of wine we wished was a good few degrees cooler. So what do you do? Hurriedly throw the lukewarm bottle into the freezer? Make (another) mental note to keep the fridge stocked? Or drink it warm (no, of course you're not that desperate). If you've got a Ravi in your freezer, you need never face this situation again. This nifty Canadian invention cools wine as it is poured and the level of cooling can be adjusted according to the type of wine being served. Read More
The multimedia Athena sofa
By Jude Garvey
17:19 September 20, 2009 PDT
Call me crazy, but isn’t a sofa meant to be a place of relaxation? Apparently, it’s not any more. Swiss-based Artanova has created a modern, upholstered sofa that incorporates multimedia into its design. Featuring creamy upholstery and stainless steel feet, this is one stylish-looking piece of furniture on its own, but it also boasts a computer, wireless MP3 player and iPod/iPhone dock, as well as subwoofer and loudspeakers. Read More
VW enters the home power market
By Paul Lester
21:28 September 15, 2009 PDT
Volkswagen has recently announced a rather ambitious project that, for a change, has nothing to do with cars. Teaming up with regenerative-power company Lichtblick, it aims to install 100,000 co-generation power units in Germany as part of a concept called ‘SchwarmStrom’ which, literally translated, means ‘swarm power’. Successful application would allow Germany to abandon the use of nuclear and coal power stations and provide adequate backup to renewable energy sources, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60%. Read More
Dyson DC31: looks cool and sucks at the same time
By Jeff Salton
02:48 September 14, 2009 PDT
Looking more like a power tool that just transported from the Starship Enterprise, the latest hand-held vacuum from Dyson has a 10-minute battery life and a digital V2 motor that delivers constant, strong suction - ideal for small cleaning tasks around the home or in a car, boat or caravan. The DC31 has a dual power mode that gives the operator a six-minute burst of power for higher suction at the flick of a switch. Dyson demonstrated its two models, the DC31 and the DC31 Animal to our team at IFA this month, and gave Gizmag's Kate Seamer an exclusive interview. Read More
Philips Robust Collection – kitchen appliances and warranties that impress
By Jeff Salton
01:09 September 11, 2009 PDT
Our crew on the ground at IFA, though not exactly master chefs, still know a good kitchen appliance when they see one. And they were very impressed by a demo of the Philips Robust Collection, five premium kitchen appliances fashioned from modern materials such as shockproof glass, plastics and metal die cast, with couplings made of Zytel plastic, a light metal replacement used by BMW and Mercedes for their sports cars. The result is a blender, food processor, hand blender, juicer and mixer that Philips says proved virtually unbreakable in drop tests, as well as looking good in any modern kitchen. Read More
LG’s Roboking robotic vacuum cleaner gets smarter
By Paul Lester
11:18 September 10, 2009 PDT
Ever since Electrolux introduced the couch-potato to the Tribolite, vacuum cleaner manufacturers have been coming up with progressively smarter, more efficient ways to automate this common chore. iRobot has been busy refining the Roomba and Dyson came up with something that looks more at home on the battlefield in the DC06, but this time it’s LG’s chance to get involved and the new Roboking promises intelligent cleaning using a range of advanced sensors. Read More
LG adds UV lamp to dishwasher to improve family health
20:25 September 6, 2009 PDT
LG Electronics has just released a dishwasher with an hygienic edge. Designed to target and improve family health, LG designers incorporated a distinctive UV lamp to prevent bacterial growth and eradicate 99 percent of remaining bacteria after a wash cycle. The UV lamp allows dishes to be hygienically stored inside the tub for up to four hours after the wash cycle. Read More
Metz mecaHome+ home automation from the TV for USD$270
By Gizmag Team
03:49 September 6, 2009 PDT
Metz demonstrated its new home automation management system at IFA in Berlin this week and there are some highly enticing aspects to its mecaHome+ methodology, most notably that it uses the Xcomfort wireless system from electrical engineering specialist Moeller (hence no wires) and it allows control of the home’s electrical functions to be managed centrally by a Metz television. Read More
LG’s 11kg washing machine – big load, small space
By Jeff Salton
04:30 September 5, 2009 PDT
If you have to wash for a large family or find that you’re constantly in charge of the whole team’s soccer uniforms – or if you’ve ever tried to wash king-size bedding - then you should be interested in what LG has to offer. And while it mightn’t be as sexy as 108-inch flat screen TV or the latest 12-megapixel smart phone, an 11kg washing machine that still fits inside a standard 24-inch cabinet should delight consumers who are burdened by laundry tasks. Read More
Saeco Xelsis - high-end coffee for all tastes
By Darren Quick
22:30 September 4, 2009 PDT
There’s no doubting the popularity of coffee and, like creating a fine wine, the process of perfecting that ultimate brew can be somewhat complicated. Domestic coffee machines have made the job of getting a café quality coffee at home so much easier, and now Saeco has gone that extra mile by releasing a machine that allows family members to individually tailor coffee to their tastes. The Xelsis automatic coffee machine features six personalized profiles so everyone can customize their own brew at the touch of a button. Read More
Ergorapido 2in1 – the pregnant battery-powered vacuum cleaner
By Gizmag Team
15:13 September 4, 2009 PDT
No, it's not really a pregnant vacuum cleaner, it's the latest AEG Ergorapido 2 in 1 – a battery-operated vacuum with a hand-held mini-vacuum in the handle that home appliance manufacturer AEG is showing at this year’s IFA in Berlin. The pick-of-the-litter is the EUR 210 (USD$300) Ergorapido plus which has an 18-volt lithium ion rechargeable battery and outperforms its sister models by 20%, enabling around 30 minutes of cleaning. Read More
Miele's hybrid unplugs vacuum cleaning
By Gizmag Team
06:01 September 2, 2009 PDT
The doors to the world's biggest consumer electronics show - IFA 2009 - opened to the press this morning and one of the first companies to showcase its latest wares was home appliance specialist Miele. Among the highlights was this very sensible hybrid compact vacuum cleaner that, like your laptop, provides the flexibility of both mains power supply and a rechargeable battery. This system provides a cord-free solution for quick clean ups and also means that when you inevitably reach the end of your tether and pull the plug out, the vacuum automatically switches to battery mode so you can finish the job uninterrupted. Read More
Visions of the future with Electrolux Design Lab
By Paul Ridden
18:49 September 1, 2009 PDT
Every year home appliance giant Electrolux throws down a design gauntlet to students from all over the world and challenges them come up with some novel ideas for household gadgets of the future. The company has just announced this year's eight Design Lab finalists and extended an invitation to the public to get involved to choose a favorite. What sort of gadgetry do young designers think will be available to us over the next 90 years? Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
