Around The Home
The Periodic Coffee Table
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This one will certainly be a conversation starter at your next Trivial Pursuit party. Crafted from burred oak, the Periodic Coffee Table contains actual samples of elements, displayed and illuminated beneath a sheet of toughened glass with each individually embedded inside a solid acrylic block.
Aquasolo self-watering system
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While you’re on holidays your plants need not suffer with this self-watering system from Aquasolo. The patented device enables users to water plants for long periods, using just a bottle of water and the Aquasolo system.
POWRAMID: a new shape in surge protectors
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This conical-shaped power strip from Kreative Power not only protects your electronics from power surges, but also stops your cords from getting into a tangled mess. Unlike conventional power strips and bulky circular multi- outlet designs, POWRAMID is a space-saving device with six widely-spaced outlets that can accommodate large-size plugs.
LG Digital Photo Frame and DVD Player
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LG Electronics has unveiled a new media device coupling a digital photo frame with portable DVD capabilities. The Digital Photo Frame and DVD Player (DP392G) is a single unit image and video display aimed at those seeking an easy way of loading their photos onto a digital photo display.
Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond sewing machine
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With a name suggesting it could conquer all, the Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond is a sewing and embroidery machine for high-end sewing enthusiasts. According to Husqvarna Viking, it offers the largest and brightest, interactive VGA touch screen available in the sewing industry.
LunaBlocks - modular furniture for the young at heart
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Remember how much fun you had playing with blocks when you were a kid? Lunatic Construction's LunaBlocks are giant-sized building blocks which make pieces of modular furniture for grown-ups.
BlueLounge CableBox organizer
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The age of wireless electrical power could still be some way off, so until then there's still room for simple solutions that cover-up the unsightly entrails of home electrical devices. Bluelounge has added to its range of organizing solutions with the CableBox, a neat hide-away for power-strips and electrical cables.
Electrolux Sunny solar water front loader
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Hot water use in washing machines in a big component of household energy use. One solution is to simply wash in cold water, but a new new front loader from Electrolux caters for another option by facilitating the use of water heated by solar energy so you can wash in hot water without turning on the heating element.
Digital Pot turns your plants into pets
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It’s not as attractive as classic terracotta, but this 21st century pot plant could be big news for the sad looking greenery in the corner of your office or apartment. We spotted the high-tech “Digital Pot” over at Yanko Design and were attracted to its tamagotchi-esque qualities that could see “pet plants” become a new craze.
Laddersmart: enhanced safety for the upwardly mobile
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In the UK alone an average of 14 deaths and 1200 major injuries* are suffered by workers each year in accidents involving ladders and stepladders. The Laddersmart safety device is designed to help combat this ongoing problem in relation to rooftop access, locking the top of the ladder firmly into place and protecting the gutter at the same time.
Jar-friendly spoon
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If you absolutely can't live without extracting every last morsel of chocolate mousse from the bottom of its container, here is the solution.
Voice Recording Tape Measure
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This nifty little tool for tradies or weekend home repair warriors is not only a tape measure, but also a voice recorder. When you don’t have a pen and paper handy you can record your measurements into the tape measure and play them back when you need them.
The insect terminator tennis racket
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An early contender for the bang-per-buck gadget of the year is the Bug Bat - a handheld insect killer that delivers a high voltage zap. With the form factor of a tennis racket, anything that touches the “strings” on the racket face is delivered a powerful electric shock – more than enough to send any insect it comes in contact with it into the hereafter. The scariest feature is its compelling nature: once you’ve heard the electric crackle of death from a pinpoint backhand, otherwise rational and balanced humans get a look in their eye like the dog that tasted blood. This product bats way beyond its sub-US$20 price range in terms of enjoyment and usefulness.
iRobot expands pool cleaning range
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iRobot is known to consumers as the creator of all types of home helpers, from the gutter cleaning Looj to the floor scrubbing Scooba. The company has now expanded its iRobot Verro Pool Cleaning Robot line to include two new models, the Verro 100 and 500.
Slim-line designer smoke alarm
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May 6, 2008 Smoke alarms are an absolutely essential household item, and although we've seen some clever innovations in recent years including units that talk, models that clip onto light fittings and even plans for smell based alarms to aid those with hearing impairments, most designs remain a bit of an eyesore when it comes to complementing modern decor. The Silhouette™ by Kidde is looking to change this impression by virtue of its sleek, low-profile form that aims to better blend in with its surroundings.
Expandable dining in perfect symmetry
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April 30, 2008 The benefits of dual-mode dining tables are well established - a compact unit that saves space for everyday use becomes an entertaining centerpiece when guests arrive. But when it comes to round tables, most expandable designs introduce a square extension into the centre, meaning the symmetry of your circular dining experience goes out the window. Not so with this unique fold-out table created by French designer Philippe Braun which uses a patented mechanism to keep the table circular in its expanded form via extension leafs on every side that integrate into the tray of the table when not in use.
Samsung's unveils largest french door refrigerator
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April 24, 2008 At a volume of 29-cubic-feet and offering a 16% increase in useable space while retaining the same footprint, Samsung is billing its latest French Door Refrigerator as the world's largest.
The world's fastest grass muncher?
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April 23, 2008 If you're looking for a lawn-mower to park in the garage beside your Bugatti Veyron, the Excalibur may be just the ticket. Billed as the world's fastest lawnmower by its Indiana based manufacturer Dixie Chopper, the Excalibur 3874 promises to manicure 9.2 acres per hour at speeds of up to 15mph.
Thermador electric cooktops with infrared sensor technology
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April 23, 2008 Thermador's latest range includes electric cooktops with sensor technology that uses an infrared beam to continuously monitor the heat from the cookware itself and automatically maintains precise cooking temperature to help save time and effort in the kitchen.
The chair-to-sofa concept
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Readers of Gizmag may remember Roel Verhagen Kaptein’s Skimmer – an affordable, PWC-like powered ground-effect airplane that takes off and lands in the water. Roel describes his latest design, a chair-to-sofa concept, as “a solution for when living space is limited and needs to be adaptable for different purposes.” It’s a low cost way to add flexibility to your core living environment.
Marvel's MicroSentry real-time fridge temperature monitoring
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April 15, 2008 Refrigerator maker Marvel has unveiled new technology allowing real-time temperature monitoring. Known as "MicroSentry ", the technology promises a new level of functionality delivering consistent and precise temperature control for food, wine and beverage storage.
Snoozing is not an option with the Puzzle Alarm Clock
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April 15, 2008 A similar concept to "Clocky" the alarm clock that runs-away, the Puzzle Alarm Clock ejects three different shaped puzzle pieces when it goes off in the morning and the only way to stop the sound is to complete the puzzle. It's a frustrating but effective way to make sure you never miss an important morning meeting again.
Kitchenware for eccentric people
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April 11, 2008 We’ve seen some eccentric cutlery in our time (such as the Voodoo Knife Set and the Messermeister Magnablock Pro), but designer Harry White has translated his quirky humor into a range of kitchenware certain to delight the unconventional amongst us. Like his Billions measuring jug, his arbitrary measuring jug or his delightfully eccentric, one-off, evo-cut cutlery set. It is designed according to the principles of population genetics and natural variation. The set, or “population” of cutlery shows continuous variation in size and shape, and inheritance of several kinds of mutation, as explained by a family tree, that alter the cutlery functionality, sometimes in unexpected and useful ways.
OLED - the art of interior lighting
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April 8, 2008 We've previously discussed the potential of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology to transform the nature of interior lighting products - walls, furniture and even abstract art can now be vehicles for the introduction of these versatile and energy efficient light sources into the home. The striking “Early Future” table light from celebrated lighting designer Ingo Maurer is the latest example to cross our desk.
Digital imaging on brick walls
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March 29, 2007 The digital tools available to designers, architects and home decorators continue to grow by the day. Nowadays you can apply digital images to carpet, tiles, curtains, wall surfaces and even complex shapes such as cars, but until now, you couldn’t render a digital image onto brick. Digital printing pioneers VgL have developed a new textured wall film that is heat applied directly to brick work (internal, external, painted or unpainted) and takes on the surface texture of the surface its applied to. UK-based Surface View was recently launched by VgL with a view to becoming the go-to-guys for the use of digital printing for interior decorating.
Electrolux Inspiro intelligent oven - “auto-focus for chefs”
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March 19, 2008 Electrolux is launching an important new oven called Inspiro - the first oven that automatically determines the right way to cook a dish to consistently achieve the desired result. A heat management program automatically selects the right heating mode based on the contents of the oven - the company is selling the technology by likening the way the Inspiro manages heat to the auto focus of the camera.
Liveboard - the live, wireless baseball scoreboard
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March 19, 2008 In terms of need-to-know-NOW, there’s nothing quite like sport – baseball, football, basketball, cricket and motor racing provide the most compelling scheduled live news events on the planet, so they’re a natural for ambient media devices. Now an entrepreneur has begun building these stunning retro scoreboards using Bluetooth and internet technologies. The $200 Liveboard displays the score, inning, batter count, and base occupancy of the game of your choice – live and without any ongoing fees!
The ultimate loungeroom golf simulator - now including online tournament play
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March 17, 2008 High flying, deal-making business and the leisurely sport of golf have gone hand in hand for decades, the high-class country club being an exclusive refuge for the wealthy and powerful. With so much money behind it, golf is one of the few sports that can support blue-sky, no-expense-spared technology like the Full Swing Golf simulator. Built into a wall in your home, office or place of business, this immensely popular boys' toy allows you to play over 50 of the world's most famous courses, from the Old Course at St. Andrew's to Pebble Beach, using your own clubs and never losing a ball. A new online mode allows you to play over the Web against your buddies... Provided they have the US$50,000 to $80,000 you need to set yourself up with a system!
Water saving Water Aid Top Load Washer from Electrolux
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March 17, 2008 Top loaders have generally been considered the water wasters of the washing machine world, but the new Water Aid Top Load Washer from Electrolux addresses this issue by delivering water savings of up to up to 7,800 liters (over 2000 gallons) per year using sensors that determine the load size and only supplying the exact amount of water needed to wash and rinse.
HDTV, digital cookbook and digital photo frame kitchen combo
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March 14, 2008 As the popularity of digital photo frames grows, so does the shapes, sizes and specific applications of the products on offer. The latest example comes from Pandigital, which has taken things to a new level with a frame that incorporates HDTV and a digital cookbook for the ultimate kitchen companion.
Sharp's new air purifiers combine purification and humidification
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Sharp has released two new air-purifiers that combine three technologies to quietly and efficiently clean and refresh air in the home. The KC-C100U and KC-C150U use a triple filtration system, Sharp’s Plasmacluster technology and a humidification function to trap dust and pollen, decrease odors, and freshen and humidify the air.
Husqvarna reveals solar electric hybrid robot lawn mower
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It's a green solution for a green problem. Husqvarna has unveiled a new version of its Automower™ that not only allows you to maintain a neatly trimmed lawn without lifting a finger, but achieves it using combination of solar power and electricity. Like its fully-electric predecessor, the Automower Solar Hybrid works by cutting the grass with small blades in an irregular pattern within an area defined by a pre-laid boundary cable that ensures the mower wont turn your flowering garden beds into mulch. According to Husqvarna the new Automower only uses the energy of a standard light bulb, and to ensure it remains green even at the end of its life-span, it is constructed from 90% recyclable material.
Control4's energy saving wireless light dimmer
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March 4, 2008 Creating more artificial light than we actually need is a significant contributor to energy waste in the home. The solution - dim the lights. In the case of the Wireless Dimmer from Control4 this is achieved automatically as the device uses ambient light sensors to adjust brightness to an optimum level.
The Krank lamp: funky, functional and eco-friendly
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The 2008 Greener Gadgets Design Competition produced a number of eco-friendly, innovative designs, amongst them was the standout design of the “Krank”, a light-weight lamp which is powered by hand.
New Band expands the uses for DaysAgo timer
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March 1, 2008 There’s nothing worse than finding a jar in the back of the fridge and testing the contents with your nose only to discover the contents have turned rancid or pouring milk into your morning coffee and seeing it curdle before your eyes. DaysAgo, the digital day counter which attaches to opened food containers and tells you when the contents need to go straight to the trash can, has a new accessory. “The band” is designed to be used on non-metal or odd-shaped containers, allowing you to use the timer on many more items.
