Refrigerator

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

The Amana Jot Refrigerator makes a cool noticeboard

By Darren Quick

17:56 July 15, 2009 PDT

There’s no doubt the refrigerator is the central hub of the kitchen, serving more than its primary purpose of keeping things cold. In recent years we’ve seen fridge manufacturers pack their products with all manner of technological additions, from iPod docks to touch screens and TVs. In most households though, the humble fridge remains a central place to stick notes that are sure to be seen. Whirlpool has saved us the hassle of hunting for a scrap of paper on which to scribble such missives with the Amana Jot refrigerator. Read More

The iPhone Refrigerator

By Mike Hanlon

19:43 November 25, 2008 PST

November 26, 2008 An emerging prestige manufacturer and designer of quality and innovative household goods, Slovenia’s Gorenje graced our pages earlier this year with its wow-factor SmarTable, and has backed up with two prototypes (modern and retro) of a very clever iPod refrigerator and the news that the soon-to-be-available production versions will be followed by an iPhone refrigerator in 2009. Slip your iPod into the dock on the front and it’ll charge, play music and video through the refrigerator’s two built-in 7 watt speakers, and connect to the internet if you have wifi. Gorenje’s plans are ambitious, and include using the touch screen on the iPod to control other Gorenje appliances and there’s an internet portal under development which will enable the remote control of its wifi-enabled oven and dishwasher and plans to add wifi to other Gorenje appliances in the near future. The iPod fridge will cost around EUR1200 and comes with an iPod Touch. Read More

Samsung French Door Refrigerator with 7-inch touchscreen

By Emily Clark

22:10 November 4, 2008 PST

The latest addition to its kitchen suite of appliances, Samsung’s new RFG299 French Door Refrigerator transforms the humble fridge into an interactive, digital lifestyle centerpiece. The RFG299 features a 7” LCD touch screen above the ice and water dispenser and boasts exceptional internal storage at 28.5 cu. ft. in a standard footprint. Read More

WaterMill provides energy-efficient alternative to bottled H2O

By Emily Clark

17:05 October 20, 2008 PDT

The WaterMill from ElementFour is an atmospheric water collection device for the home that produces up to 12 liters of clean drinking water each day using only air. Once the drinking water is ready for consumption it can be fed directly to your sink, an existing bottled water system, your refrigerator, or a custom dispenser. Read More

Qubies: a quick and easy way to freeze baby food

By Jude Garvey

23:51 May 7, 2008 PDT

May 8, 2008 Qubies ice-cube tray is unique because it has the divider on the lid. Instead of trying to pour baby goop into a standard ice-cube tray, you simply fill the container, press on the lid and pop it in the freezer. A few hours later you will have a tray of 30 ml (about 1 fl. oz.) cubes of baby food ready for junior’s dinner. Read More

Marvel's MicroSentry real-time fridge temperature monitoring

By Emily Clark

00:39 April 15, 2008 PDT

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. Read More

The beer-launching mini-fridge

By Mike Hanlon

March 10, 2007 Here’s further evidence that necessity is the mother of invention. Duke University Electrical and Computer Engineering/Computer Science graduate John W Cornwall seems to rejoice in building interesting contraptions but his latest just could be a killer app. He has designed a fridge that gets the beer for you. His beer launching fridge took “about 3 months and several hundred dollars” to build, resulting in the world’s first fully automated, remote controlled, beer-launching mini-fridge. With a “magazine” of 10 cans, his first fridge was controlled by a keyless entry system. Such was the response to a video of the catapulting fridge, there’s now a good chance the fridge will go into limited edition production with a price tag of US$1500. Read More

Four door convertible fridge

By Mike Hanlon

May 11, 2005 Samsung has unveiled a four-door convertible refrigerator with four zones, each with adjustable temperature settings to allow customised food storage. The four zones each have independent temperature control and can hence be configured to specific needs as needs change, offering unprecedented flexibility for food storage. For example, consumers can convert refrigerator space to freezer space to prepare for holiday entertaining, then they can increase their refrigerator capacity to store the leftovers when the party is over. Read More

Craftworks fridge for garage and workspaces

By Mike Hanlon

Craftworks is the first compact refrigerator designed specifically for the garage, workshop and home away from home living environments. On the outside it has a toolbox red exterior with rugged metal door pulls to blend in with other major tool chest brands. On the inside, this efficient 4.4 cu. ft. refrigerator satisfies space, energy, and portability needs to safely and conveniently provide refreshments where they are needed. Read More

LG Internet Refridgerator

By Mike Hanlon

The LG adverts on telly don't do it justice. The LG Internet Refrigerator has the coolest set of features ever seen in the kitchen. Read More