Refrigerator

It’s down to the final eight in the Electrolux Design Lab 2010 competition. Around 1,300 designers from all over the globe entered the competition this year, with the brief being to create space-saving home appliances that would be suited to life in the heavily-populated urban environment expected by 2050. The finalists will present their designs to a jury in London on the 23rd of September with cash prizes and an opportunity of a six month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center up for grabs. Will it be the virtual kitchen helmet, the gel refrigerator or the portable ultrasonic dishwasher that impresses the judges, or will it be one of the other five fantastically futuristic designs?  Read More

It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere, which means it’s perfect weather for heading to the beach or packing a picnic basket and making for the countryside. Unfortunately, it also brings to the fore a problem that has plagued mankind for centuries. How to keep one’s watermelons cool on those long, hot days? Thankfully, the Japanese have turned their considerable technological prowess to developing a solution and here it is – a portable watermelon cooler called the Marugoto Tamachan.  Read More

In the future, your refrigerator might keep your food cold by using a magnet. Not only would it use less power and run quieter than your current fridge, but it also wouldn’t contain any hydrofluorocarbons, gases which can add tremendously to the greenhouse effect if not properly disposed of. It all comes down to something called the magnetocaloric effect, wherein a changing magnetic field within a material causes it to get colder. It definitely holds promise, although scientists first have to figure out just how the thing works.  Read More

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

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

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

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

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

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