Around The Home
TMIO Intelligent Ovens set for launch in April
Image Gallery (2 images)
January 8, 2005 Being an early adopter has never been a budget affair. When significant functionality is first offered, it is almost always at a premium. That was again evident at the Consumer Electronics Show this week when TMIO launched its much-awaited Intelligent oven and announced a retail price of US$7500. The TMIO Intelligent Oven features a professional cooking system, built-in refrigeration, built-in ethernet and TMIO's control technology that enables some compelling functionality. For example, food placed into the oven stays refrigerated until a pre-programmed cook time, or you can directly start the cooking over the internet or from your mobile phone. Read More
Repositioning the hearth - FireOrb
Image Gallery (6 images)
January 3, 2005 FireOrb Designer Doug Garafalo has created one of the most interesting and flexible heating appliance designs possible with the beautiful FireOrb. “I like that it’s a fire that people can actually gather around”, he says. “This kind of fire has echoes in the history of human culture. It creates a social space – it lets the fire be central again.” Read More
Dyson 'telescope' vacuum designed for compact living
Image Gallery (4 images)
November 29, 2004 The Dyson DC08 'telescope' vacuum cleaner is a new addition to the ranks of innovative household appliances that cater for compact living in urban environments. Traditionally, barrel vacuum cleaners have come with bulky wands and unwieldy hoses which are cumbersome to carry and store. The DC08 features a fully telescopic wand that reduces to a quarter of its size and clips onto the machine, while the hose wraps neatly around the body for easy storage. Read More
Electrolux Chest Freezer eliminates frost
Image Gallery (4 images)
December 2, 2004 Consumers had their first glimpse of the modern marvel of freezers in the 1920s and 30s when the first electric refrigerators with ice cube compartments arrived on the US market. Mass production of modern refrigerators began after World War II and helped transform the home with a wave of electrical appliance connectivity. And now in 2004, Electrolux has unveiled a Frost Free Chest Freezer that offers a significant upgrade to existing freezer design. Read More
Whirlpool 'In.Kitchen' designs suit 21C living
Image Gallery (3 images)
November 23, 2004 Whirlpool Europe has unveiled its vision for a new style of built-in kitchens that are more highly integrated and lifestyle oriented than those currently available. Entitled "in.kitchen: design landscapes for a new built-in experience", the design concepts are glimpses of possible domestic environments that could be achieved in the near future through well-orchestrated partnerships within the kitchen industry. Read More
New generation digital Home Networking Solution
Image Gallery (5 images)
November 16, 2004 Dedicated Devices (DDi) has released a new generation of digital home networking solutions that utilise a 120gb hard-drive hub to create a complete digital entertainment system and provide a secure and reliable way to access and manage digital content. Private home networks promise the ability to share music, video, photos, as well as internet access, files, printers and other equipment in a fully realised digital environment, enhancing living and facilitating working from home. Read More
Mathmos air switch lights up with the wave of a hand
Image Gallery (3 images)
November 15, 2004 Mathmos, the company that brought out the LavaLamp in the 60s has released a new white light lamp controlled by motion detection. Slowly pass your hand horizontally through the air above the Airswitch and the lamp turns on or off. Raise your hand vertically and the Airswitch will brighten or dim accordingly. Read More
Ceramic Decanters inspired by Australian motoring
Image Gallery (7 images)
November 15, 2004 A novel range of limited edition ceramic alcohol decanters in the shape of a motorcycle frame, oil drum and bowser, engine motor and eclectic objects like an eightball are now available from Australian based Ceramic Innovations. The decanters are designed to catch the eye of the discerning Aussie bloke and cosmetically enhance the home or office bar.
All 'Eclectic Vessels' feature a brass tap, a chemically inert grommet, a ceramic body for the decanter, food grade glazes and hand made wooden or metal stands to complement the shape.
EcoSmart updates the traditional fireplace
Image Gallery (5 images)
November 7, The primal warmth and comfort of an open fireplace is often incompatible with modern housing and contemporary living. EcoSmart Fire is a new product from the Australian-based Fire Company that is environmentally friendly, runs on efficient renewable energy and offers the design flexibility and portability to adapt to today's living environments. The EcoSmart Fire is flue less and does not require any utility connection for fuel supply, which makes it ideal for apartment and city living. Fuelled by a renewable energy (Methylated Spirits), it burns clean and is virtually maintenance free. Read More
New Hitachi machine washes and dries clothes all in one
Image Gallery (5 images)
November 2, 2004 A new Air Jet Dry system from Hitachi not only washes clothes - but dries them as well, all in the one compact machine. Perfect for busy households, the Air Jet leaves clothes dry, tangle-free and ready to wear once ironed. And because the air is not heated, it won't damage your clothes like a dryer can. Ideal for ever-increasing hectic lifestyles and limited living spaces, the new Air Jet is available in stores now. "People have always thought of washing machines as having a single purpose - to wash clothes," says Shibily Moidy, Product Manager, Home and Life Solutions, Hitachi Australia. "But with innovations like the new Air Jet, we are engineering a new phase of development where washers and air dryers are interactive and able to serve multiple purposes." Read More
Sonic toothbrush creates bathroom dentist
Image Gallery (5 images)
First it went electric, now the humble toothbrush has gone digital with the Intelliclean System from Sonicare and Crest.
This is the first integrated sonic toothbrush and liquid toothpaste dispensing system, which combines high-speed bristle motion with a new specially formulated liquid toothpaste.
Sonic technology promises healthy breath, fresher gums and anti-cavity protection - and that just-from-the-dentist feeling everyday. The IntelliClean system uses Sonicare patented sonic technology to provide powerful cleaning action that gently and effectively reaches deep between teeth and along the gum line. Read More
2004 Neiman Marcus Annual Christmas Book - outrageous toys
Image Gallery (6 images)
October 15, 2004 In keeping with tradition, the 2004 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book features a stunning array of fantasy gifts with stellar price tags, this year including such gems as a Zeppelin, a Custom Suit of Armour, an Underwater Aviator , a limited-edition Maserati Quattroporte, a haute couture Valentino gown, and an opportunity to join country music royalty on stage during a live Opry broadcast. Read More
Computerised loo generates electricity when flushed
Image Gallery (3 images)
As the humble computer continues its march into every nook and cranny, it offers unprecedented capability to many household objects which one might have thought entirely adequate. Take for example the toilet just released by Japanese manufacturer www.toto.co.jp. The computerised, eco friendly toilet basin is designed to fully automate the bathroom experience... so all you have to do is sit and be serviced! Now this level of functionality is impressive, but by no means unique - what's so clever about the Toto system is that it GENERATES electricity from the movement of water being flushed from the cistern into the bowl - this toilet runs on eco-friendly hydroelectric power. It stores the electricity in a dry cell battery that lasts ten years without replacement. Read More
TDK NXT speaker technology offers a new look
Image Gallery (3 images)
Even at a second glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking TDK's new mini sound system is missing a set of speakers, until you come to realise that the NXT technology speakers incorporated into the sound system are transparent. Invisible SurfaceSound speakers are the trademarks of TDK's new Slimline NX-02CD CD system, which TDK claims fill the room with sound, offering a broad sweet spot, and eliminating the 'beaming' often associated with conventional speakers. Invisible SurfaceSound speakers are the trademarks of TDK's new Slimline NX-02CD CD system, which TDK claims fill the room with sound, offering a broad sweet spot, and eliminating the 'beaming' often associated with conventional speakers. Read More
Caffeinated Beer to launch in November
Image Gallery (3 images)
It had to happen. The success of the heavily caffeinated "energy" drinks such as Red Bull in the tten and twenty-something markets has seen US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch (best known for Budweiser beer) announce a new fruity beer infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng. Also infused with select hops and aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, the new beer, which will be known as B(E) will offer a lightly sweet and tart taste. B(E) will be priced slightly higher than Budweiser and marketed through local print advertising, point-of-sale materials, bar and club promotions and online programs. B(E) will contain 6.6 percent alcohol by volume. Read More
Sharp Introduces Superheated Steam Oven
Image Gallery (3 images)
With a society increasingly demanding healthier ways of cooking, Sharp may have served up just the dish. They have unveiled a Superheated Steam Oven that it claims will enable low calorie cooking by roasting foods using water.
The Electric Superheated Steam Oven features a newly developed Superheated Steam Generator that bathes food in a spray of superheated steam to provide low-calorie cooking as well as removing excess fat and salt from foods, while retaining vitamins. Read More
Entertainment branding invades the Kitchen
Image Gallery (3 images)
Disney Consumer Products announced the launch of the new Disney Smoothie Maker and Disney Popcorn Popper, on September 29, continuing the convergence of convergence of entertainment and lifestyle into one of the most important gathering places in the home; the kitchen. The company's line of consumer electronics appliances are designed for kids and families and combine Disney's entertainment content with technology and design. Both products will be available in October at major US retail outlets, just in time for the holiday season, and are the first in an ongoing line of appliances that will continue to be introduced to consumers. Read More
Australia's first Intelligent Home Show
Image Gallery (3 images)
The Information Age will change our lives in many ways over the next few decades, most significantly in the way our home environment will change to support our lifestyle. Almost every home will benefit in myriad ways and home owners will be able to create unique personal living, recreational and working spaces. Of course the most difficult thing will be understanding the breadth of the offerings of the convergent technology sector, and it is hence significant that Australia's first exhibition focussing entirely on digital lifestyle in the home opens on October 15. Read More
Virtual windows: where would you like to live today?
Image Gallery (3 images)
Most humans in western society spend more than 50% of their time indoors. Indeed, most humans look out the same windows while they work or inhabit their dwellings, and see the same scenes over and over. Quite often, those scenes are not happy or compelling scenes, and the window is more a means of cost-efficient lighting and an aid to overcoming claustrophobia than creating a particularly compelling ambience. Read More
Table with a stream flowing through it
Image Gallery (3 images)
Sitting at your desk working can get quite stressful at times, and when it does we need to unwind and get away from it all. However with the Travelland table you don't need a panoramic view from your window to escape the confines of your office or home. Actually, you don't even need a window.
Aquarium washbasin
Image Gallery (3 images)
The Moody Aquarium offers an interesting "blank canvas" for those who wish to really personalise their bathroom.
Billed as an aquarium, the huge glass enclosure which forms the basin could be used in a variety of ways to create an absolutely unique bathroom feature. Ifyour imagination isn't up to it, there's always the opportunity of waking up to splash your face in turquoise waters amongst tropical fish. Read More
Container technology for the home removals market
Image Gallery (4 images)
When PODS started seven years ago, it was designed as a service for the storage industry - get a container delivered to home, stack it carefully over time, then call to have it picked up and delivered to a secure storage location. The founders had conceived the service as a way of securing regular business for their large secure storage warehouse. But the customers saw it differently - within minutes of delivering the first POD container, the calls started coming from people who had seen the unit in the driveway of the first customer. They didn't want to use it for storage - they wanted a more convenient way to pack for moving home. Read More
Space houses on Earth
Image Gallery (6 images)
The European Space Agency has designed a house that uses technology designed for space could become the basis of the new German Antarctic station, Neumayer-III. The new station was designed to meet the stringent laws set up to protect the Antarctic environment, and presented at the 28th meeting of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research that took place in Bremen in July (2004). Read More
Draught Beer Dispenser for the home
Image Gallery (2 images)
Interbrew and Royal Philips Electronics have announced the development of PerfectDraft, a new system which combines a high-quality appliance and consumer-preferred beer brands in light metal kegs, delivering the taste of draught beer in the comfort of one's own home. PerfectDraft is a new type of appliance with a tap handle, internal cooling system, pump, and 6-liter light metal keg. PerfectDraft keeps beer at the optimal conditions and the beer stays fresh for 4 weeks. Read More
Ross LoveGrove Seat Lamp
Image Gallery (5 images)
The BD LOVE seat doubles as a public seat and a lamp, comes in a range of colours and opens up new territory in furnishing concepts for internal and external public areas.
The ROSS LOVEGROVE design is made from rotation moulded polyethylene and is both very sturdy and flexible in its usage in that it can be filled with either water or sand to secure it in a public space.
The seat's generous dimensions enable it to seat up to four people at once plus allowing children to have a whale of a time. The BD LOVE seat retails for approximately $5200 inc gst Read More
Meedio Media Player
Image Gallery (5 images)
Combining all forms of media into one all-powerful interface seems a daunting task, but a logical one. Imagine the control of all your DVDs, CDs, Mp3, picture files, as well as TV shows, news and weather services, all available to you at the click of a button as you sit on your couch. Well, this is the future of technological control that data lifestyle management company Meedio LLC is working towards. Read More
Fujitsu's environment conditioner
Image Gallery (5 images)
Once upon a time, air conditioners made hot air cold but new ideas will mean that the air conditioner of the future will do far more than just regulate air temperature. Fujitsu is taking the air conditioner concept and injecting new life with advanced filtration techniques and additives such as Vitamin C to offer a healthier home and office environment. Read More
New ideas - socks and toothbrush subscriptions
Image Gallery (2 images)
Society is changing, and adopting new ways at an unprecedented rate - the recent launch and success of several subscription services to "life goods" indicates that society is re-evaluating every aspect of modern living. A socks subscription service and a toothbrush subscription service have shown promise by offering subscriptions to common everyday objects which require regular replacement. Read More
Relocatable Sphere House
Image Gallery (2 images)
An interesting house concept was presented by Marcin Panpuch at the 2003 Royal Institute of British Architects' Future House London Exhibition. The Exhibition showcased a range of innovative housing concepts for existing London sites. The designs emphasised social, environmental, aesthetic and structural factors in various ways. Panpuch's house design is a relocatable sphere, which can either float on a water location or be lifted by crane and fixed to a tower beside other such spheres. The purpose of the spherical shape is to minimise the surface area of the house and thereby minimise heat loss to the environment. Read More
Built-in industrial coffee maker comes to the home
Image Gallery (2 images)
There's a definite relationship between caffeine and technology, so this latest built-in, fully plumbed, totally automated, all stainless steel, self-cleaning Profi-Coffee Centre from Küppersbusch was a natural Gizmo. The on-board computer is like having your own live-in Barista to control the complex process of coffee making while at the same time guiding you through an assortment of user-friendly programs. Read More
D-Box Motion Simulation for home theatres
Image Gallery (6 images)
One of the more interesting developments in entertainment technology over the last 12 months has been the D-Box ''motion simulator'' for home theatres, and its development into the gaming arena. The unique, patented D-BOX Odyssee system brings a whole new dimension to entertainment by synchronising the movement of the viewer's seat to the action on screen thanks to four small motorised actuators that sit under the chair/sofa-rising, falling and swaying in perfect time with the on-screen sights and sounds. Read More
Electrolux Trilobite Robotic Vacuum Cleaner v2.0
Image Gallery (6 images)
Electrolux, the first company to bring a robotic vacuum cleaner to market in the Trilobite, has released the first second generation vacuum, the Trilobite 2.0. The new Trilobite 2.0 can be programmed to clean at a particular time, has an active infra-red stair sensor and improved navigation algorithm. Read More
Sony DVR/PC offers terabyte of storage
Image Gallery (9 images)
Sony’s DVR/PC concept features a terabyte of storage and seven television tuners. Whereas previous DVR machines have been portrayed in terms of the number of hours of TV shows which can be recorded, the Type X appears to be based on an entirely different premise – that if you record everything, you can discard the bits you don’t want later. Read More
Ingenious Waterwall Water Tank
Image Gallery (6 images)
“Most people live in cities, and either don’t have enough space for a tank, or don’t want an ugly one. So we embarked on a long journey designing and building a water tank which looks good and holds the maximum volume of water for the minimum space.” Mitch O’Sullivan and Gail Davidson applied thems... Read More
No Burn Toaster
Image Gallery (2 images)
Some people are born to cook, and others seem to be incapable of making toast without burning it. Well help is at hand, as a UK-based company has developed a new technology which is able to sense the browness of toast to guarantee perfect toast every time without burning. Read More
