Some people can create art from their breakfast foods -- pancakes in the shape of popular cartoon characters, for example. Most of us lack those creative skills but wouldn't mind having a themed breakfast. Enter the Death Star Waffle Maker, a waffle maker that, as the name suggests, creates waffles in the shape and with the details of the Death Star from Star Wars.
With CES 2016 officially kicking off today, Samsung hasn't wasted any time to release official images of one of its new products: the "Family Hub" smart refrigerator. Details are still slim at this point — although we'll surely hear more once we hit the show floor — but we do know the fridge comes sporting a touchscreen display larger than most tablets, along with several cameras on the inside. What could a huge screen and cameras do to improve a refrigerator? Well, for starters, users don't need to open the door to see what's inside.
Home appliance maker Whirlpool has just announced a new smart washer and dryer set that can connect with Amazon's Dash Replenishment Service, allowing automatic orders of detergent and fabric softener to be a painless process. Amazon announced Dash Replenishment Service last October as an extension of its physical, WiFi-connected Dash Buttons, which let customers order a specific product, like dish soap, coffee, and pet food, with a single press. Now appliance makers can implement the service directly into products, so users are notified when supplies run low, and orders can be placed with a single tap.
Korean manufacturer LG puts dozens of consumer electronics products every year to the point that it might be hard to decide which one to buy or even save up for. This coming CES 2016, LG will be trying to make that decision a bit easier, though probably also more expensive. It will be revealing a new lineup of premium home entertainment and appliance products that will bear its new LG SIGNATURE brand. And from the tone and looks of things, it will be a set that will flaunt some luxury design elements and perhaps price tags to match their class.
The robotic vacuum market is currently being dominated by Roomba, with Dyson making moves as well, but that doesn't mean other manufacturers aren't looking to compete with their own advanced floor cleaners. LG is one such company, having just announced their HOM-BOT Turbo+, a flat, automated vacuum with a rounded-corner square shape and a handful of unique features, including augmented reality (AR) and home monitoring capabilities.
Thanksgiving: there's festivities and friends and football, and if you're fortunate, lots and lots of food. Someone has to cook that food, though, and that someone is probably getting really tired of being inside a kitchen right about now. Fortunately, we live in the modern age and the modern age includes appliances as smart as they are efficient. There are many to choose form, such as these five lifesavers that'll make next Thanksgiving's prep work much easier.
For some, coffee is akin to art, a daily ritual deserving of one’s special attention and a little extra time. The Auroma One coffee brewer is aimed at those who feel that way, promising high-quality coffee in a single-serve fashion. The maker hawks Auroma as being a “coffee science machine,” and it has a design flavor to match. Counted among its features is the ability to learn the owner’s taste preferences.
Following the recent Japanese debut of the 360 Eye, Dyson's advanced robotic vacuum cleaner, will be coming to the US to clean floors by the summer of 2016, the company has said. Dyson CEO Max Conze reveals that the reason they launch their high-tech products in Japan first is because the country is easy to get excited about household robotics. The US, on the other hand, takes a bit more convincing, meaning Dyson will have their work cut out for them.
What watches while you shower, makes guests ponder your lifestyle choices, and gets the soap off your back? R2-D2 and Darth Vader in showerhead form. The two Star Wars characters have been reimagined as shower attachments, bringing your favorite duo to your personal bathroom in a functional, arguably stylish way. The R2-D2 showerhead is of the full character, while the other is simply Vader's face staring into your soul.
The number of characters in the Star Wars universe is by no means small, but R2-D2 seems to have best captured the imagination of designers, and as a result we've seen the little droid reimagined as a variety of devices -- a teapot, desk vacuum, Bluetooth speaker, and other gadgets. Coming next month will be yet another variation, one we've seen a different-yet-similar R2-D2 rendition of: a humidifier.
Summer means cookouts, and for some cookouts mean charred food. Those without a knack for cooking will likely find smart grills to be a godsend — they’re equipped with various bits of technology that monitor the food as it cooks and shuttles the data off to a paired smartphone. The newest example of this is Bright Grill, an electric grill that can be used on a traditional pedestal or on a countertop, and that uses things like integrated WiFi and thermostats to make the cooking process a little more modern.
There seems no end to the Star Wars elements you can find for decking out your home, and many of them -- oddly enough -- seem to be specifically for the kitchen. This R2-D2 teapot is one example, allowing you to boil water on the stove with a bit of other-world flair. The rounded dome is designed to look just like R2, including his iconic blue painting, dark lens, and red light. The lid flips up for adding water, but when it is down the visage is uncanny.
