Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m going to assume this ethanol fueled rolling fireplace from Conmoto isn’t actually designed to be rolled while there’s a roaring fire inside. But even if someone does get the bright idea to send it sailing across a room while there’s a fire burning, a set of glass panels on either side will prevent the worst from happening should it topple over.

[ Conmoto ] VIA [ Trendir ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though the installation will probably require quite a bit of renovation to your bathroom, including the re-routing of water pipes, this ceiling mounted faucet from Signorini is certainly a conversation piece. It’s part of the company’s Bilo line, and also features a stylish single lever hot/cold water mixer. And as for the price, well I’m going to assume it’s one of those ‘if you have to ask, it’s probably not in your budget’ items.

[ Signorini ] VIA [ DigsDigs ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Instead of fumbling with handles while your hands are dirty, spreading the mess everywhere, Delta’s new Pilar faucets feature the company’s Touch20 Technology which lets you simply tap or touch them to turn the water on or off. The faucets use two capacitive touch sensors in the handle and the spout to detect when you’ve touched them, but are smart enough to know when the handle or spout have been grabbed instead so you can adjust their positions without turning the water on or off. A chrome version of the Pilar faucet will set you back $495 while the stainless steel model is a bit more at $547.

[ Delta Pilar Touch Activated Faucet ] VIA [ Popular Science ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When I was a kid I always needed a night light and a glass of water next to my bed before I would go to sleep, which unfortunately makes the LiteCup about 25 years too late for me. It’s a dishwasher safe cup that features a built-in nightlight that automatically turns on in low light, as well as a clever circular valve on top that can be easily opened with a “small suck” but prevents the liquids inside from spilling out when the cup is inevitably knocked to the ground in the middle of the night. ~$10 each from And Design.

[ LiteCup ] VIA [ Switched On Set ]

By David Ponce

This one’s pretty simple, and we’re wondering why we’re only seeing this product on the market now. The Brinno Digital Peephole viewer goes into the current peephole found on many doors, but allows you to view your visitor using a 1.3 megapixel display. There’s even a zoom option so you can examine facial features more closely. This is of course not an always-on device: pressing the button gives you 10 seconds to identify who’s there. 2 AA batteries last approximately 1,700 peeps.

Bonus: no one has to know you’re there anymore, since even just looking through regular peepholes kind of gives you away by going dark.

It’s $180 ($160 Australian) but currently out of stock.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I wouldn’t exactly consider myself part of Diesel’s target demographic, but they’ve definitely won me over with this set of turntables & analog audio gear print bedding. I mean look at it, the pillow shams even line up to form a mixer between the two turntables. All I have to say is goodbye Hannibal, Murdock, Faceman and B.A. because Andrew has finally found some new bed sheets.

The Turntable bedding is part of the company’s ‘Diesel Lifestyle Home Textile Collection’ and is apparently available from Diesel retail stores, though I have no idea for how much.

[ Diesel Turntable & Audio Gear Bedding ] VIA [ Freshome ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It might look like nothing more than a Kleenex box-sized humidifier, but this Odor Remediator from Hammacher Schlemmer ($199.95) creates an odor-eliminating mist of microdroplets that are 100 times smaller and 1,000,000 times lighter than what you’d get from an aerosol can. That allows the microdroplets to remain airborne for up to 14 hours, giving them time to drift into every corner of a room, replacing unpleasant smells like smoke with slightly less unpleasant smells like pine, lavender-herb or citrus-mint.

[ Automatic Odor Remediator ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Revealed at IFA last week the Samsung Furot II is yet another robot vacuum cleaner, but this one sounds like it could be a bit smarter than those already on the market. Not only does its built-in camera allow it to see and avoid obstacles, but a visionary mapping system also makes it aware of its location. So instead of cleaning your floors by randomly rolling around your home, it sounds like it can more efficiently map out your floor plan and even remember what areas have been cleaned and which haven’t. On a single charge it will happily (assuming it comes equipped with emotions) clean away for about 90 minutes, but if it doesn’t get the job done it will simply pick up where it left off once it’s recharged. As for a release date or pricing info, unfortunately Samsung hasn’t announced that yet.

[ Samsung Hub - Furot II – Robot Vacuum Cleaner with integrated camera ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Every so often it’s nice to review a gadget that’s devoid of firmware updates, software installs, driver issues, DRM, rechargeable batteries and other headaches that prevent a device from just plain working right out of the box. So when I had the chance to review the Slice line of cutting products, I figured it would be a nice change of pace.

Now you might not think there’s much room for technology or innovation when it comes to hobby knives and vegetable peelers, but you’d be wrong. The Slice line of products actually use a zirconium oxide ceramic blade that’s considered to be the most durable substance on Earth, next to diamonds of course. So besides being considerably harder and sharper than the steel blade on your average knife, there’s a long list of other reasons why you’ll want to upgrade your own collection of cutting, slicing and peeling tools after you read my review.

Read the rest of this entry »