Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

If I had $4,400 to blow on a new oven, you better believe the Liftmatic from Siemens would be at the top of my wish list. For those who haven’t seen it before (this is the latest model which recently received a slick facelift) the oven itself gets mounted to the wall of your kitchen, and instead of having to lift your food to get it inside, the floor of the oven drops down to counter level making it quite easy to load and unload. And as an added bonus, since heat rises, the hot air inside the oven doesn’t escape as quickly as it does when you open a conventional oven. The new Liftmatic’s also got a series of lovely MP3-player inspired push button controls, and features eleven different heating methods including defrost, top and bottom heating, convection grill and warming.

[ Siemens Liftmatic Oven (Translated) ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Keeping up the theme of stylish kitchen appliances with a splash of color we have these new Vera electric kettles by Casa Bugatti. Now we’re no strangers to Bugatti’s efforts in the kitchen, having previously brought you their Vela 3-Speed Blender, but the Vera kettle goes one step beyond just a lovely design.

You see the handle on the Vera incorporates a screen that provides information about the temperature of the water boiling inside. The high-tech handle can also be used to set a specific temperature for the water (between 45 and 100°C) or you can set a timer to ensure you wake up in the morning to piping hot water ready for your coffee. The Vera Kettle is expected to be in stock at WhereDidYouBuyThat.com sometime in mid-September in a variety of colors, but it will set you back about $300. It is a Bugatti after all.

[ Bugatti Vera Kettle ] VIA [ Apartment Therapy Unplugged ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The next time you go shopping for kitchen appliances you might want to consider a finish other than stainless steel, glossy black or chrome. Of course color can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands, but the Bistro line of toasters from Bodum come in one of 8 different colors that manage to be bright and cheerful but not blindingly tacky. And it’s no slouch when it comes to being a toaster either with 900 watts of power to perfectly brown your bread or bagel, adjustable slots, a pop-up warming rack and a heat-resistant rubber exterior that stays cool to the touch and is easy to clean. $79.95 from Sur La Table.

[ Bodum Bistro 2-Slice Toaster ] VIA [ The Kitchen ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you’re really unskilled at BBQ’ing, or have just always wanted a pair of tongs with a built-in LCD display, these digital BBQ tongs look like a half-decent accessory for what little there is left of Summer. Sensors in the tip measure the meat’s internal temperature and sound an alarm when it’s ‘done’ according to one of the seven meat-type presets you’ve selected. It of course also includes a built-in LED flashlight for grilling in the dark or during a solar eclipse, and runs off 2xAAA batteries which are actually included. $39.98 from Taylor Gifts.

[ Digital BBQ Tongs ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Will mankind ever run out of stick-like objects that can easily be turned into light sabers? I certainly hope not. The latest distinctly non-Star Wars item to get the light saber treatment are these Chop Sabers, or light saber chop sticks from Kotobukiya which were apparently shown off at their booth at this year’s Comic Con. The Chop Sabers come in adult sizes (9-inches long) featuring Darth Vader’s and Luke Skywalker’s sabers, as well as a shorter ‘kid-friendly’ set (8-inches long) fashioned after Yoda’s. They won’t hit stores until 2010 I’m afraid, and pricing info has yet to be announced.

[ Kotobukiya - Star Wars merges with Japanese culture: Lightsaber Chopsticks! ] VIA [ JapanStarWars.com ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Here at OhGizmo! we’re fans of any device that includes the terms ‘breakfast’ and ‘automatic’ as part of its feature set, but I don’t think any of us would have ever believed our dreams and childish crayon sketches of an automatic pancake machine would ever come true. But here we are! The ChefStack is only as big as a microwave oven but is able to autonomously cook up and spit out up to 200 pancakes every hour. That’s like 0.05 pancakes every second!

It does use its own proprietary pancake batter though that comes in special nozzled bags which makes the whole automatic pancake dream possible, but hey, we’ve brought you similar pancake innovations before that turned out to be not so bad. In fact the only downsides I can see to the ChefStack is the $3,500 price tag (plus the cost of batter) and the lack of an accompanying automatic syrup making machine.

[ ChefStack ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By Andrew Liszewski

You know that look you get at work when you pull out the deep fryer for a quick afternoon pick me up? Well thanks to Deni your co-workers won’t even realize you’ve got a batch of fries cooking up in the filing cabinet thanks to their Mini Deep Fryer. It’s got a 1-quart capacity which is perfect for a single serving of french fries, a ready light letting you know when the oil is hot enough and a filter to eliminate odors so the entire office doesn’t know what you’ve got frying. Genius! And at $44.99 I can’t think of a better cubicle accessory.

[ Demi Mini Deep Fryer ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Grocery shopping is usually a disaster if I don’t come prepared with a list of what I need, which is why I like this grocery list organizer that remembers everything you’ve told it you’ve run out of throughout the week. The voice recognition system can interpret words as specific as swordfish or trash bags, and the 2,500 item database includes food, health and hygiene items and even office products. But you can expand that database with your own additions up to a maximum of 5,000 items.

The device can also maintain two different lists simultaneously, but it’s not only limited to items you need to buy. You can also keep track of things you need to do like going to the bank or taking your pup to the vet. And when it’s time to restock the pantry or deal with your ever-growing to-do list the organizer will print out a convenient pocket-sized list so you don’t forget anything. $99.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.

[ Voice Recognition Grocery List Organizer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you find yourself deep in the woods on a camping excursion or at 30,000 feet on a long-haul flight you’ll never have to go without a cup of freshly brewed espresso again thanks to Stelton. Their Simply Espresso is a battery-powered thermos-sized contraption that will brew a cup of espresso no matter where you are. Just add water and one of the espresso packs, push the button and in no time flat you’ll have your caffeine fix. No pricing info at the moment, but it will supposedly be available sometime this Fall.

[ Stelton Simply Espresso ] VIA [ Acquire ]