washing

A squeaky-clean mouse, sans the squeak

Now that fellow Craver Rich Demuro has shown that we can dry our hands properly at long last, it's time to revisit an idea whose time may finally have come: washable computer equipment.

Most of the submergible peripherals we've seen to date are keyboards, but now there's a mouse to go with them. Belkin's cleverly named "Washable Mouse" can take extended bubble baths because of a unique design that places uses a "scroll pad" instead of the usual wheel, according to Gizmodo.

This comes as good news to those of us in … Read more

LG Unveils A Washing Machine?

LG -- a leader in almost every industry that involves electricity -- has unveiled a new washing machine that promises to rival that hunk-a-junk you have whirling away in your basement.

The washing machine houses a 32-bit DSP chip and ball-balance technology that significantly reduces barrel vibration. How well do those technologies work you ask? According to the company, the outside of the washing machine moves only 0.1mm when it's turned on.

Unfortunately there isn't too much information available for this machine. But what we do know is the cleaner should achieve 20 percent less power consumption … Read more

RIAA vs. the washing machine?

Yes, gentle readers, it's apparently combo day here at Crave, as we've already spied a mouse phone and a TV bar. But this one is even better than George Foreman's "iGrill": an MP3 washing machine.

As CrunchGear observes, LG's newly patented appliance would most assuredly sound better than the loud drone of a laundry cycle, whether it's on spin or rinse. The best part of all? The prospect of the RIAA going after neighborhood Laundromats.

Haier aims higher (or smaller) with phones

It seems particularly ironic that Haier--a company known for such hernia-inducing products as refrigerators and washing machines--would claim to produce "the world's smallest GSM phone featuring an MP3 player." But as Shiny Shiny notes, the world's smallest anything is claimed all the time, regardless of product or manufacturer.

Regardless of its Guinness status (the records, Caroline, not the stout), Haier's "Elegance" measures 3.5 inches long and features a Bluetooth stereo and either dual-band (U.S.) or tri-band GSM (Europe) technology, though there's no word of any camera. More than the specs, … Read more

Because the laundry needs love too

On our next trip to South Korea, one of the first things we want to see is the laundry rooms. When Samsung came out with its designer washing machine last October, we thought it was just an ill-advised attempt to create a new market. But then we spotted these other colorful models on Techie Diva from Korean rival LG.

These machines have brains as well as beauty, with a environmentally friendly steam-cleaning system controlled through an LCD. They're not exactly our taste, but we do appreciate that they're on display at Harrods. (Any excuse to do some shopping … Read more

A washing machine from the future

Pardon us--make that a washing system.

The KaionWAVE, from the design labs of Electrolux, is an appliance concept for the true germaphobe. Shunning mere soap and water, it uses ultraviolet light to penetrate fabrics and kill bacteria and viruses while presumably taking care of that ring around the collar. And it will do it all wirelessly, of course. (It would also be a perfect match for the WinePod.)

One problem: It's designed to work on "nano-coated" material, which Appliancist describes as "a durable and stain-resistant fabric that many hypothesize will be used to make the clothing … Read more

The designer washing machine

Cell phones and MP3 players aren't the only things that can be gussied up. Yes, even the lowly washing machine can become a swan with the right wardrobe. Well, sort of.

Samsung is apparently taking a Vegas approach to domestic appliances with this red washing machine (or is it magenta?) by Korean designer Andre Kim. By the looks of this photo, he and Samsung apparently think the stainless-steel Viking-range look is out. (If this is the alternative, we beg to differ.)

But we're no experts. If Swarovski can do a fridge, why not do your laundry in style … Read more