You're approaching the kitchen sink with raw meat all over your hands. Now what? You contort your hands around to turn on the water without making a mess, or you make a mess and then spend an extra five minutes sanitizing the faucet. Or, you take advantage of Delta Faucet's new Touch2O technology and touch the faucet with your wrist, forearm, or elbow to start and stop the flow of water.
Use the handle as you would any ordinary faucet, or open the faucet and then start and stop the flow of water with a simple touch to the faucet. Tap anywhere on the spout or handle to turn the water on or off. After 4 minutes of inactivity, the automatic water shut-off kicks in--a major plus for households with kids.
The faucet comes in two- or three-hole installation options and is available in chrome and stainless-steel finishes. Check it out below, and snag it for $300 to $450.
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iHouse)
You didn't know you needed this one--a tap that identifies you using facial screening, then pours water at a preset pressure and temperature catered to your preferences.
And that's not all. While you wash your hands, the integrated touch screen on top shows a glimpse of your e-mail and calendar, along with the outside temperature, while built-in LEDs illuminate the pouring water in colors matching the water temperature.
The company responsible for identifying your need for a tricked-out tap is Brazilian design and engineering firm iHouse, which specializes in luxury technology for automated homes and boats.
During the last few years, iHouse products have included the Smarthydro, a bathtub with digital temperature controls, voice messages, and an automatic foot step. It has also launched Smartcontrol, a system that controls lighting, air conditioning, window blinds, and so on; and Smartgate, an automatic garage door that identifies cars by their license plates.
More or less all the devices can be remotely controlled via the Internet from a computer or cell phone. That includes the water temperature in the digitally controlled Smartshower, though the use of a remote-controlled shower slightly exceeds our imagination.
For all Smart Faucet technology can do, it isn't clear whether it also can decide if the user looks thirsty and would like some fresh, cool water, or has hands or a face that needs washing, although we find it unlikely.
(Credit:
Trendir)
All too often Crave comes across various goods that are festooned--or infected--with all manner of bling, real or otherwise. We usually try to stay focused on gadgets but, every once in awhile, something non-digital comes along that we just can't resist. This is one of those times.
Italian design house Teknobili has created a bathroom faucet covered with 292 diamonds, according to Trendir. Fortunately no price was listed for the "Oz Diamond Edition," because we just had breakfast.
But really, how bad can it be? After the $1 million fishing lure, nothing would surprise us. We hope, anyway.
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Amazon)
Talk about the world turned upside-down. The last thing we thought we'd ever see is people clamoring to make their bathrooms more like public loos, but that's apparently what's happening in our increasingly fixture-fixated consumer market.
We knew the trend had become mainstream (no pun, honest) after witnessing the overwhelming popularity of Dyson's "Airblade" hand-drying machine. But that product is aimed at the business market--we think. The "EZ Touchless Infrared Sensor Faucet," however, is clearly destined for the household at $50, according to GadgetGrid.
And why not? It's at the perfect intersection with yet another hot trend, products targeted at the germaphobe community.
(Credit:
KidSafe)
If you don't have small kids, skip this item because it'll probably seem like a waste of money. But if you do, you'll totally understand why it's a good idea. How many times have you or your rug rats ended up with scalded fingers after checking the bath faucet? Same here.
The "Digital Bath Spout Cover" is designed to keep you and your family out of the burn ward by automatically monitoring the water temperature as it rises. Even better, its digital display uses a simple color code ("red means too hot") that even parents can understand. As a side benefit, it can help avoid wasting water too.
But as much as we like this idea, we can't help but point out this typo in the product description: "Guards against scolding." Now that would be worth the $31 price alone.
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