(Credit:
NOTCOT)
We don't know if the (mis)spelling is intentional, but here's the Robo Vacum, a desktop vacuum cleaner for your workspace. Unfortunately, this cute little thing doesn't maneuver around by itself. You press its button on its head, then aim it for the crumbs left from your Subway sandwich.
Not quite a Roomba, but that's all right since you wouldn't want something automated to fall off your table and make a mess on the carpet anyway. Our only gripe: It uses two AA batteries and not the USB ports for power.
(Source: Crave Asia)
Master Vacuum
(Credit: Samsung)
Master Chief
(Credit: Microsoft)Even in the dead of winter, some of us at Crave suffer the worst of allergies--and, when spring rolls around, we'd be better off in a bubble. That's why we're always on the lookout for anti-allergy technologies, even when we're in the car.
Naturally, Samsung's "Silencio" uber-vacuum cleaner got our attention, as Appliancist says it has a "suction power rating" of 360 air watts that exceeds its conventional counterparts. (We also like its name, as well as the blue LED lights.)
The bagless Silencio automatically adjusts the settings of its two-chamber system depending on the surface it's attacking, "catching 99.95 percent of micro-particles such as dust and allergens," all while making as little noise as possible. Most awesome of all is its design, which makes it a dead-ringer for the Master Chief.
(Credit:
Hammacher Schlemmer)
Sure, we have germ-killing handheld devices in various sizes. There's just one problem, as every germaphobe knows: They require you to get uncomfortably close to the potential contaminants at hand.
That's why we're so delighted to see products like this germ-eliminating vacuum cleaner, which uses a HEPA filter that catches the usual 99.97 percent of cooties as promised by most other gadgets of this kind. (We live in fear of encountering whatever's in that remaining 0.03 percent.)
Best of all, this upright machine with its telescoping wand and crevice nozzle allows us to do battle with the enemy at more than arm's length--a crucial advantage to those of us in the OCD community. Now if we can only figure out how to keep its particles from going anywhere near the toothbrush cleaner.
Compressor Vacuum Cleaner
(Credit: Pocket-lint)
Transformer
LG isn't fooling anyone. In developing its first vacuum cleaner, the electronics maker predictably touted all kinds of techie features, such as "a RotaBlade that is in the rocket shaped drum, which is attached to an additional motor moving side-to-side compacting household dust into solid cubes," according to Pocket-lint.
But we know the real strategy: It wanted the "Compressor Vacuum Cleaner" to look like a Transformer. And it's done a splendid job, by the way--at first glance, we were sure it was a new version of "Optimus Prime" or some other mechanical superhero. After all, we already know of robots that turn into vacuum cleaners and even do the dishes.
(Credit:
iRobot)
If the "Scooba" went on a massive steroid binge, it might turn out as something like this. iRobot has taken its famed vacuuming skills under water, totally submerging a new line for the swimming pool.
The "Verro" pool-cleaning bots come in two models that patrol the floor and climb walls to the waterline in 60 to 90 minutes It also uses artificial intelligence to avoid crashing into sunken tiki gods or pirate ships.
The Verros don't come cheap, at $800 and $1,200, but that may be a small price to pay to get rid of that slacker pool boy.
(Credit:
Popgadget)
As fellow Craver Erica Ogg noted while wearing another of her many hats recently, domestic appliances are getting hipper than ever. And one of the more popular household items to get a makeover is the lowly vacuum cleaner. (No, we're not talking about the Wiimote-controlled Roomba.)
Industrial designer Karim Rashid has applied his considerable talents to transform the "Dirt Devil," of all things, into a cone-shaped functional sculpture, according to Popgadget. The tarted-up cordless appliance, which comes in six colors, has a vertical design to save space as well. If nothing else, it proves that a vacuum cleaner can look good without resembling a Star Wars robot.
(Credit:
Alessi)
(Credit:
Noland)
No, it's not a bionic dolphin. But we did consider opening a contest to see if anyone could guess what it was.
The latest offering from Italian design factory Alessi is actually a handheld vacuum cleaner. As typical of the work by the uber-design house, the "SG 67" shuns the utilitarian or mechanical forms of its competitors and opts instead for the sleek lines Alessi is famous for.
Luxurylaunches says the vacuum cleaner, which is made of stainless steel and thermoplastic resin, even has an "integrated crevice tool" to show that it's not afraid of getting down and dirty. We have no idea if it's as effective as a standard DustBuster, but at least we know it'll look good trying.
(Credit:
Dyson)
(Credit:
ThinkGeek)
It's taken years of therapy to admit it, but we're unabashed fans of high-tech cleaning gadgets. So we were naturally drawn to this new handheld model from the vacuum maker that has achieved an almost cult-like status, Dyson.
The "Root 6" model is a dust-busting juggernaut that promises to be twice as powerful as its nearest competitors while recharging up to three times faster--two claims that are music to our obsessive-compulsive ears. Appropriate to its mission, it looks like a futuristic assault weapon: Gadget Candy says it resembles a Dr. Who prop circa 1982, but we think it's much closer to the Imperial Walkers in the Empire Strikes Back two years earlier.
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