At first sight the Doc sofa looks like a nice modern couch. But with a simple movement it transforms into a ready made bunk bed with integrated supporting ladder and safety rail. Or at least the manufacturer says it's a simple movement. Judging by the straps around the mattress it might not be a one finger move. But even if it would take a little longer, in both states it looks great. There is little information about pricing available online. The only price mentioned was $6500,- on productWiki. (...) read more
It's hardly the time of year for a home gizmo like this but Panasonic announced an electrically heated (stain resisting) carpet. The temperature of the rug is adjustable and can be heated to up to 114F / 46C. It's probably not a real power saver so you might want to remember to turn if off when you're not around. It starts selling in Japan on September 1. So far there's no information on whether it will sell in other (...) read more
Philips once started off with the production of light bulbs in Eindhoven, the Netherlands which the Dutch still call 'the light city'. So the origin of the company sort of came back when the Ambilight LCD and plasma televisions were introduced. With a technology that creates an ambient light on the wall behind and around the television that corresponds to the screens content. This will give a feeling of a larger screen, a more immersive viewing experience and reduced eye strain. The Philips (...) read more
From Google
In the future robots will clean our houses. Well, that day is already here. And not by some big talking tin man, the iRobot Roomba is a small intelligent vacuum cleaner that's meant to do it's work as quietly as possible. Yesterday iRobot announced the latest versions of the Rombaa; the 560 and 530. There are some improvements but the basics remain the same. The Roomba comes with a docking station you connect to a wall socket on a place where you won't notice it (for instance underneath (...) read more
Today Sony announced playTV, a combination of a TV tuner and a personal video recorder (PVR) for the PlayStation 3. Apart from the fact that it's a great marketing strategy from Sony, it really bundles the separate strengths of the Sony products for multimedia entertainment. The playTV box features two TV tuners (HD ready) and connects to the PS3 which will act as a standard PVR with an electronic program guide and time shifting. It uses the harddrive of the PS3 to record television. So far, (...) read more
