While at Dyson HQ, I had the pleasure, once again, of interviewing the man himself. I had to ask what his thoughts were on the iPhone, and James’ answers were both entertaining and interesting. I have an iPhone and a BlackBerry. And I have to confess that I use the BlackBerry more. But I really wanted to like the iPhone because it’s thin—one of the clever things about it—thinner than any other phone, and fits easily in your pocket. I find that a nuisance if you’re going to a function or whatever it is. I really like that about it. I hate the touchscreen. That’s my biggest complaint. I love the weather, really good. Maps are brilliant. The way you are supposed to use it, I really like. I’m not sure about having to slide that thing across every time you answer a phone call. As a way of locking the screen, I accept that because it’s important. → Read More
While at Dyson HQ, I had the pleasure, once again, of interviewing the man himself. I had to ask what his thoughts were on the iPhone, and James’ answers were both entertaining and interesting. I have an iPhone and a BlackBerry. And I have to confess that I use the BlackBerry more. But I really wanted to like the iPhone because it’s thin—one of the clever things about it—thinner than any other phone, and fits easily in your pocket. I find that a nuisance if you’re going to a function or whatever it is. I really like that about it. I hate the touchscreen. That’s my biggest complaint. I love the weather, really good. Maps are brilliant. The way you are supposed to use it, I really like. I’m not sure about having to slide that thing across every time you answer a phone call. As a way of locking the screen, I accept that because it’s important. Read the rest of the interview at CrunchGear → Read More
Today, I’ll be wrapping up everything Dyson from my trip to Malmesbury. You’ll never believe what James considers his favorite gadgets. I know you’re excited to see the prototype I designed. And you’ll be privy to a short video of stress tests that all the products go through. Stick around. In the meantime, enjoy a small gallery of photos I was allowed to take on the premises. → Read More
http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcrunchgear%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F1032720%3Freferrer%3Dblip%2Etv%26source%3D1&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf And I had to sleep in a hotel bed after this. Eww. → Read More
http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcrunchgear%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F1029636%3Freferrer%3Dblip%2Etv%26source%3D1&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf CrunchGear’s Peter Ha got a chance to spend a day at the Dyson test labs in Malmesbury where he spoke with James Dyson about his design and engineering principles. One of his most important principles? The CEO of the company shouldn’t be able to easily break the products. Watch this hilarious/stunning/crazy video and ask yourself: Would the average CE manufacturer beat up his or her product like this on camera? Heck, would the average web service publish their stress-testing stats? Incidentally, memo to Mike: I think the entire CrunchNetwork team should now wear black jeans, t-shirts, and black and white trainers. It’s very fetching. Check out more Dyson coverage here → Read More
Unsatisfied with current air filtration methods, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has created this excellent little thing that would look at home in Sleeper or The Jetsons. It’s called the “Bel-Air,” believe it or not, and it uses the natural processes of the plant inside the dome, roots and all, to filter out some nasty household pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde. I know I’ve been trying to get that formaldehyde odor out of my living room since that desiccated corpse came over four weeks ago, so this is just the ticket. But it’s not all French curves – it also has the backing of Harvard “scientist” David Edwards, who is fond of making intelligent statements with “Asiatic” and “Dyson” in them. They’re not expecting to produce them for another year at least, so I guess you’ll have to choke on trichloroethylene until then. Dang, those things do look cool, though. Bel-Air Filtration System Uses Plants to Purify Our Environs [Gizmodo] → Read More
Awhile back, I read a story in The New Yorker about luxury ketchup. If the idea of “luxury ketchup” makes you guffaw, you aren’t alone. While customers have been knife-fed high-end mustard products for years, even the fanciest restaurants still stock Heinz. The fact is, while some products are increasingly being defined by their high-end premium offerings, there are still a few ketchups in the mix — offerings which can only be called commodities. Of course, these ranks are dwindling. What Grey Poupon did to mustard, Dyson has done to vacuum cleaners, and now commercial hand dryers. When once a white G.E. fridge would be adequate for keeping your veggies cool, a house that isn’t loaded with a Sub-Zero now looks dated. However, product cycles are cyclical, and it is only a matter of time before industries that were once commodities become commodities again. → Read More
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-28441174614961743&hl=en Dyson today announced the U.S. launch of Dyson Airblade, the fastest, most hygienic hand dryer available on the market and a solution to one of the concerns of restroom users. And here’s the video to prove it. Sorry, I had a case of the shakes, but you can still see Sir James Dyson showing of his magical blowing machine. (Nothing but quality content for our readers!) Seriously though, this thing does work well, basically squeegeeing the water off your hands in a few seconds leaving every nook and cranny dry. Click on ahead to read up on the benefits of installing this $1,400 hand dryer in your establishment and see some hot, hot pictures of insides of the Airblade. → Read More
It’s spring, which means many of you will be begrudgingly scrubbing your homes from top-to-bottom as part of your yearly spring cleaning ritual. As gearheads, many of you will also be searching for the surest ways to maximize your cleaning efforts — the search will undoubtedly lead many of you to the same destination: Dyson. The DC18 is the newest product to emerge from the labs of cyclonic vacuum superstar Dyson. Dubbed the Slim, this model offers a major reduction in size while still maintaining many of the features that set a Dyson apart from its competitors. My first impression of Dyson was one of cautious intrigue, it was after all a product for doing chores — something I attempt to avoid at all costs. But gradually over the course of a few years the apparent engineering marvel won my attention mainly through attrition. And so, when I heard about the Slim I decided that it was finally time to put Dyson to the test. I mean it’s just a vacuum after all, right? → Read More
If you’ve seen the ads for a Dyson vacuum you probably wonder if they really work as well the commercials suggest. Actually they do. And unlike those lame Hoovers, which look like something my grandparents would have thought looked old fashioned, the Dysons are about as geek chic as you can get. And now neat freaks (like me) have new reasons to celebrate. The company is introducing a new canister unit — and not only a canister, but the first canister with constant suction. Available later this month for about $500, the DC21 features the same Root Cyclone technology, lifetime HEPA filtration, washable filter and foot-operated brush control! For those of you who only vacuum when you absolutely have to — like when you spin the chips on the floor – you’re in luck as well. The DC18 ($470) is the company’s first slim line vacuum, weighting on 15.7 pounds, but still offering the same super sucking power! → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/IMG_3460.jpg" class="center" I'm going to write this thing up in a bit more detail when I have a mess to clean up – Blake is spending the week here for tonight's event, so I'll clean up his wood shavings when he leaves – but here's a quick look at the Dyson Root 6, the only handheld vacuum that doesn't lose suction and looks like a Doom weapon. → Read More
Looks like Dyson has done it again. Their new Root 6 uses the same air chamber design as their vacuums and doesn’t lose suction when filled with filth and muck – I can attest to this, as we’ve had the Dyson Ball for a while after picking it up for a song at Best Buy. The name and shape are kind of creepy, but it looks like it’s all sucking all the time with this baby. The Root is rechargeable and will be available October 23 for about $149.99. → Read More
The Airblade is a hand dryer developed by Dyson in the UK. It pumps out air at 400mph to completely dry hands in about 10 seconds. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have any added sanitation gain over the current, useless hand dryers. The existing dryers use warm air, which people say kill germs—but the air clearly isn’t hot enough to really kill much of anything. I was thinking that maybe this 400mph air field was enough to complete that task, but it apparently isn’t either. At first this seemed like a pretty wonderful invention, but now I’m not so sure. I guess Purrell is still the champion of misophobes everywhere. Dyson goes 400mph in toilet [The Sun via Gizmodo] → Read More
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