IFA 2008 offers the curious spectator an awful lot to look at. There are hundreds of televisions, computers, projectors, stereos, navigation systems, MP3 players, and all other manner of gadget covered by CrunchGear, from all the brand names you know and love. But this year’s IFA introduced a new set of products to the show: so-called “white goods”. Things like refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen appliances, and more. Read on for a photo safari through the “home appliances” section of IFA.
Huge amounts of floor space were dedicated to coffee, and devices that help you make it. Most companies producing coffee makers had live product demos with free coffee, so I was plenty juiced up as I walked from brand to brand sampling their wares.
There were more than a few refrigerators on display.
Likewise there were lots of washers and dryers on display. Most were arranged as you might see them at your local Sears, in bright white with no real pizazz, but there were a few notable exceptions like the Oko_Line from AEG:
And just like Sears, there were plenty of stoves and ranges on display:
The mobile kitchen solutions really caught my attention, in part because I’ve never thought about the need for a portable stove, so I had to think about it for a few minutes, but also because their products look as much like DJ gear as they do cooking solutions!
I wasn’t sure if these two were looking for something they’d dropped, or if one of them was really excited about stove technology. I felt mildly ashamed after the guy in grey gave me a dirty look, so I didn’t stay to find out.
The kitchen appliance vendors brought out what looked like their entire product line.
DeLonghi had on display a number of interesting garment care solutions, but they weren’t nearly as interesting as this guy ironing shirts. Had I known he was doing this, I would not have ironed my own shirt this morning, and instead asked him for a real demo.
Valera’s little corner of IFA was among the weirdest I saw: this woman was dutifully styling the mannequin head’s hair. Again, I don’t think they’re likely to meet much of their target audience at IFA. Plus, the mannequin heads were a little creepy.
There were lots of little booths I just couldn’t bring myself to photograph: lone representatives surrounded by their products looking either bored, scared, or bewildered. Some were scarfing down food, or texting on their phones.