Discover the fridge with internet connectivity … plus more amazing wi-fi enabled products!
May 16th, 2013
Check out what’s just landed at Appliances Online: a Samsung fridge with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity.
Via the fridge’s touch-screen, you’ll have access to a suite of rather awesome apps and some revolutionary Smart capabilities.
Why Wi-Fi?
And why does a fridge need apps? Well, it’s about giving you a centrally positioned organisational tool.
The kitchen is the centre of the home. And the fridge is (more-or-less) the focus of the kitchen. It’s the place you regularly turn to for essentials like food, water and, er, chocolate. It’s also invariably the place you stick notes, bills, invitations and other reminders under magnets. Aaaaand, it’s also the spot from where those bits of paper disappear because your magnets aren’t strong enough.
Well, the touchscreen on the front of the Samsung 801L 4-Door Fridge represents a compact, convenient and dynamic interface. Helping you keep track of a variety of household things which typically drive most of us berko.
Organisational apps
A couple of apps rock our world in particular:
• The memo pad app: helps you to write important reminders that would otherwise have to be stuck via a magnet to the front of your fridge (in the vain hope the magnets are strong enough to hold all the random bills that perpetually flood in).
• Google Calendar: helps organise the household schedule – you can set up the fridge with crucial reminders. Nearest n’ dearest’s birthdays, anniversaries, and when you should probably take the humus out of the fridge before it mutates and takes over the house.
• Epicurious: Login for loads of great recipes and ideas. Via the intuitive touch screen, check out an amazing amount of recipes, search by the type of ingredient you have in your fridge. That makes sense when you’re desperately short of inspiration and ingredients.
Meanwhile, other Wi-Fi enabled devices
Smart connectivity is a big trend. Here’s a few other internet connected devices that make “Wi-Fi” a “why-not?”.
• Wi-Fi Enabled Glasses: Google Glass
Introducing Google Glass (although you may well have already got a whiff of it on the interweb). Apparently where hipster chic meets Smart technology. It’s actually a wi-fi enabled head-set that includes a camera and a tiny screen.
As well as making you look a bit of a techy-douche, it’ll enable you to do a bunch of things hands-free: Google searches, take POV snapshots or make first-person videos.
Just say: “okay Glass, take a video” and the glasses will respond to that command and capture that white-knuckle moment you are experiencing forever … or you can share the thrill with friends and family by patching them into the action – and they’ll get to see just what you’re doing from your perspective via another internet connected device. Just make sure it isn’t anything you’d rather they didn’t see …
• Wi-Fi Enabled Washing Machine
Samsung’s WF457 Wi-Fi Enabled Washing Machine saw the light at the 2012 CES and has been released on the US market. The rather nifty wi-fi ability of this appliance enables you to keep control and monitor your washer via your Smartphone. Only for the serious clothes-washing fan. And aren’t we all?
• Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt
This is probably the nerdiest thing of all time (well, maybe slightly less than Babylon 5), it’s able to detect and display the signal strength for 802.11b/g connections – for the benefit of the wearer (it has a battery pack sewn into the lining). Great for detecting wi-fi. But, admittedly, probably the last thing you need if you’re struggling to detect any interest from women at the party you’re at.
• Wi-Fi Enabled Light Bulb
You’ll be able to control the multi-coloured wi-fi-enabled LIFX light bulb with the use of your Smartphone. Pictured here with its inventor, Melbourne designer Phil Bosua, 38 (who apparently thought it up over a drinking-session with mates, go figure), this energy efficient LED bulb can be programmed to gradually turn on or off (to suit either your morning or evening routine) … and can be made to flash in sync with your music for that pseudo-clubbing experience.
• Wi-Fi Enabled Rabbit
Just what you always wanted – a well-connected bunny-rabbit. Called the “Nabaztag”, this device isn’t as stupid as it looks. In fact, it connects via wi-fi to the internet to give you the weather, time, stock prices, news and even the air quality that day.
It’s able to blink, move its ears, speak and can play music. It will even obey spoken commands through voice recognition. Apparently, if you buy two rabbits you can “marry” them – when you move one rabbit’s ears about, the other will synchronise. Actually, on second thoughts, it probably is as stupid as it looks.
I want the bunny thing.