iRobot's Scooba going to sell for $400

Speaking of devices finally getting their prices, iRobot's decided on a value of monetary worth for their floor scrubbin' roboservant, the Scooba. Assuming you haven't already inspected the headline, we won't keep you in suspense any longer: it'll be $399.99 (according to the site) when it sells in November (according to I4U). No one will notice if we don't mop anymore from here on out, right?

[Via I4U]

[jon @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Goddamn I hate these things.
PEOPLE ARE GETTING SO LAZY.

[james @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

What about concrete? I live in an old furniture warehouse converted into lofts, and we have some dips/mini-potholes in the floor, can it clean that out?!?

p.s. my ferrets would totally own this thing... prepare to be eaten scooba!

http://www.nox-design.com/_temp/sg/ferrets/DSCN0949.jpg

[n8 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

People are getting lazy. They don't make their own bread anymore - and they buy it pre-sliced! They don't build fires anymore, they use gas ovens with electric lighters! They use washing machines for their clothes instead of washboards, and they call with a cell phone rather than walking over to their neighbor's house to say hello. Aweful.

[chaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

n8....I totally agree you and jon....you have been served!!

[Shane @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

james your ferrets are ugly as sin!! I don't know why anyone would want to own these things

[Asher @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

[steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Wonder how much cleaning fluid it can store - both in the clean tank and the dirty one. That'll limit its "serviceable area".

[Mysta @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Hey, I guess I'm one of those lazy people. Either that, or you guys have ALOT of free time. If I could have something automate my cleaning in my house... I'm definately going to take advantage of that, without question.

How does it make someone lazy that they don't want to mop the floor?

[Andrej Favia @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Gee, another update to the problematic Roomba. Does this one know how to fart?


n8, I strongly disagree with you.
--> People are getting lazy.

No, people have been lazy for a while, but many of them have been less lazy enough to make more effecient automatic devices.


--> They don't make their own bread anymore - and they buy it pre-sliced!

It takes two days to bake a big bucket of brown pumpernickel bread. Do you think that I'd wait two days to eat it?


--> They don't build fires anymore, they use gas ovens with electric lighters!

It's not 1940 anymore. That passed on since most people got fed up with having to ludge around 10000 pounds of wood each year just to heat a house for almost the same cost as turning an electric dial for the same purpose a few times a year. I can't handle the physical labor. It's much too extreme. This past winter in Maine (GAHHH!), I had to help move around 6 chords of wood. I got exhausted after every half a chord, and I still refuse to waste my energy for all that.


--> They use washing machines for their clothes instead of washboards

Skipping...


--> and they call with a cell phone rather than walking over to their neighbor's house to say hello. Aweful.

Now this one is just plain STUPID. Why interrupt what somebody else is doing to use their phone instead of your own? Besides, this one is more of preference and convenience than a life-and-death lazyness situation. Are we then SUPPOSED to walk over every time? B.S.

Face it, there are a lot of forms of work that just WASTE energy. Which forms are those? Well, that varies from person to person. As far as I see it, the Roomba just requires WAY too much maintenance and troubleshooting right now. Plus it's WAY too freakin' loud (still).

[Jon (another Jon) @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

------------------------------------------^
|
------ Still trying to figure out if Andrej is serious...

[Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

"PEOPLE ARE GETTING SO LAZY."

Wow, the timless complaint of the guy who does none of his own housework.

Tell you what, after I get one of these for my mom who can't mop any more because her knees are shot to shit after 50 years of housework, I'll send you her address so you can go in person and scream at her for being old.

Jerk.

[shinyhat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

What makes someone complain about technology on a gadget web site? Perhaps they are trying to be ironic.

By the way, my Roomba is sweet and I wouldn't trade it for manually scraping the cat hair off of my floors any day.

[lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

These looked cool to me until I read on their website that you have to buy their "specially formulated" cleaning solution to use with the Scooba. The use of any other cleaning chemical will void the warranty. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be locked into buying consumables off of the internet, and I doubt this will be mainstream enought to be able to just run down to Walmart to pick up some official Irobot Scooba specially formulated Clorox cleaning solution.

[megan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

yes, n8 is horribly offensive. and did you know they're taking gullible out of the dictionary?

[mehool @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

good call Megan, and also why do they call this thing iRobot? Did they come up with that after the movie came out? corny, plus aren't the robots evil in that movie? good thinking

[heidekonijn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Hi, I'm lazy ? I don't have any spare time after coming home and cooking dinner.
I'll wait for some substitute cleaner come up for the scooba or use it with plain water, and give the floor a thorough cleaning once a month myself.
And James, your ferrets are really cute. I wish I would have some of those guys around, although my girlfriend's pet rabbit could become a problem..
Anyhow, next time I or any of my friends or colleagues is going to the states, a scooba is coming in my direction :)

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

"People are getting lazy. They don't make their own bread anymore - and they buy it pre-sliced! They don't build fires anymore, they use gas ovens with electric lighters! They use washing machines for their clothes instead of washboards, and they call with a cell phone rather than walking over to their neighbor's house to say hello. Aweful."

..says the guy who uses a computer to talk to people all over the world rather than writing a letter..

[Jason Pick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Robots are slowly replacing us all...

[Neel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Technology is not meant to replace us. It's meant to make our lives easier so that we have more time to spend on the things that matter. If I can save time each week from cleaning and spend it with my friends and family, then I'm completely for it. The fact that certain people would replace that extra time to just sit around and be "lazy" is a personal choice.

You can knock individuals for being lazy, but not technology. New technology gives us the ability to make the most of our lives by simplifying menial tasks and allowing us to spend more time, effort, and energy on what is more important to each of us.

However, if you want to spend 2 days making bread then go ahead. I have better things to do.

[Liz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I agree with Neel. What some people do so as not to be "lazy" other people don't do so as not to be inefficient. An example would be wasting 2 days of your precious life to make bread when you can just go to the store and buy some! Give me a break!

[david @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

The special Clorox cleaning solutions for my Hoover Floormate are available at Lowe's and Home Depot hardware stores. I imagine this new solution should be available locally as well.
The Floormate is MUCH better than standard mop and bucket. The Scooba sounds even better.

[christine @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Does the Scooba "sweep" up the dirt & crumbs as effectively as the Roomba? Don't want to have to buy 2 gadgets...

[Roomba Review @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Re: 22

Yes, the Scooba will sweep the floor as well as scrub. For hard floors, it is all that you need.

FYI, you can now preorder the Scooba, but it won't be released in time for Christmas. Looks like it won't start shipping until January.

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=5