Transparent Toaster gives you clear view of bread's crispiness

You know, it'd be quite nice for toaster manufacturers to actually grab hold of one of the numerous concepts floating around out there and give the tried and true machine a facelift, but until then, conceptualizers are keepin' the ideas a-coming. On deck is the Transparent Toaster, which hopes to utilize clear panes of "heating glass" that allow you to clearly see precisely how burnt your bread is becoming. Of course, we'd certainly hope some sort of self-cleaning apparatus would be added if this thing were to go commercial, but it ain't a half bad idea as it is.

[Via ShinyShiny]

[Bhavishya K @ Sep 3rd 2007 4:57PM]

iToast?

[derek @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:43PM]

No. Not iToast.

[goemon4 @ Sep 3rd 2007 4:58PM]

Ho-Ly, Bull Dookie!!!

I want one!

[bmorson @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:00PM]

that is the coolest toaster ever, costs $300 and still burns your toast :P

[Drew @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:01PM]

And you just stick your finger into the burning glass to get it out?
Mmm.

[artman1033 @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:05PM]

will the glass become cloudy? How can you clean it? Will bagels fit it?

[Bob @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:51PM]

Obviously you just jam a knife in there to get it out like any other toaster!

[kevin rummelhart @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:16PM]

I assume it comes with a little spatula to scrap off the burned skin...

[Brian @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:03PM]

this is ancient.

[Bob @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:52PM]

So is your mom! :-p

[ch1x0r @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:04PM]

Pretty, but who'd want to keep that clean?

[Dave @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:05PM]

How about photoshop me some eggs and juice, too.

[hello @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:10PM]

I wonder if Apples toast well.

[Kevo @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:15PM]

I understand that asking it to toast bagels may be asking a lot, but is it too much to ask that it toasts 2 pieces at the same time?

[Ryhan @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:51PM]

I prefer my oven

[David Hearn @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:16PM]

Boy, the lawyers will have a field day with this one....

[White_Pheonix @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:39PM]

Unless Apple has patented circular, metallic buttons with the power symbol on them, and the act of using silvery metal in a product, I doubt it. It's clearly inspired by Apple, but that's about all they could say. Inspired by != copied from.

[SteveO @ Sep 4th 2007 11:19PM]

what?

[David Hearn @ Sep 4th 2007 4:35AM]

It was more a comment on possible safety issues rather than the design itself.

[McGinley @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:19PM]

I made a better mousetrap once.

[BrotherhoodOfNod @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:21PM]

Heh, I like the idea, though I sure hope that glass has some damn good heat dissipation properties, ala Space Shuttle thermal tiles (Which you can hold a torch to for a minute, then touch 5 seconds after turning the torch off)

[Arjy @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:27PM]

I was scrolling through engadget really fast when my eye saw what looked like toast, and I did a double take. TOAST?


This thing looks pretty cool though, but like others have said, keeping it clean would be an issue, especially for me, since I put my butter on the toast first and then stick it into a toaster oven.

[Pete @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:36PM]

Love 2 have this in my home but I dont want clean it everytime I use it.

[Fizzeh @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:40PM]

it looks cool I guess

[txen @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:43PM]

Last year i had to make a toaster as a project for university, the result is the following link. I hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94C2C1yaQLg

[Ant @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:59PM]

Don't listen to the negative turds on YouTube, most of them will be shop floor grunts all their miserable lives. Maybe a bit strong, but I come across useless people every day who talk-the-talk but have no talent to walk-the-walk. Good on ya, without ideas we are nothing.

[Ryan @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:12PM]

Needs moar quick cuts. Jesus, I haven't felt that disoriented since seeing Transformers.
Also I have no idea how it works because you don't actually show toast inside of it until the last 3 seconds.

[ark_v2 @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:47PM]

:o, it's so sexy

[treetrunk @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:55PM]

Leaving aside the problem of removing the toast afterwards, this is a nice idea with one minor flaw: it doesn't work.

From the link: "Although the glass does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, someday this application may be possible."

[Donnerschlag @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:57PM]

Its a nice designer piece but nothing more. I dont see much of the value of toasting it open on the sides since the heat will escape faster that way making it toast longer.

-my 2 cents

[TheSecret @ Sep 3rd 2007 5:58PM]

thats awesome very cool i might ahve to get one...i wonder how it works?

[Samwise @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:16PM]

RTFA: It doesn't.

[idMAN @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:38PM]

this is in the same vein as some of the insanely thin espresso machine concepts I've seen recently (eg water, boiled where? high pressure pump? uh huh... waiting for new technology? k...)

looking at the case studies on the inventables site I get the feeling that there are some corporates having away-days at a design consultancy (no, not an innovation consultancy - there's no such thing)... beats proper work, anyway.

[Ellianth @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:02PM]

i guess now would be a bad time to mention that my toaster oven has allowed me to do this for years and years now?

[prinal @ Sep 5th 2007 10:02AM]

yeah then why dont you get off the net and carry on with it then turd???

[Rex @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:22PM]

There has to be some tweaks made on this design, 'cause I don't see how a user will be able to take the toast out unless there's a popping thing that's hidden.

But if I were to change this design up a bit, I would enable the front part of the glass to open and close on a hinge, so that way it would be easily accessible.. And to provide saftey around the heating element.. maybe something like Silicone would do to open and close the glass part and provide trim around it as well..
Actually though, is that glass, or something else that can sustain the heating and toasting of bread?..

[rex @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:27PM]

@Ryan, I think he was trying to hide the fact that it was a toaster... like those really good commercials that don't say what it is until the end.

The design is cool. It seems as if it'll be easier to clean the crumbs. But I kinda wanted to see it in real-time action.

[Wwhat @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:32PM]

If you goto your mom's house, goto the kitchen, and check out her oven you'll find it also has a glass pane!!! and nobody got sued or died and the world didn't end!! you learn something every day don't you?

[Johan Karlborg @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:41PM]

Nice concept, won't work well in reality for numerous reasons. I wonder how much moisture that will get released and fog up the glass if the actual heat comes from below?

[chris @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:47PM]

Best

bread

burner

ever.

[potato @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:57PM]

Glass doesn't change visually when heated, this is a safety hazard. Wait till junior comes bounding downstairs into the kitchen and touches the toaster not knowing it's burning hot. Watch the lawsuits fly. With a regular toaster at least the outer case is never burning hot.

[Eldiablo @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:06PM]

Does it come with the setting like all other toasters to turn bread into Charcoal? Someone somewhere must love their toast 'carbonated'.

[DEADPOOL @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:44PM]

WHAT!!! i want one now!!!!!

[Serrgil @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:50PM]

May be with that gadget my wife will make, at the end, eatable toasts!

[Le Master @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:58PM]

Will you still get electrocuted if you stick a fork in it?

[BatteryAcid @ Sep 4th 2007 6:07PM]

No :), but you'll scratch the screen :(.

[kybernz @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:26PM]

Even if this did work, I certainly would hope to toast more than one piece of bread at a time... I certainly eat more than that for breakfast.

[BatteryAcid @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:26PM]

What about butter?

[paul34 @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:03PM]

Meh.

Toaster Oven >> Toaster

And you all know it!

[spike @ Sep 3rd 2007 9:27PM]

nice