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The first Braun speakers in 28 years are unexpectedly modern
When the news broke in July that Braun Audio's speaker line was making a comeback, pretty much everyone at Engadget was immediately hooked. Thanks to a deal with Proctor & Gamble, Pure Audio now has the rights to the iconic speaker name. While many of us expected a similar aesthetic to the Dieter Rams-designed devices from 1959, Pure is taking a decidedly modern approach with the revival of the LE line. They still have a minimalist look, but have been entirely redesigned both inside and out. This means that all the modern features are along for the ride. And it means the company is taking direct aim at Sonos.
Braun's Dieter Rams-designed speaker line is making a comeback
It's been 28 years since German consumer product maker Braun got out of the audio business, but any audiophile will still be able to recognize the company's classic LE range of speakers. Today, Braun announced that Pure Audio will launch new speakers that will reinvent its classic design. Pure will license the Braun name from Procter and Gamble. The new LE speakers will make their debut at IFA in Berlin, Germany this September.
The best immersion blender
By Christine Cyr Clisset, Michael Sullivan and Sharon Franke This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to the best immersion blender here. Since our quest for the best immersion blender began in 2013, we've considered 63 models, interviewed two soup-making pros, and pureed gallons of soup, smoothies, and sauces. Through all this research and testing, the Breville Control Grip has remained our top pick because it produces smoother textures, has a design that's more comfortable to use, and comes with whipping and chopping attachments that actually work. The Breville Control Grip immersion blender thoroughly purees even fibrous soups and can blend smoothies made with ice and frozen berries into thick, frosty mixtures. It has a rubber handle and a power button that you press naturally as you grip, so it's comfortable to hold even for long blending times. The blending wand doesn't spatter as it purees. We also appreciate the extra-large, 42-ounce blending jar, which has a handle, clearly marked measurements, and a rubber grip to keep it firmly in place during blending. The Breville comes with both a whisk and a chopper attachment, and although it's one of the pricier hand blenders out there, we think it's far less likely to languish in a junk drawer than other, inconvenient offerings. The Braun MultiQuick 5 Hand Blender MQ505 rivals more expensive models at pureeing soup and smoothies thoroughly. It has a soft grip, but we found that pressing its small button for the entire blending time quickly grew fatiguing. In addition to a blending jar, the Braun comes with a whisk, but it doesn't include a chopper. Although cheaper options are available, we think it's worth paying a little more than a rock-bottom price to get a model that doesn't spatter. The other lower-priced models in our test—including the Cuisinart Smart Stick CSB-175, which replaced the CSB-75, our previous budget pick—were more difficult to use and created hot-liquid splashes that weren't fun or easy to clean up. The Cuisinart CSB-175 also had trouble with ice, while the Braun MQ505 was able to pulverize ice and frozen fruit with ease. When it came to blending smoothly and thoroughly in our tests, nothing beat the Philips ProMix Hand Blender HR1670/92, which turned out velvety soups and the thickest of smoothies. It's comfortable to grip even for several minutes, as your hand rests naturally as you squeeze to operate it. To increase the power level, you simply press harder, so you can easily use the blender with one hand without stopping. However, the Philips doesn't come cheap, and for the big bucks you don't get any accessories other than a 24-ounce blending cup (you can purchase the whisk and chopper accessories separately for a hefty premium). If you want the very best purees you can get from an immersion blender, and if you're willing to pay for that and nothing else, this Philips ProMix model is worth your consideration.
Oral-B's app-connected toothbrush now rescuing British teeth for £230
Oral-B's electric toothbrushes spin, vibrate and get into places your standard scrubber can only imagine, but none are more extravagant than the new "Smart Series" launched today. The Bluetooth-endowed brushes -- yes, they're a thing now -- pair with iOS devices (an Android app's due in August) and tell you how terrible your oral hygiene is, with the hope of improving it. Basically, the app allows you to choose different brushing routines, with your iPhone showing a timer (as well as news and weather reports to distract you from the dull task at hand), telling you when to move on to different areas of your chops, and notifying you when you're putting too much pressure on your teeth. Oral-B's actually had toothbrushes with similar functionality for many years, but they've all required additional hardware that's replaced by your phone in this new Smart Series. Kind of like a fitness tracker for brushing, the app will also store session data so you can build up a record of successful scrubs.
iPod 10th anniversary: Apple design exhibit at MKG Hamburg
Since we're celebrating a decade of iPod today, it's a perfect time to share our photos from the Stylectrical exhibition at the MK&G museum in Hamburg, Germany. This collection features scores of Apple products (largely from the reign of design chief Jonathan Ive) alongside some of the industrial designs from other companies that informed, or were influenced by, the clean and functional Apple aesthetic. Check out the 'wall of iPods' that covers the full decade-long arc of the music player. %Gallery-137322% Some of the most remarkable juxtapositions in the exhibit come with the pairings of mid-20th century Braun products with the Apple designs that follow their distinctive looks. The three postcards from the exhibit (shown above) feature designs by Dieter Rams for Braun that would seem perfectly in place on the tables of an Apple Store, save that they were produced in the late 1950s and early '60s. Rams' influence on Ive's designs is widely acknowledged -- witness the iOS Calculator app, which is a dead ringer for the Braun ET66 calculator -- but there's a difference between knowing that and seeing it right in front of you. The exhibition is a must-visit for any Apple fan passing through Hamburg between now and mid-January. Don't miss the art gallery of prints from photographer Michael Tompert; his 12LVE project destroys Apple products (ow!) in the service of beautiful and haunting images. Enjoy the gallery of products and displays. Thanks to the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe and curator Ina Grätz for inviting us to visit. Reader Neil Curtis also toured the exhibit and sent us the video walkthrough below. Photos by Michael Rose, © 2011. All rights reserved.
Braun busts out six new boringcams
You'd think a company that's been around since 1915 could've come up with something a bit more exciting, but it looks like this is all Braun Phototechnik has to show for 91 years on the market. Their new lineup uniformly fails to perform, but we'll give you a rundown just in case you were on the market for a shoddy, Asian-manufactured German cam with heritage. Up top we have the D800, which sports a 6.2 megapixel CCD, but interpolates up to 8 megapixels for no good reason. The camera also sports a 2.4-inch LCD, 3x optical zoome, 32MB of internal memory and video recording mode. Next up is the D600, which sports identical specs, but notches the LCD down to 2-inches. A greater oddity is the D504, which shoots 5.3 megapixel pics, but interpolates up to 10 megapixels. It also sports a 2-inch LCD, but a mere 16MB of memory. The D410 only manages a 1.5-inch LCD, 4 megapixel CCD, and 16MB of memory, but at least does away with that interpolation silliness. The D312 really takes the cake, with the most compact design of the bunch, but a mere 3.1 megapixel CCD that interpolates up to ludicrous 12 megapixels. The D310 completes the walk of shame with a 3.1 megapixel CCD, 5 megapixel interpolation, 1.4-inch LCD, zero zoom and 8MB of built-in memory. A few of these might pass for Happy Meal toys, or a decent camera maybe 91 years ago, but we think it's time Braun stepped into the new millennium and got some optical image stabilisation up in here. Keep reading to peep the rest of these dandies.Read - Braun D800Read - Braun D600Read - Braun D504Read - Braun D410Read - Braun D312Read - Braun D310
