dyson
Latest
Dyson Air Multiplier fans grow up to Tower and Pedestal dimensions
James Dyson seems to have made the manipulation of air his life's mission, and his most recent product, the "bladeless" desktop fan, has apparently enjoyed enough success to merit an expanded range. You'll soon be able to splash a cool $450 on either of the elongated Tower (above left) or Pedestal Air Multipliers. They function along the same principles as the original: air is stirred up (by blades!) in the base and then thrust through the circumference of the device to deliver cool, calming, and buffet-free chills to your overworked self. Mind you, Dyson's keen to point out that only 7 percent of the air comes from its impeller-driven base -- most of the flow comes from "the inducement and entrainment of surrounding air." Boy, the company sure is getting its money's worth out of that thesaurus purchase. If you want to read more of this highfalutin stuff, go past the break for the full press release. P.S. -- No animals were injured in the making of this image, or so its author tells us. Thanks, Matthew!
Dyson's City DC26: finally, a sucky vacuum for those in studio apartments
We've been duly impressed with the Dyson vacs that we've encountered in the past, but one thing's for certain: these things are large. Even the comparatively small DC23 Turbinehead is too gangly for cramped living quarters, but it seems the company that makes ends meet by being exceptionally good at snorting foreign matter from floors has a solution. The newly launched City DC26 is aimed at studio apartments and other small living areas where full-size vacuum cleaners simply aren't welcome. It purportedly took five years of development to create a Dyson vac small enough to sit atop an A4 sheet of paper without any overhang, but it's now available to London's most cramped citizens for £249.99 ($403). There's nary a word on a Stateside release, but we're guessing yesterday would be a good time to start saving.
Industrial robot arm pretends to do chores in Dyson's London pop-up shop
As Mariah Carey's song goes: "all I want for Christmas is a loyal house-cleaning robot." Okay, not quite, but we did become hopeful when we saw this photo taken inside Dyson's first London pop-up shop. Sadly, it turns out that the sole purpose of this prototype-testing robot arm is to constantly twist a DC24 vacuum cleaner -- presumably to show off just how great a dance partner your rug cleaner can be. If you've just had your wildest dreams shattered (trust us, we're right there with ya), feel free to pass on a petition to the Dyson engineers staffing that temporary shop -- you'll get to play with nine of their vacs and the Air Multiplier bladeless fan while you're there. You have until January 25th. Chop-chop! [Image courtesy of Mark Hattersley]
Dyson DC25 Blueprint impressions: is the 'Ball' worth it?
Dyson's DC25 Blueprint just started shipping en masse this month, and with an MSRP of $529.99, it's significantly more pricey that the "bargain-minded" DC23 Turbinehead that we had a peek at last month. The company's range of 'Ball' vacuum cleaners have been around for years now, but this is the first chance we've had to roll one over our own carpet. With a striking white finish, impeccable build quality and a design to make any gadget nerd blush, there's quite a bit here that you won't find on your average vac, but is the sphere really enough to warrant the lofty sticker? Read on for our two pennies. %Gallery-76534%
Dyson's Air Multiplier is the overpriced bladeless fan you never asked for
We can't fault Dyson for chutzpah. After putting the company's spin on vacuum cleaners and then hand dryers, we probably should've guessed that a revolution in table fan engineering was next up. When we first saw an image of the Dyson Air Multiplier "bladeless fan" a few spurious theories popped into our heads as to how it works, but it didn't take long to figure it out: it has blades in it. It's just that these blades are inside the lower canister, rather similar to, dare we say it, how a vacuum cleaner is set up, with the air then routed through the ring up top. The benefits of this tech are that there are no nasty blades to get fingers caught up in, but also that there's no "buffeting" -- that on-off gush of air caused by fan blades unceremoniously chopping up the air into inelegant segments. Unfortunately, the downside of the Dyson method is that you can't make Darth Vader voices through the backside of the fan, and the whole assembly is closer in noise pollution to that of an actual vacuum cleaner than a regular table fan. And then there's the matter of price: $300 for the 10-inch model, $330 for the 12-inch, and neither of them offer nearly as much wind as a regular fan this size -- quite a steep entry fee for the gentle breezes that emanate out of this plastic wind tunnel. Full PR is after the break. %Gallery-75354%
Dyson DC23 Turbinehead impressions
Dyson. Just the mere mention of the name conjures up a litany of emotions, though we suspect the most common feeling associated with it is "eh, too expensive for a vacuum." For years now, Dyson has managed to make an otherwise drab sector exciting, with its array of vacuums (and hand dryers, to be fair) being amongst the only ones out there that gadget nerds could actually get into. The eldritch designs, promises of never-ending suction and stratospherically high price tags have helped Dyson garner an almost cult-like following, but at long last, it seems the outfit is looking to slide into homes of the somewhat less affluent. Granted, $399 for a vac ain't exactly cheap, but considering that the DC23 Turbinehead is the outfit's cheapest canister ever, we couldn't help but give it a spin. Head on past the break for a few impressions.%Gallery-74119%
Dyson speeds up 'world's fastest motor,' gives it some fancy packaging
Sir James Dyson is on a mission to tick as many boxes as possible with the hetero male demographic. He starts out well, bolting the "world's fastest motor" to a gun-shaped instrument of cleanliness. The product pages advertise 10 minutes of "high constant suction," and the top model is named the Animal, but the fact is it's still a vacuum cleaner. The motor is a direct descendant of the one found in the Airblade, with rotational speed jumping from 88K to 104K RPM. Dyson has said he hopes to harness the technology in other devices, including electric cars, giving credence to previously discredited rumors to that effect. Beyond the read link you will find a picture of the tiny speed demon in the loving hands of its inventor. [Via Tech Digest]
Domestic visionary Dyson's totally square kitchen
James Dyson, the man who single-handedly transformed the vacuum cleaner from a symbol of domestic oppression to an object of techno-lust, is back on the scene with not one, but a whole coterie of kitchen appliances designed to save space -- by sticking 'em in a box. No longer must Americans stand for tea kettles shaped like tea kettles, toasters shaped like toasters, or for juicers... you get the idea. What's more, these guys are all designed to work together: controls are uniformly placed on the top or front panels, with devices sharing common power supplies. As it stands, this is all currently little more than a story dreamt up on the basis of a patent, fodder for a slow news day, and something which neither Dyson nor his colleagues commit to actually making a real reality -- even if patent US 2009/0095729 tells us a different story. But what the hell? A guy can dream, right?[Via Core77]
Dyson actually not looking to build electric car, just a wicked fast vacuum
Look folks, just because Dyson can build a motor with enough oomph to power a vehicle, that doesn't mean it's actually going to. At least that's the message a company spokesperson wants you to believe. Contrary to earlier reports, James Dyson is not looking to enter the electric automobile sector in any way, shape or fashion. Said spokesperson was quoted as saying that "James Dyson did say that [Dyson's] new digital motor could power a car, but it is not working on, and [we] have no plans to create an electric car." Okay, but can you at least make the Ball 2.0 street legal?[Via AutoblogGreen, image courtesy of Telegraph]
Dyson looking to motor into the electric car arena?
Dyson (yes, that Dyson) could be looking to play a role in the next great electric automobile. Just let your brain simmer on that a moment, and see if you can stifle any forthcoming laughter. Believe it or not, the British inventor famous for his iconic vacuum designs is actually developing a "powerful lightweight motor that could enable electric cars to zoom along for hundreds of miles without causing pollution." In theory, the eventual vehicle would scoot about much quicker than the majority of sluggish electric vehicles and solar panels would be tacked on the roof for regeneration in sunlight. Of course, some analysts are suggesting that he continue to keep his innovative motors in household gizmos, and rather than strike out on his own to invent a new car, he could simply partner with an existing automaker and toss in his design genius to craft something that's not horrifically ugly. Sounds pretty good to us.[Via Core77, image courtesy of Telegraph]
Tree-inspired PC wins Dyson design award
One of the main arguments that Windows users offer during those habitual debates with Macheads is that PC boxes are much easier to upgrade; instead of buying a new machine every year, you can simply swap out components ad hoc. Well a graduate of Ireland's National College of Art and Design imagines taking this convenience a step further, with a tree-shaped rig -- known as Cultivate - the Sustainable Living Computer -- whose CPU, RAM, hard drive, and other swappable parts extend from the motherboard-packing "trunk" inside removable "branches." Designer Laura Caulwell won a cool €2,000 $2,929) for her concept, and also earned the right to compete for January's annual International James Dyson Award in Australia, which offers up £15,000 ($31,476) in prizes.[Via The Register, photo courtesy of Electric News]
Dyson building a robo-vac to compete on Roomba's turf?
If you're willing to buy into this whole "doesn't lose suction" song and dance, Dyson might have a robotic vacuum cleaner in the works just for you. A recent job advertisement on the Dyson website, is seeking a roboticist with "navigation and localization systems knowledge (Kalman filters, SLAM)" and "computer vision experience," which sure sounds like shoe-in for robo-vac development to us. We know they were at work developing the $6000 DC06 a couple years back, but that early attempt at a Roomba-killer didn't itself take life to the best of our knowledge. Of course, by the time they complete this new hire and s/he gets the next robotic Dyson bumping, we could be a good many months (or years) down the road. At very least the "machine vision" bit seems to imply something fancier than the Roomba dumbass-bumparound method, which will hopefully lead to some exciting floor cleaning times, and even more promising hacks whenever this device might possibly make it to market.
Hands-on with Dyson's hurricane of a hand dryer, the Airblade
Although James Dyson may not actually have been the first person to "reinvent" the unhygienic ol' hand dryer, his company's Airblade does seem to be the most powerful option out there for getting the wet stuff off (save for FIU's Wall of Wind), so folks are naturally concerned that its 400mph blast of air will cut through their tender skin like a laser. Well fear not, frequenters of public restrooms, because Popular Science has gone head hand-to-head with one of the new blowers, risking life and limb to make sure that your next trip to the bathroom won't be even more dangerous than usual. Oddly enough, the PopSci guinea pig tester didn't actually use the machine to dry his mitts, but rather chose a few more visually-expressive experiments to evaluate the Airblade's power (and safety). In the linked video, you can check out what happens to a human hand under the effects of the Dyson (spoiler: it dimples the skin, but doesn't leave the bloody welts that some were expecting), along with its ability to blast away tiny Post-It notes and completely pwn a sheet of newspaper. Just remember, we're not responsible for what happens when you get caught by a business owner making a mess of his / her restroom during your attempts at replicating these experiments, so proceed with caution.[Thanks, Drakonen]
The Dyson Airblade: not all that original
After we brought you news of Dyson's "revolutionary" new Airblade hand-drying system yesterday, the comments that followed were pretty equally divided into two camps: about half of you were worried that the high-speed pressurized air would rip the skin and fingernails right off your hands, while the other half pointed out that similar devices have been available overseas for many years. Well sure enough, we just "caught wind" of another such dryer from Mitsubishi -- called the Jet Towel -- and not only does it offer similar guarantees of speedy drying and improved hygiene, it's actually shaped almost exactly like the Dyson model. Now there's nothing wrong with releasing a competing product onto the market -- hey, that's what capitalism is all about -- but we've got to take issue with Dyson's press release that states "The hand dryer: dirty, ineffective and expensive to run...so we reinvented it." Um, no you didn't -- you just took an existing dryer, added an iodine resin filter, and snazzed up the design quite a bit. Oh, and for the commenters concerned that those 400MPH air "blades" will ruin your expensive manicures, you'll be happy to learn that the Jet Towel is a much pokier machine: its blower can barely manage to break 200MPH.
Dyson's Airblade dries hands with 400MPH blast of air
Let's say you're a company that has perfected air flow technology, cornered the high-end vacuum cleaner market, and are now looking for new product categories to conquer. Well you could leverage your copious knowledge to invent the world's most powerful air hockey table, or perhaps an air compressor with a super-snazzy industrial design, but UK-based Dyson has instead opted to tackle a problem that has plagued public restroom patrons for years -- crappy, inefficient hand dryers. Apparently the main problem with traditional hot air dryers is that they rely on evaporation to get the wet stuff off -- a process that can take up to 35 seconds and actually result in dirtier hands as people rub theirs together to speed things up (pushing bacteria deeper into skin layers and fingernails as they do so). Well Dyson is attempting to make this task both quicker and more hygienic with its new Airblade system, a revolutionary dryer that blasts a 400MPH stream of clean, unheated air through a 0.3-millimeter gap and processes the excess water with a disinfecting iodine resin filter. The end result is cleaner hands in a shorter period of time, with waste water being disbursed into the air as a fine mist instead of forming a gross little puddle on the floor. Keep reading for a profile view, and see why the Dyson engineers wisely designed the Airblade so that curious children can't stick their heads in and have their eyes blown into the back of their sockets...[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
