The best cheap vacuum

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer's guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here. After scoping out 160 models over 42 hours of research and testing, we found the $160 Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV3...

Dyson DC47 and DC50 Animal vacuums shrink in size but not in suction

Dyson vacuum goes smaller, captures more dust with new DC47 and DC50

If you're one of the remaining holdouts who hasn't yet picked up a Dyson vacuum cleaner, get ready to be enticed by a couple new ones. The household name in suction has introduced two new "Animal" series dust busters, the DC47 and the DC50. The former is canister-shaped, while the DC50 stands upright. Both were designed to be much smaller and lighter than their predecessors, with the DC47 weighing in at 13.47 pounds and the DC50 tipping in at 11.6 pounds. They both boast 2 Tier Radial cyclones to extract more microscopic dust, a new Ball pivot that's supposedly more maneuverable and carbon fiber brushes that promise to remove more dust from hard floors due to a lack of static build-up. If you're sold, get ready to cough up some major cash: the DC47 Animal is $449.99, while the DC50 Animal is $499.99. If you want the latest and greatest in designer vacuums, you can snag one from the source link or your favorite Dyson retailer.

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Source: Dyson

IRL: Dyson DC44, NUU ClickMate PowerPlus and the Galaxy S III

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Can't get more random than this, folks: in this week's edition of IRL, we have Darren recommending a vacuum cleaner, Dan Cooper continuing his search for a backup phone charger and Jon Fingas putting the Galaxy S III to the test against his beloved HTC One X.

Continue reading IRL: Dyson DC44, NUU ClickMate PowerPlus and the Galaxy S III

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IRL: Dyson DC44, NUU ClickMate PowerPlus and the Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 15:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: best robot cleaner for stone tile floors?

Ask Engadget

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Anthony, who needs some robotic help keeping his stone floors clean. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"We have stone tile floors in the kitchen and two kids. What wet floor cleaning robot would help us keep the floor clean, navigate the kitchen and handle the uneven stone floor tiles and grooves?"

We love original and different questions like this, the more original and different the better, so let's help this gentleman out. It's the old story of the high-tech being flustered by the stone age, but what's the solution? Is it the iRobot Scooba, with its squeegee apparatus tucked underneath, or something else? Why not share your considerable experiences in the comments below.

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Ask Engadget: best robot cleaner for stone tile floors? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: a look inside iRobot’s gadget-filled ‘cool stuff room’ (video)

Visualized a look inside iRobot's gadgetfilled 'cool stuff room'

We've all seen a Roomba at one point or another, be it picking up debris around our feet in a friend's living room or chauffeuring a courageous kitty for an entertaining clip on YouTube. Likely far less familiar, however, is iRobot's gadget-filled Massachusetts headquarters, including the museum-like "cool stuff room" in the lobby. There you'll find a large variety of autonomous devices, ranging from an early Roomba prototype that subs in a removable cloth for the vacuum to the relatively creepy My Real Baby -- an $89 doll that cries for food and offers realistic reactions to tickling. There's also plenty of industrial and military gear on hand, including a long cylindrical bot used for repairing oil rigs as they continue to operate, a full-size self-driving vehicle and a wall-climbing robot that uses suction cup wheels to ascend vertically. Some of the exhibits are downright creepy, such as a crab-like prototype which an iRobot employee referenced as being "inspired by nature," though the company's familiar household gadgets help to balance out the eerie. Sadly, the collection doesn't appear to be open to the public, though IEEE was granted a tour, which it graciously filmed for your enjoyment -- you'll find that video walkthrough just past the break.

Continue reading Visualized: a look inside iRobot's gadget-filled 'cool stuff room' (video)

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Visualized: a look inside iRobot's gadget-filled 'cool stuff room' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 21:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRobot Roomba 790 with Wireless Command Center hands-on (video)

What to get the homeowner who has everything? Perhaps a robotic vacuum styled in the fashion of an RC toy will fit the bill. Here at a gdgt event in New York City we happened upon iRobot's Roomba 790, which comes with a touchscreen remote for manually controlling where the bot goes. The controller -- make that the "Wireless Command Center" -- has an interface matching the one on the 790 itself, so there's no second set of menus to master here. In addition to deciding where it moves, you can also schedule daily cleanings or tap a "Clean" button to push the robot into action.Though this isn't the first time iRobot's dabbled in remote-controlled vacuum cleaners, previous models tended to rely on infrared sensors, meaning you could only control the Roomba if it was in your line of sight. This guy, though, uses a proprietary technology that allows you to program that 4pm scrubbing from up to 25 meters away.

As for battery life, it runs on four AA cells, and is rated for three to six months of runtime, depending on how compulsively you plan on cleaning. Interestingly, despite the change in wireless standards, the 790 is compatible with older 700-series Roombas, though it's not as is the controller would be sold separately. If you happen to be the kind of fabulously wealthy family who can afford (and has a need) for multiple Roomba cleaners, you can only pair the remote with one robot at a time anyway. Don't have the budget for a $700 robotic vacuum kit? We've got hands-on photos below and a demo video after the break.

Continue reading iRobot Roomba 790 with Wireless Command Center hands-on (video)

iRobot Roomba 790 with Wireless Command Center hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roomba 790’s Wireless Command Center lets you obliterate dirt from afar

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iRobot is calling the latest Roomba its "most advanced robot yet," thanks to a number of new features to the 700 series that extend beyond the 790's redesigned faceplate. Chief amongst them is the Wireless Command Center, an oblong remote control useable from anywhere in the home that lets users steer the Roomba, send it back to its base, schedule a cleaning and adjust its clock. There's also a big "Clean" button, whose functionality seems fairly straight forward. Also on board with the 790 is room-to-room navigation, which utilizes "Virtual Wall Lighthouses." Roomba describes the feature thusly,

[A]djust to Lighthouse, set the distance of the door opening and place the Virtual Wall Lighthouse outside of the doorway to the room you want Roomba to clean. The Lighthouse will communicate with Roomba via an infrared sensor to contain it in one room until it vacuums the area completely (aka: completes its mission) and then it will move on to the next room and so forth.

The latest version of the cleaning machine is available today, for a suggested $700. Check out a peak of the aforementioned Command Center after the break.

Continue reading Roomba 790's Wireless Command Center lets you obliterate dirt from afar

Roomba 790's Wireless Command Center lets you obliterate dirt from afar originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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