Catering to the Baby Boomer market, appliance-makers are focusing more on ease of use. Last week the had the equivalent of the ultimate home center with 1,900 exhibitors at the International Builders' Show here in orlando displaying cutting-edge products for the home.
Take, for example, the Lift Oven by Gaggenau. With the push of a button, the glass-ceramic base drops down to counter height so cookie sheets and roasting pans can slide from the counter to be easily loaded and then raised back up to the oven. "You do not have to bend or lift. When you reach into the oven, that's when you get burned. This time the oven comes to your worktop," said spokeswoman Vanessa Trost. Already for sale in Europe, the oven will be available in the U.S. in July and will cost about $3,300.
Fumbling with house keys may soon be a thing of the past as both Schlage and Kwikset showed locks that work with the touch of a finger. Kwikset's biometric fingerprint SmartScan deadbolt is activated by the swipe of a fingerprint across an indicator behind the teardrop-shaped lock. The battery-operated lock requires no hardwiring and can be programmed for up to 50 fingerprints. It also can be programmed to allow entry for limited time periods if, say, the housekeeper comes from 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. And, of course, it could solve the problem if you always lose your keys, like me. The lock will cost about $200 and be available in June.
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