It’s about time they invented a robot that vacuums the house for us — it’s just that the iROBOT has a few minor shortcomings. Like, it’s almost useless on carpet. It’s OK on hard floors, though extremely slow, taking minutes to cover what you’d take seconds to do. And it’s noisy. Oh, and ours didn’t automatically return to its base for recharging, as it’s supposed to.
But what really made us doubt was its dirt redistribution function: when the small dirt container starts filling up, every time the iROBOT bumps into a wall or obstacle, a little heap of collected dirt falls out again. iROBOT? iDon’tthinkso.
See www.choice.com.au - robot vacuum cleaners for CHOICE's review of two robotic vacuum cleaners.
The Apple iPod also won a Shonky award: the iSHONK for dual shonkyness:
An iPod is a significant investment, so you don’t want your APPLE to be a lemon. And if there is something wrong with it, you’d expect an easy repair and warranty service. Podluck.
Level 1. Several readers complained about cracked screens, faulty batteries and problems with sound reproduction.
Level 2. APPLE doesn’t allow retailers to handle complaints under warranty (which is their obligation under Fair Trading laws) — you have to send your faulty iPod to APPLE yourself via Australia Post. And if they decide the fault isn’t covered by the warranty, you’ll have to foot the entire bill.
So, all you iPodettes out there, be very careful not to crack your screen. Speaking of faulty goods, I'm now off to find a replacement battery charger for my digital camera after over-heating the original by leaving it plugged in too long. I only hope I can find one before we leave for the UK in a few weeks.
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