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Whereas an Anglepoise lamp actually will last 60 years. Many already have. It's too early to know if their LED variant will. Dyson had one decent idea that eve

Whereas an Anglepoise lamp actually will last 60 years. Many already have. It's too early to know if their LED variant will. Dyson had one decent idea that everyone else adopted too - cyclones instead of bags. Everything else seems to require paying 10x what a sane premium and expensive cost might be - lamps, hair dryers, fan heaters. The innovation is making it appear complex enough to justify the absurd price. I bet they are still using too much ABS plastic that'll be disintegrating after 5 years.

jakobegger 8y ago
High quality desk lamps often cost 500€ to 1000€. There's nothing absurd about the price, if these are actually high quality lamps.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  lol no. Anglepoise were just about top of the market when we bought one about ten years ago. Paid about £90-£100. A quick search shows about 10% more now. A genuine antique can run higher, especially if with Tiffany shades, original 20s bankers lamps etc. I'm sure there's one or two others selling emperor's new clothes at absurd prices like Dyson too -- that's very far from "often".
DaiPlusPlus 8y ago
Their contra-rotating drum washing machine was innovative but they pulled it from the market. Innovative ideas don’t necessarily having staying-power either.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  True, I'd forgotten that one. The same explosion in a paint factory ABS everywhere looks as the vacuums meant it wasn't a permitted option for our house. :) They updated those that were sold to disable the contra-rotating. No idea why.
ianhowson 8y ago
I got my wife the hair dryer and I'm genuinely impressed with it. It weighs nothing, uses proper PID control for heat and fan, heats up and cools fast and just feels good. The device stays cool while heating the air and it blows a lot of air while making hardly any noise. In short, I can't imagine a more perfect hair dryer. Sadly, I am bald and do not get to use it. I did spend a while gushing about how neat it was, though.
- subculture 8y ago
  AvE did a fun teardown of the hair dryer [0]. If you haven't seen his videos they're all pretty terrific, especially the Juicero one. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8
yeutterg 8y ago
Disclosure: I design and sell lighting products. The LED component probably will last 60 years (8 hours a day). My guess is they are using Nichia LEDs, which tend to have an L70 (lifetime at which the brightness stays above 70% of the original output) of 150,000 to 300,000 hours. If you run them cool enough and at the right current/voltage, the LED itself will actually last that long. However, the LED is probably the most reliable part of the whole lamp. You might see a few units last that long, but most of the other electronics will have failed by then. And even if they have not failed, both the LEDs and controls will be seriously out of date by then. If you look at the market Dyson is in (very high-end lighting), $600 to $900 is in the same order of magnitude on price. Brands like Artemide, Marset, Flos, Roll & Hill, and Anglepoise all command prices most people would think are ridiculous. With Dyson, you get a lot more functionality than those other brands, but I would consider this purchase more like a luxury car (service life of maybe 20 years, original owner has it for 3-10 years) than a high-end watch (could last many decades with consistent service). I've seen the previous task lamp from Dyson in person, and it does use a lot of metal (minimal ABS). But that doesn't change the argument around electronics. I feel like Dyson really didn't have to make the ridiculous 60 year claim. Enough people in the target market would still buy it.

jakobegger 8y ago

High quality desk lamps often cost 500€ to 1000€. There's nothing absurd about the price, if these are actually high quality lamps.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
lol no. Anglepoise were just about top of the market when we bought one about ten years ago. Paid about £90-£100. A quick search shows about 10% more now. A genuine antique can run higher, especially if with Tiffany shades, original 20s bankers lamps etc. I'm sure there's one or two others selling emperor's new clothes at absurd prices like Dyson too -- that's very far from "often".

DaiPlusPlus 8y ago

Their contra-rotating drum washing machine was innovative but they pulled it from the market. Innovative ideas don’t necessarily having staying-power either.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
True, I'd forgotten that one. The same explosion in a paint factory ABS everywhere looks as the vacuums meant it wasn't a permitted option for our house. :) They updated those that were sold to disable the contra-rotating. No idea why.

ianhowson 8y ago

I got my wife the hair dryer and I'm genuinely impressed with it. It weighs nothing, uses proper PID control for heat and fan, heats up and cools fast and just feels good. The device stays cool while heating the air and it blows a lot of air while making hardly any noise. In short, I can't imagine a more perfect hair dryer. Sadly, I am bald and do not get to use it. I did spend a while gushing about how neat it was, though.

subculture 8y ago
AvE did a fun teardown of the hair dryer [0]. If you haven't seen his videos they're all pretty terrific, especially the Juicero one. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8

yeutterg 8y ago

Disclosure: I design and sell lighting products. The LED component probably will last 60 years (8 hours a day). My guess is they are using Nichia LEDs, which tend to have an L70 (lifetime at which the brightness stays above 70% of the original output) of 150,000 to 300,000 hours. If you run them cool enough and at the right current/voltage, the LED itself will actually last that long. However, the LED is probably the most reliable part of the whole lamp. You might see a few units last that long, but most of the other electronics will have failed by then. And even if they have not failed, both the LEDs and controls will be seriously out of date by then. If you look at the market Dyson is in (very high-end lighting), $600 to $900 is in the same order of magnitude on price. Brands like Artemide, Marset, Flos, Roll & Hill, and Anglepoise all command prices most people would think are ridiculous. With Dyson, you get a lot more functionality than those other brands, but I would consider this purchase more like a luxury car (service life of maybe 20 years, original owner has it for 3-10 years) than a high-end watch (could last many decades with consistent service). I've seen the previous task lamp from Dyson in person, and it does use a lot of metal (minimal ABS). But that doesn't change the argument around electronics. I feel like Dyson really didn't have to make the ridiculous 60 year claim. Enough people in the target market would still buy it.