Inventions in Everything: The Future of Ironing

It’s not often that we’re wowed by a marketing pitch introducing new technology, but the problems solved by a device named Effie have us anxiously awaiting the arrival of U.K. inventors Rohan Kamdar and Trevor Kerth’s creation to market. The following video explains why we’re excited:

Effie wouldn’t be the first device promising to solve the problem of making ironing a thing of the past – a similar-looking device named Swash was sold briefly by Whirlpool and Proctor and Gamble before it failed in the marketplace, for reasons that will become apparent when you consider the following video review:

And now you can see why we’re excited by Effie’s introduction. Not only does it look like it might be able to deliver on the promise that the Swash made, but couldn’t keep, it also looks like a considerable improvement over it at the same time.

The downside? When the Effie hits the market later this year, Core77 indicates that it will retail for £699 in the U.K., which works out to be $994 in the U.S. at this writing (please click here for the latest equivalent price in U.S. dollars), more than double the $400 price tag of the failed Swash system.

Would it be worth that much to you to have a device that can automate the process of ironing of your clothes? Or perhaps the better question would be to what price point might a device like the Effie drop to make new sales to a wider consumer market once we get past the part of the innovation cycle where sales are be taken up solely by the innovator and early adopters?