Many times, a small change in a design makes a product a lot better.
You know the modern version of the office water cooler: a vertical unit that dispenses cold (and in many models, also hot) water into disposable cups. Well, I’ve just seen one that made my day. The unit in the photo, a new model from Tami (a.k.a. Tana Water), has a small but smart addition: the button marked “Room Temp”.
What’s the big deal? Well, in most models, you push the button and get ice-cold water. This must be very attractive if you’ve just jumped off a camel at a desert oasis on a scalding summer day; but in most offices, which are air conditioned, you don’t need it to be ice-cold, and some prefer it not to be. Their solution in the past was to either try to add a little boiling water, or to sip slowly. So now Tami have added the Room Temp button – you can get the same clean, filtered water, without the extra cooling. A tiny redesign, leading to a better product.
June 13, 2008 — 5:08 pm
I love this design. I hate drinking ice-cold water and I always have to mix the hot and cold so this is a great design change.
October 15, 2012 — 12:43 am
In the region where I live, in Central Europe, tap water quality regularly meets nutrition standards. In summer, it is just a few centigrades cooler than the climate and a refreshing delight, but never too cold.
A device preparing water at room temperature here would seem as beneficial as a refrigerator at greenland (do they have frigos there?).
Thanks for drawing attention to design matters 🙂