I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a product launch by Panasonic recently. It’s a perk of having registered as a “Panasonic Insider” to be able to see some of their products before they’re released. So I rolled up to the Diamant Boutique Hotel Penthouse on Wednesday night, where they were intent on impressing us from start to finish. Before we even saw any of the products, we were bowled over with the view and some VERY tasty canapes (duck pancakes.. YUM!). I met up with other “Soup Mamas” (Soup is a marketing company that uses word of mouth campaigns for their clients) and the Panasonic Insider Guru, Boyd.
While I was ready for the influx of information, I was not really prepared to be as impressed as I was. While Panasonic has been making home appliances for over 50 years, Australia is still a new market for these products. Their driving force is Eco-friendly and User friendly, and they have done a great job with this range. Some products have only just been released, while others we won’t see until early next year.
I was particularly interested in the kitchen appliances, as I love finding fun new ways to cook stuff, and Panasonic didn’t disappoint!
The return into the breadmaker department is certainly a nice one. It’s a lovely looking machine, will do three different loaf sizes, loads of different recipes (including a softer crust sandwich loaf) including Basic, White, Wheat, Rye, French, Italian, Sandwich, Gluten Free, Pizza and Bake Only.
It’s a clever little machine as it can make jams & compotes too! It also includes a 10 minute power interruption protection feature with self-resetting motor protector and a 13 hour preset timer, so users can have freshly baked bread at any hour of the day.
I’m a bit in love with this device as I love home baked bread, but my current machine does only white or wholemeal in one size and one crust. I love that the Panasonic has so many options! I’m dreaming of choc-chip brioche for me, and apple jam for my son.
The range of rice cookers is pretty amazing. In fact, it’s a bit of an insult to call them rice cookers, as they can do so much more. There are two ranges in two sizes (5 cup and 10 cup), the slightly more deluxe model has a more easy to clean design and new diamond flouro coated pan, and with only approximately $60 difference between the base model 5 cup and the deluxe model 10 cup, I think it’s definitely worth upgrading. Not only does this cooker do 4 styles of rice, but it can also cook soups, curries, porridge and even CAKE! It also has a steam basket that allows you to cook your rice and steam some veges at the same time. For added convenience, the Rice Cookers keep rice warm for up to 12 hours and have a preset timer of between 1-24 hours, allowing users to prepare rice and other steamed dishes ahead of time. The new Rice Cookers also feature an alarm to alert the user when the rice is cooked. I’m actually pretty excited about this range, because while I do love my slow cooker, sometimes you “forget” to put that meal on at 8am and only realise later in the day that you got the ingredients for your favourite stew/curry/soup ready and you have nothing else planned for dinner.
There’s not much that can change in the way of refridgeration, right? Well, there’s enough that makes this offering a definite contender for my next fridge. Truly encompassing their “EcoNAVI” theme completely, this fridge has the smarts to not only control temperature in the most power saving way, but it will also learn your routine, so as to determine the times of day that it needs to use the least energy. The finish is also REALLY print resistant, and so easy to clean! On the inside it uses “Vitaminsafe” lighting technology rather than dipping temperatures to keep your fruit & veg safe from bacteria, without freezing it. Overall, this fridge has a potential energy saving of up to 40%.
Who hates ironing? Sadly, I am not one of those people. So when I saw the new 360° Quick Iron, I geeked out a little. It has an elliptical soleplate and 74 steam holes! Not only does this deliver steam to the entire soleplate, but having a pointy bit on BOTH ends means that there’s no need to twist my arm around, or fiddle too much with the clothes I’m ironing to get a great finish. There are four irons in the range, from really basic in white and red, featuring a titanium sole plate, to Silver and Gold which feature a ceramic plate and other features like non drip and auto shut off (Gold only). I also like the fact that it looks a little like a space ship, but that’s my (not so inner) nerd talking.
Panasonic released two new toothbrushes, one is a non contact rechargeable, sonic vibration toothbrush (26k vpm) which is retailing for approximately $149.95, about standard for a good “electric” toothbrush. But what got me squealing like an excited school girl was the compact brushes. At only RRP $32.99, they’re a travel sonic toothbrush in fashion colours! They deliver 16k vpm, run on a AAA battery and one battery will last approximately 3 months. Which makes it easy to remember to change the head of your brush… oh yes, the heads are swappable. So each time you replace your battery, change the head! They really are the perfect travel brush, as they come with their own little lid! I want a red one… or a pink one… I can’t make up my mind!
With one in almost every household these days, it is sometimes hard to believe we ever got by without one. And sometimes it can get confusing just as to which type you should get, or how big it needs to be. Let’s face it, the market is pretty flooded with microwaves. Panasonic’s Inverter technology does make their range pretty darned efficient though. Less energy used for the same outcome? Yes please! The one that REALLY caught my eye, however, was the top of the range, complete inverter steam combi convection microwave oven. It does EVERYTHING! It also has “flatbed” technology, which erradicates the need for a huge turntable, which in turn means it is a smaller device, so taking up less of your precious work bench. But they have a huge range, and there would almost certainly be a unit that would suit everyone.
Overall, I was very impressed with their new ranges. There was also air conditioners, shavers, phones and a washing machine, but I let my Panasonic Insider mate, Boyd, talk about those 😀
If you’ve made it this far, then you deserve a little something 😉 Very soon I will be announcing a competition on my new techblog, The Nerd Mama, where I have duplicated this post. Up for grabs will be a couple of tasty treats from the new Panasonic range! All details on how to enter will be posted there very soon!
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