When I bought a Maytag washer and dryer set 12 years ago, the company provided a Braille label kit for each unit. I used most of the labels and made some of my own instead of the company labels which were lame. I hope companies keep making Braille label kits for appliances.
The front loading washers were nearly double the cost of the top loading ones and seemed to have a smaller capacity. The top loaders are a throwback to the original ringer washer. Europe made the switch to better technology and North Americans hung onto the past design. Kelly On 1/14/16, Sieghard Weitzel <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks, Cara, this is very interesting since I am in the market for a new > washer and dryer and I've been watching what has been introduced at CES for > some years. It seems, however, that very little of this has made it into > production and the main stream market yet. This Whirlpool app sounds > promising, but unfortunately I just don't understand why companies still > make top-loading dinosaurs even though they outfit them with fancy > electronics and some modern features. Front-loading washers are so much more > efficient and wash so much better. I am 48 and when I was a little kid in > Germany 40 years ago we had front-loading machines there, I had never seen a > top-loader until I started coming to Canada in the 80's. > > I believe Bosch is coming out with a number of appliances and they are > adopting Apple's home kit standards, but unfortunately it seems like a lot > of these are being slowly released in Europe and won't be in North America > for another year at the least and maybe two or three in some cases. > > > Best regards, > Sieghard > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Cara Quinn > Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2016 12:48 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Whirlpool Connected Washer / Dryer Review by Mike May > > Hi All, > > Mike sent this to me to post here a while back. > > This washer and dryer set has an iOS app associated with it. > > Enjoy! > > Cara > — > Review of the Whirlpool Cabrio washer and dryer with iPhone app control By > Mike May, December 2015 > > Top-loading electric Washer connected model WTW8700EC > 5.3 cubic feet > List Price, $1299. > > Front loading electric dryer connected model WED8700EC > 8.8 cubic feet > List price, $1399. > > Whirlpool, phone, 866 698-2538 Connected Appliances Phone Help Desk: > 1-866-333-4591 > > Note: The connected app version of these machines, which I am reviewing, > were released in September 2015 verses previous non-connected models, > WTW8500EC, WED8500EC, WGD8500EC. > > These connected units are definitely the state of the art for washing and > drying. Read the specifications to learn about all the features. I was > amazed how the washer automatically detects the amount of water needed for > the load size and how dirty the water is to adjust accordingly. Without the > typical agitator in the middle of the washer, it can accommodate twice as > much laundry as our old washer. I love that the dryer can be set to spin > every 3 minutes to keep your clothes wrinkle free if you don’t remove them > immediately after drying is completed. There are a host of other features to > learn about when considering these units. > > One of the reasons we got these high tech, energy and water efficient units > is because of being able to control the settings from an iPhone app with > VoiceOver. At the least, getting a notification when washing or drying is > complete, is very useful. You can change a host of settings according to the > type of items being washed. You can even customize settings if you wish. > With our old non-connected machines, I took my chances with multiple colors > and types of clothes. Now I can be very specific if I want. It is fun to be > able to have independent access to something I only had basic access to > before on our previous washer and dryer. The new units are far better for > many reasons and the options are mostly accessible. > > The Whirlpool app is fairly accessible but not completely. You do have to > spend some time learning what different things mean and how to know if the > status is On or Off. This is manageable. > > What is not manageable yet is changing a few of the items that have multiple > levels like 1 through 4 dryness. The sighted user fills in the box with 1, > 2, 3 or 4 dots. You can’t really figure that out with VoiceOver. A few other > settings are also confusing but we expect these to be improved soon. > > The good news is that once you know which profile to use or if you create > your own, you don’t have to adjust the individual settings. Also, with user > feedback, apps can be made better. I have already been bugging Whirlpool to > fix the items I mentioned. The head of the product team responsible for this > has been in touch and he assures me my feedback will be considered > promptly. > > The front panel of each unit has a nice curved surface with absolutely no > tactile markings. We immediately put a locator dot just below the Power and > Start buttons on both units. The touch sensitive buttons are all in the > upper half of the panel so if you put the locator dot below the Power and > Start, you can find them without accidentally changing settings. There are > unique sounds associated with the Power button and with Start. > > The only thing you cannot do from the app is to start the machines. You can > pause or stop the machines but you cannot start them remotely from the app. > You must first physically turn on the power at the machine and then touch > Start. As far as I know, everything that shows up visually on the front > panel also shows up on the app including the amount of time left for washing > or drying. > > For more information on Whirlpool products, go to http://www.WhirlPool.com > > --- > iOS design and development - LookTel.com > --- > View my Online Portfolio at: > > http://www.onemodelplace.com/models/Cara-Quinn > > Follow me on Twitter! > > https://twitter.com/ModelCara > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - > you can reach Cara at [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - > you can reach Cara at [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
