How much can Mr. Fancy really do to reinvent the table fan?
Love him or hate him, you probably have a strong opinion of James Dyson, he of the haughty British accent and high-tech vacuum cleaners. When Dyson hawks his inventions on TV—explaining what was so hideously wrong with older technology, and how his gear solves everything, and for this you dare not look at him directly in the eyes—we sort of want to yell at him. “Your pie hole: Shut it! You invented a new type of vacuum cleaner, dude, not cold fusion!” But the fact remains that Dyson vacuum cleaners do kick ass, and their bagless design is an innovation we happily pay for. So what, then, can we make of the Dyson Air Multiplier, a new type of air-blowing machine (our grandparents called them “fans”) that features a bladeless design? We tested the 10-inch tabletop model, and found it’s a pretty good fan with some winning features, but a tough swallow at $299.99. If you think this 10-inch baby bear version is costly, consider that the 40-inch papa bear tower model costs $449.99. As you’ll
