LG Unveils 'Blast Chilling' Fridge at CES

Many of us go to great lengths to ensure our drinks are cold because, let's face it, there's nothing more disgusting than a warm beer. Thankfully, South Korea's LG now offers a solution to the age-old beverage-cooling problem: its new "Blast Chilling" refrigeration technology.

LG introduced refrigerators with a special Blast Chilling compartment during a recent presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), taking place in Las Vegas right now. It's part of what LG calls its "Smart Manager" technology, the name for appliances that can track data or communicate with other digital devices.

Fridge Tracks Items; Recommends Meals

In the case of LG's cutting-edge refrigerator, Smart Manager allows users to track what they've purchased, and even to design meal plans.

It's even claimed that Smart Manager will recommend recipes based on the ingredients cooling inside. This could be a particularly useful feature for people on special diets, such as those with diabetes. (Source: pcmag.com)

Users can have Smart Manager keep track of their refrigerated items simply by scanning grocery store receipts, or they can use the appliance's own voice-recognition capability to name the items they are putting away.

In addition, LG has given the Smart Manager fridge the ability to use WiFi (wireless networking) technology to connect with other LG appliances in the home. This will allow it to interact with washers, dryers, and ovens. However, the usefulness of these interactions has yet to be fully explored.

"Blast Chilling" Chills Soda in Five Minutes

The Blast Chilling technology has aroused considerable attention.

LG says that the feature, included in the new, French-door refrigerator the company is showing off at CES, can chill a 12-ounce beer or soda in just five minutes and a bottle of wine in roughly eight minutes.

According to LG, this is a significant reduction in chilling time, compared with the typical forty minutes it would take to chill a canned beverage, and the hour needed to chill a bottle of white wine.

New Technology Comes with a Hefty Price Tag

"Quick chilling is enabled by Jet Flow and Swirling Structure, which decreases the temperature and distributes the chilled air throughout the chiller compartment," LG noted. (Source: tested.com)

Unfortunately, Blast Chilling technology isn't cheap. The refrigerators LG is showing off at CES range in price from a whopping $2,399 to $2,699: considerably more expensive than the average household ice box.