Smoke on the water

If you love belting out chart toppers at bath time, Haier's singing geysers should be right up your alley

There is something about warm water running over your body while the window and the mirror mist over. Yes, it's now winter and the morning ablutions are more of a ceremony than merely turning the shower on. A bath now requires a ritual - getting up to put the geyser on in time to spew out hot water without delaying breakfast, then getting the hot-cold combo correct so you don't alarm other family members with yelps and finally looking at the power bill and wondering if you should go ascetic and bathe with chilled water.

The humble geyser is a necessity, if an ugly thing hanging on the wall, dangerously sometimes, with rusted and naked electrical elements. But trust technology to heat things up. The water heater is now not only a smart-looking tub on the wall, but it is also a better machine that heats water faster.

If bathroom singing is a legendary benchmark for the lack of cultural talent, you could say there is the ubiquitous water heater now to help you out. Haier, one of the largest home appliances and consumer electronics brands worldwide, has two models under the name of Aquatunes. And as you can guess, it is a geyser with music function. It should be a hit with Indians, for whom a song attends every important life event. Presumably, bathing is one such important milestone in daily life.

It is intriguing to think of a singing geyser. But the technology, which Haier calls the 'Sing-in-Shower' technology, is not as magical as it seems. In basic terms, Aquatunes is just a water heater that comes fitted with a USB drive and speakers.

At the base of the two models, the ES15V-P3 and ES25V-P3, is a slot where you can insert your pen drive. The geysers have in-built speakers with 90-decibel output, loud enough to wake neighbours who love to slumber long. The two-channel stereo delivers music that should please the senses - that is if bathing does not fully engage your attention. The only thing that can dampen your enthusiasm is that the speakers currently only play the MP3 format. But before much water flows down the drain, things could change, for the company says, "We are in the process of upgrading it further."

Is there a possibility that when you reach out with your wet finger to control the audio you will be zapped by a jolt of 220 volts? "The speakers are moisture-resistant and our water heaters come with the exclusive IPX4 water proofing advantage," says a Haier executive. She also claims that its Safecare technology is designed to prevent shock even in case of electricity leakage.

Besides enabling the song of your choice to sync with your scrubbing, Aquatunes will provide you ease of operations with a remote control. The water heaters have a Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) rating of five stars, the highest rating, meaning the most efficient use of power. Power bills, therefore, should make you sing in happiness.

The ES15V-P3 with a 15-litre capacity costs Rs 10,500, while the ES25-P3, capable of heating 25 litres of water, costs Rs 11,500.