Two beautiful people stand in a glass room overlooking the city skyline. Seductive piano music plays. The camera
flashes to her long, silk stockinged legs, then to his elegant black tux trousers.
But wait, something keeps
coming between this couple.
It's a toilet.
Not just any toilet, mind you. We're talking Numi, Kohler's
technology packed $6,400 answer to a small but growing luxury toilet market.
The scene is from an edgy promotional
video making the rounds on the internet on sites ranging from mainstream media to obscure technology blogs to
social networking pages. And Kohler hasn't even begun selling the toilet on the American market.
So what's
all the buzz about?
This marvel of sanitary engineering does everything for you except that which only you
can do.
Soft light glows from the toilet's frosted glass side panels. Go towards the light. The toilet's lid
automatically rises. A sensor on the floor tells the toilet to whether to raise the seat or leave it down. And
really, you'll want to sit to experience all this toilet has to offer.
While you're on the heated seat, a
floor level vent blows warm air onto your feet. A charcoal air filtration system removes any unpleasant odors. FM
radio tunes or pre-programmed audio selections are piped through built-in speakers. Or if you prefer, you can
connect an MP3 player through an audio jack. You can even connect your touch screen phone, but let's not go
there.
When you're finished with your business, the bidet features take over. A retractable, lighted wand
extends, spraying a mix of warm and pulsing water at your undercarriage. Heated air dries you. Wand position,
water pressure and drying temperature are all adjustable, and the toilet can store custom settings for six
users.
Get up and the toilet automatically flushes using either .6 or 1.28 gallons.
The wand cleans itself with ultraviolet light. The lid closes and Numi sits awaiting its next task.
All of the toilets functions are controlled by a color LCD touch screen remote with its own magnetic docking station. Should you misplace the remote, a scaled down control panel is built into the back of the toilet.
Kohler acknowledges that Numi is pushing the price envelope, even in the luxury market. Still, Toto's high-end toilet/bidet hit the American market last year
with a price tag of more than $5,000. And it doesn't even play music.
Product Reviews 
