Tootin' My Horn

Just visited Treehugger (a great eco-product blog, if you've not visited before) and saw that they've done a post on Hannspree TVs, a line of smallish LCD TV/monitors packaged in creative cabinetry--from the cello-like VAAS, seen at the right, to an apple (for the kids' room, you know) to a Mariners-themed baseball stadium. And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the wackiest of the lot--10-inch LCDs inserted into stuffed animals, like a monkey and this elephant below.

I mention all this because I got to test the VAAS at home for a few weeks last autumn, and I wrote up the hands-on review that you see on the Amazon product page.

Man, it looked great on my desk (where I used it as a secondary monitor and occasional TV), and I had a hard giving it up (just ask my editor). (Although, truth be told, I'm not so sad any more, now that Mrs. F and I have upgraded to this 27-inch Syntax Olevia LCD TV, which I also use as my secondary monitor when working from home--it's huuuuuuuge.)

I will take issue with Treehugger, though, which trumpets the renewable resources in the VAAS and the HANNSwood model. I'm not so sure. I can only speak to the VAAS, which has a wood-grained look to it and curvy cello-like shape. But it was a completely plastic cabinet--and I suspect it's the same case for the HANNSwood as well. Still, they're quite unique. (Also, be sure to check out the Hannspree web site, which has some deliciously wacky descriptions of the various sets.)