Imagine that you’re watching an NCAA game and you need a beer to help you cope with your busted bracket — and you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your couch to get one. You can stop dreaming. Sobro has found a way to to add fridge functionality to a coffee table.
A prototype of the table was on display at the 2017 International Home and Housewares Show, boasting a modern design and plenty of USB ports and outlets for all your gadgets. And now, it’s shipping to backers.
The table has three drawers, one of which is refrigerated. The other, smaller two drawers are for storage. The coffee table also has a compressor, so it does more than keep beverages cool. You’re able to set its temperature to around 37 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 5 degrees Celsius) via touchscreens on the tabletop. The controls — which also let you adjust the music you’re playing through the table’s built-in speakers — are under tempered glass and are unlikely to short out if you spill your soda on the table.
The table is claimed to be able to sync to your device via Bluetooth to play music, and its creators also want to make a dongle that will allow it to work with TVs as well. Around the base of the table, there are LED lights, which the touch controls also operate. In order to make the controls work, you have to hold down the power button to unlock them, so setting a bowl of chips on the table shouldn’t change the lights from green to blue.
One thing to keep in mind is that this table will have to be plugged in itself, so you might have to find a creative way to make it unobtrusive. But apparently, that didn’t dissuade the Sobro’s many Indiegogo backers, who ultimately helped raise more than $1.5 million to bring the project to life. Early backers managed to snag the table for $499, but now, you’ll have to shell out $899 for the table on Indiegogo. That’s still a deal, considering the table is meant to retail for $1,500.
Slim Geransar was on hand at the IHH show to talk about the product. He told Digital Trends there are a few design features to work out, such as whether the table will have two or four outlets and making sure everything meets safety standards. Apparently, those tweaks have now been made, as the Sobro team just informed us that units are leaving the factory this week to be shipped to early backers.
Update: The Sobro coffee table is now shipping to backers.
