Design Classics: Tommee Tippee Cup
The “design for babies” world is ripe for meaningful innovation. Unfortunately way too much effort is spent on cute and not enough on function. I for one had to suffer through strollers with ridiculously small wheels that got snagged in every sidewalk crack, diaper bags with a million compartments that were never right, and frilly things that just got way too dirty to be useful. Every once in a while you found something that broke through the ordinary to a very special place. For me the classic Tommee Tippee cup fits that definition. I literally grew up with this classic, my Mom still has mine tucked away in her basement. It may be a bit worse for wear, but it still works.
If you aren’t familiar with it, the idea is really derived by combining the fundamental principles of geometry with gravity. The bottom of the cup is is a fully spherical form with a nice embedded weight. Combining this innovation with a familiar sipper lid, and you have it. If accidently tipped over it automatically rights itself without spilling a drop. Very hard to beat this one for simplicity that just works. Still in production for over 50 years and going strong, it personifies the ” gee I wish I had thought of it category”.
David Hill
The Lenovo IdeaPad U160
The Lenovo IdeaPad V460
The Lenovo IdeaCentre K320
Lenovo Meet the Modder Dean Liou
May 12th, 2007 9:05 pm
Hello, I would like to make some comment on the design change to recent thinpads. (I posted this on another Lenovo blog “Inside the box” already, but figured that this should be the correct place to post it)
All loyal thinkpad users that I know dislike (1) removing the red/blue strips on the buttons for the trackpoint and (2) the rectangular-shaped buttons for the touch pad.
I have a friend who went so far as to remove his T60 keyboard and painted the color strip himself. While that can be done, the shape of the touch pad button cannot be altered by thinkpad users themselves.
Searching this blog I found that you mentioned sometime ago that you would start a poll about whether to bring back the color strips to thinkpad. I think it is time to start that poll now.
Maybe you would also like to start a poll regarding the shape of the touch pad buttons. Compared to those buttons with rounded-edge on older thinkpads, current rectangular shaped buttons simply look cheap and ugly. They look like buttons on a low end machine, which the manufacturer is trying to cut the as much as possible.
If you go to forum.thinkpads.com and ask, I believe most member there will agree with me. (Personally, I prefer keeping the F and Fn keys to be grey too, but not everyone agree with me on that).
May 14th, 2007 6:47 am
Just recieved my X60 tablet on Vista. Overall I love the tablet features – having to get on Vista so early has not been so fun, its security features are a bit overzealous.
TO THE POINT
I got the ultrbase and of course want to use an external monitor along with the tablet writing features at the same time.
The way the ultrabase is set up, it makes it impossible because the screen on the external monitor is upside down to the the tablet when in pure table mode. There is nothing in your help or online that enables a fix for this which should be extremely easy.
Please help.
Michael
May 16th, 2007 6:28 pm
Neat design. But I wonder if the additional weight at the bottom of the cup will make it harder for small children to drink from the cup (i.e. hold it horizontally by the handle)?
May 17th, 2007 2:46 pm
Really cool design. What is the company that makes those? We don´t have it here in Brazil.
May 18th, 2007 4:25 am
I love the color and cartoon on it too: that’s a suitable color scheme and the picture is just so relevant!
December 26th, 2007 8:44 pm
This cup is all you say and more. The VERY BEST part of the Tommee Tippee cup is the other lid. It is a concave, malleable plastic lid with one or two slits in it. No annoying, unnatural spouts to deal with — just a small amount of liquid instead. Yea!! If the child gets too much, the liquid stays in the lid until the next drink.
No, it is not too heavy for a child. There is a version with 2 handles that works great. Or, mine eventually ended up with no handles, and the kids were able to use it just fine also.
Would that I could find more of them…
December 31st, 2007 3:53 pm
Do you have this cup for sale?
July 23rd, 2008 1:52 am
Do you know where you can currently get a Tommie Tippie cup of the old design? I am having a bit of a difficulty locating one. Are they still being made?