IKEA Milk Frother ($2.49)
This milk frother is supposed to be able
to froth milk in 15 – 20 seconds however when I tested it, it took about 30 seconds
to significantly increase the volume. Compared to the other IKEA milk frothers
that my other group members tested however, mine performed very well. The other
two took at least a minute to increase the volume and one could barely do even
this. These varying levels of success indicates the milk frother’s poor quality.
In terms of affordances, mapping and feedback, this milk frother had no
exceptional problems. There was a switch to turn the frother on and off that
used familiar mapping (pushing the switch up turned the device on and down,
off). Visual feedback was immediate so if the milk wasn’t increasing in volume
it was obvious that the device wasn’t working and it was clear how to hold the
frother. Despite the fact that there weren’t any instructions, this milk frother
was very easy to use. The frother that I had did its job satisfactorily and the
simplicity of the device was great. However, the fact that not all the IKEA
frothers could do the same is definitely a weakness. By disassembling this
product I learned about the main parts that go into a simple device like this. I
was actually surprised at the simplicity of the design.
Bodum Milk Frother ($9.99)
This milk frother claimed to take 25-30
seconds however when I tested it took 50 seconds to increase the volume of milk
the same amount that the IKEA one did. Although it took longer, compared to the
IKEA milk frother, the device was much quieter, smoother and did not splatter the
milk as much. Similar to the IKEA one, this device had no problems with affordances
and feedback. However, in terms of battery installation the mapping was very poorly
done. It took us about five minutes to figure out how to remove the battery
cover as there weren’t any clear indications on how to do so. This is
definitely one of the weaknesses of the product. Its sleek look in addition to
the aforementioned quieter functioning are definite strengths. Like with the
IKEA milk frother I learned about what goes into making a simple device like
this but I also realized that despite significant price differences, the parts
that go into the different devices are very similar.
Both milk frothers had very similar
parts although my group members and I came to the agreement that the Bodum milk
frother had a slightly better quality spring and wand. However, we didn’t think
that this was enough to account for the price difference. To summarize, the
IKEA milk frother operated more quickly while the Bodum milk frother operated
more smoothly (but also had poor mapping). Taking all this and the prices into
account I would buy the IKEA milk frother over the Bodum one time and time
again. Although the IKEA frother was not as smooth or as sleek as the Bodum one
it performed its primary function better. The Bodum milk frother took too long
and its smooth operating does not make up for it. Although not all IKEA milk
frothers performed to the same standard with the money I’d save by buying the
IKEA product I could buy three milk frothers and use the one that performed the
best and still not spend as much money as I would have if I bought a Bodum
device. (One thing that we couldn’t test but that is important to consider when
buying such a device is how long each device would last. If there was a significant
difference between the operating lives of the two it would definitely play a
role in deciding which one to buy.)
List of Disassembled Parts
