The fridge of the future -- from Bud Light? (pictures)
The Bud-E Fridge is an app-enabled mini-fridge that promises to keep your beer cold and connected.
Bud-E smart beer fridge
Ever wish you had a smartened up beer fridge decorated with Bud Light marketing slogans? You're in luck, because that's exactly what you'll get with the Bud-E Fridge. Click through to take a look.
Origin story
Underneath the blue paint job is the Linq IQ, a smart fridge developed by a design firm called Buzz Products. Buzz licensed the fridge to Anheuser Busch, who'll be bringing it to market in the coming weeks. Hence the heavy-handed Bud Light branding.
A Canadian alternative
In Canada, the Bud-E swaps out the Bud Light-themed design for a bright red, Budweiser-centric look.
Open up
You'll find three rows of slots in the Bud-E Fridge. The top two hold bottles or cans, while the bottom is for cans only.
Smart sliders
There's a sliding magnetic sensor in each slot. As you load drinks inside, the sensors get pushed back. The fridge tracks their locations, and uses that data to estimate how much beer you've loaded into it.
LED display
From there, it'll display the number of beers -- or "Buds", as it insists on calling them -- on an LED display located on the front of the fridge.
Capacity
When it's fully loaded, the Bud-E holds 78 drinks -- 60 bottles or cans in the top two rows, plus 18 cans in the bottom row.
Fridge controls
You'll find physical controls for the temperature on the top of the door.
App-enabled
Of course, this is a smart fridge we're talking about, so you'll find controls in a free app, too. First, you'll need to pair everything up by holding your phone up against a sensor on top of the fridge.
In the app
Once you've done that (and confirmed that you're of legal drinking age), you'll be able to track your number of beers, adjust fridge settings, and even sync up with your favorite teams to receive re-stock reminders when game day rolls around.
Custom messages
You'll also be able to play a customer message on the Bud-E's LED display. You can also record a quick audio clip, then broadcast it through the Bud-E's built-in speakers.
Cold Countdown
Tell the Bud-E how warm the beer you're putting into it is, and it'll start a countdown to let you know when everything will be good and cold.
Price point
The Bud-E won't come cheap. Anheuser Busch is setting the retail price at $599. But if you want it right away, you're in luck. They'll be offering it at an introductory price of $300 when it goes up for sale on the Bud Light website.