Standing desks are old news. How about a desk that breathes?
That's the idea behind the Stir Kinetic Desk, a new adjustable standing desk dreamed up by a former Apple iPod engineer.
The desk has a small touchscreen on the lower left-hand side of the desktop. Tap it twice, and the desk rises. Tap the screen again, and it sinks to sitting mode. A thermal sensor detects your presence.
Pressing a button on the desk cues up "active mode," which every so often reminds you to get up and slave away while standing, not sitting. It does this by breathing. It is seriously called Whisper Breath, not to be confused with Whispersync, Amazon's content-syncing feature. The desk rises and falls just slightly, as a nudge to stand up.
And the Stir is also Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-connected, so it has the potential to sync with health and wellness apps like Fitbit.
But, for $3890, the Stir Kinetic desk had better do everything but make me a sandwich. Founder and CEO JP Labrosse said Stir is an investment. Think of it like a mattress, he said, another household item some people will spend big bucks on because they're spending a third of their life on it. (Who are all these well-slept people?)
There are other motorized standing desks on the market that aren't quite as expensive - like the UpDesk and the NextDesk - but they won't learn your work habits over time, or connect to "smart" apps.
Stir, the company, launches out of stealth mode today; the desk is expected to start shipping early next year. The maplewood desk is made in Brooklyn, and comes in Apple white and Hipster espresso (color descriptions are mine, not Stir's).
These pictures really don't do it justice, so I recommend checking out the video below:
