Sharper Image: Ionic Breeze Quadra silent air purifier

My mom thinks of me as a gadget-kinda guy - probably because she's seen my living room. It's full of recording gear, plus I have a second room full of all sorts of computer gear. To her, it all looks the same... rooms full of electronic gadgets. When Christmas comes around, she likes to shop for me at Sharper Image - to her the ultimate shop for gadgets. This past year, she picked out the Ionic Breeze Quadra air purifier. I was skeptical at first. (It's from Sharper Image. How can you take it seriously?) I plugged it in next to my racks of recording gear. Immediately, I was struck by how much air it moved while remaining absolutely dead silent. No fan, no motors, no moving parts. Magic? Unlike most air cleaners, the Ionic Breeze does not use filters, instead, it uses an array of electrostatically- charged fins to pull particles from the air. That means there are no expensive filters to replace. Once a week, I pull out the collecting fins and clean them with a soapy sponge under running water. An impressive amount of dark, sooty crud comes off. I've noticed that the tops of my racks, which I used to wipe off at least every two or three months, have remained mostly dustless without any cleaning in the last eight months. The Quadra is definitely the best gadget my mom has ever given me! $350 for one. $525 for two. (And no filters to buy ever!) (www.sharperimage.com)