Samsung Adds Roomier Laundry, Refrigeration At 'Holiday' Show

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 8/4/2008

NEW YORK — Size matters to Samsung Electronics.

The brown- and white-goods manufacturer has expanded its laundry and refrigeration lines with new models that meet or exceed the industry's largest capacities within their class.

The products, which are already on the sales floors at Best Buy and Lowe's, were highlighted here at a Samsung Holiday in July showcase last month.

In refrigeration, Samsung said its new 29-cubic-foot three-door fridge offers the largest internal storage capacity of any French door model available in a standard footprint.

The company said it was able to increase storage space while holding the line on exterior dimensions through the application of high-rate urethane insulation technology. This enabled Samsung to reduce the thickness of the refrigerator's walls from 2.04 inches to 1.38 inches without compromising insulation, resulting in a 16-percent increase in storage, or 4 cubic feet.

The model is available in stainless platinum, stainless steel, black and white finishes and is priced to hit a retail range of $2,700 to $2,900.

In laundry, Samsung's next-generation vibration-reduction technology (VRT) 448 steam front loader features a 4.5-cubic-foot drum, providing what the company describes as is the biggest residential-grade capacity in North America.

The drum also features a diamond-shaped washing surface with smaller drain holes that reduces the number of fabric snags, prolonging the life of delicate and fragile clothing, Samsung said.

The 448 line is available in fingerprint-resistant metallic finishes like stainless platinum and metallic copper, as well as traditional white. Suggested retails range from $1,400 to $1,500 for the washer and $1,249 to $1,300 for the companion dryer.