LG fridge chills cans, bottles in just minutes

South Korea's LG Electronics, a leader in smart appliances, has hit on a solution to a common frustration -- how to chill canned or bottled drinks in less than half an hour.

A new refrigerator displayed by LG on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas promises to make drinks ice-cold in just minutes with a feature known as the "Blast Chiller."

"Imagine you have a can of lukewarm soda," said Wayne Park, president and chief executive of LG Electronics North America. "It takes 40 minutes to chill it, even in a freezer.

"This cuts it down to under five minutes," Park said. "It's perfect for a can of beer on a hot summer afternoon."

The Blast Chiller distributes cold air throughout the chiller compartment of the refrigerator using jet flow to quickly cool down room temperature cans or bottles.

(c) 2012 AFP