Backchannelmedia

Boston Herald

By Margery Eagan

I learned two things in my frenzied shopping this weekend.

No. 1. Many women are passionate about and extremely loyal to their cleaning implements, especially their vacuums. "My Oreck XL Classic is so powerful," Maeve Sullivan just blurted out at The Mall, la-di-dah, at Chestnut Hill, Sunday.

No. 2 But don't buy your darling a vacuum for Christmas unless you're buying her something bright and dazzling too.

I learned this while standing around Sharper Image, the cool gadget store, watching agog as the adorable and endearing robot vacuum Roomba, made by locals iRobot, bopped about the store's floor like a mini-flying saucer a few inches off the ground (fits under couches, bureaus, beds). It moved all by itself in bigger and bigger concentric circles (though occasionally bouncing off a wall) until it'd sucked up every bit of lint, dust and wrapper in the joint.

"Like it's alive," said Maeve's girlfriend, Helen.

Roomba is reportedly a huge holiday seller for the second year in a row, even at $300. Its sister Scooba, the robot floor scrubbing machine, is already selling online ($400) and will be in stores next month.

Owners find themselves with unexpected feelings for their busy bee robots.

"The little guy is relentless in its mission," says iRobot co- founder Colin Angle. "Running out the door you notice how hard it's working for you, and you feel good about it, and you know it deserves a name."

And 60 percent of Roomba owners do give their robots names, Angle claims. Roswell, for the flying saucers "seen" in Nevada, is of course huge. So is Rosey, in homage to the Jetsons' family robot. Or dog names like Spot or, sometimes, No More Spot.

Then there was the scene on Fox TV's "Arrested Development" when the mother, searching for her missing Roomba, walked in on her son and found the Roomba peeking out sheepishly from between the sheets.

Even Angle agreed that was a bit much.

"I kind of like to vacuum myself," said Maeve. She then shared two tales of her Oreck's power, and said her husband's best gift was a second, diamond, wedding band.

"We were just looking at one of those little discs," said newlywed Amina Khan, who's enthusiastic about her Kenmore's cat- hair sucking performance. But she doesn't want any appliances for Christmas, either.

Robin Lebeaux of Milford says she's only interested in a robot that can also empty dishwashers, make beds, fold laundry and dust. Even then, she said, it's a gender thing. Her significant other?

"All he wants is tools. He's dying for tools. He circles them all in the Lowe's circular. " `What are you gonna do with these tools?' I ask him. `You've never done tool stuff.' "

" `If I have the tools I'll make the stuff,' he says."

"But then he wanted the thing on ladders so you can put your tools in the ladder compartment."

How often does he climb the ladder?

"Well he did once . . .

"For his birthday I bought him a laser stud finder for hanging pictures. Now he wants the laser leveler so when you hang pictures they're even."

Has he used it yet?

"No, not yet . . ."

Helen, a widowed senior citizen, said she bought her late husband a tool belt when he was young. She said it was "sexy." He bought her a Crock-Pot once. Not sexy.

She said she's been either a committed Bissel or a Hoover vacuum girl all her life. The Bissel 12-amp, six cleaning rows of dirt lift powerbrush, was $199 at Target in South Bay yesterday; the Hoover Steam Vac widepath, auto rinse, was $229.99.

"But in a few years I won't want to push a big (vacuum) around," Helen said, in which case she'd be thrilled to find a Roomba beneath her tree.

"So cute."

Caption: CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Dana White reads to her kids while Roomba picks up Cheerios. STAFF PHOTO BY DOUGLAS MCFADD