Smart-home products from Select Comfort and Dyson - new and improved?

WHAT DO the good folks at Select Comfort and Dyson have in common? Both have significantly upgraded a tech-smart home product while sticking with its original name.

Confused? Suspicious?

We were, a little.

DIAL DT FOR COMFORT: "We have many satisfied customers of the original DualTemp bed topper," explained a Select Comfort representative. "The [revised] design isn't new . . . we've made some enhancements that happen through a product's life cycle."

A posh - and pricey - personal climate-control system for sleep time, the cushy DualTemp layer rests on top of a mattress, under the bottom sheet. A tube connects it to a mini heat pump on the floor, under the bed. A queen- or larger-sized DualTemp comes with two climate-control systems.

As with Select Comfort Sleep Number beds, which adjust mattress softness/hardness levels, each system comes with a snazzy wireless remote. Low, medium or high blower settings shift the bed temp as much as 10 degrees up or down, as treated air is distributed through a Swiss-cheese like pattern of holes in the DualTemp's memory-foam layer.

That's enough climate change for most people to comfortably turn the house thermostat down to 58 degrees in the winter, or up to 78 in warm weather. A timer option can shut the system down after you've nodded out. Power clicks off automatically after 10 hours.

There's no maintenance on a DualTemp beyond the occasional rinsing of its air filters. (Rival, water-cooled Chili Pad is cheaper but its pumps need a fill-up of H2O every few days.)

So, what's even better in the refreshed DualTemp?

_ While still comfy, the new bed topper is thinner by an inch and lighter, so you may not need extra-deep-pocketed sheets.

_ Hoses leading from the pad to the "active air technology" boxes are a foot longer - important if your bed sits high off the ground. It would be nicer if the tubes were thinner and end-mounted, as the Chili Pad's are.

_ Improved climate mechanics run quieter - virtually inaudible at low and with less "white noise" at higher settings.

_ A new strapping system holds the Dual Temp pad firmly in place.

At SleepNumber.com, we found a queen-size DualTemp for $1,699. Searching "DualTemp discount" turned up the original, 2013 edition for $1,199.

A DualTemp should come with a warning: "This product is wonderfully addictive." Once you start using it to eliminate night sweats or chills, there's no turning back. No wonder the product is offered with a 90-day, money-back guarantee!

SLICING/DICING DYSONS: Buyer confusion seems more likely with two different Dyson stick vacuum cleaners, both labeled DC59, and both still available at retail stores (Bed, Bath and Beyond; Target) and online.

Last year's model is the DC59 Animal. The 2014 version is the DC59 Motorhead. They look identical except for the purple metal tubing on the Animal and the rosy tone on the Motorhead.

The models aren't even priced much differently, lately hovering in the $450 (older version) to $475 (newbie) range at Amazon.com.

Both Dysons pack great versatility into an ultralight, bagless and cordless vac, good for about 20 minutes of cleaning per battery charge.

But a rep from a rival vac maker conceded (not for attribution) that the Motorhead was a "more formidable competitor." Yeah, that James Dyson guy is relentless in his pursuit of excellence . . . and market share.

The big dif? Dyson moved its patented, high-speed micro-motor mechanism for the spinning brush head down into the head itself, improving the vac's extraction power.

Gizmo Guy ran a Motorhead over a low-pile rug just cleaned with a high-end Eureka canister vac. This DC59 pulled out a shocking amount of embedded fine grit and pet hair! On bare wooden floors, the Motorhead got stuff out of the cracks that had been there for years.

And in "handheld" mode, the powered upholstery brush swept up lotsa feline fur with just a couple of light swipes. Who needs a clunky big vac, when this cute critter performs so well?