SaunaScape

Most of the time, Startup Sauna has little to do with a real sauna — It is an early-stage accelerator program for technology start-ups based in Russia and Northern Europe. I’m sure it is so named because their six-week intensive program to transform your fledgling company into the next Rovio makes you sweat like you were in a sauna.

Successful companies then get to move to silicon valley in the US for three more months to try to secure funding. That must make you sweat like you are in the former Sauna World Championships sauna.

This week on The Next Web, interviewer Hermione Way visited with four of the Startup Sauna crew members Palo Alto, CA to discuss Startup Sauna and some of the companies that have participated in the program. Naturally, they held the interview in the sauna in the Finnish way: Naked, save for their laptops.

Ms. Way offers that the next interview will be even more popular, because she will only allow iPhones.

If you are visiting Silicon Valley, there are many public saunas in the greater Bay Area. However, unless you are really concerned about preserving your modesty (or passing the YouTube content filters) we don’t recommend taking your MacBook or iPhone into the sauna as heat and humidity are not kind to electronics.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnVhmt-vsy4[/youtube]Most of the time, Startup Sauna has little to do with a real sauna — It is an early-stage accelerator program for technology start-ups based in Russia and Northern Europe. I'm sure it is so named because their six-week intensive program to transform your fledgling company into the next Rovio makes you sweat like you were in a sauna. Successful companies then get to move to silicon valley in the US for three more months to try to secure funding. That must make you sweat like you are in the former Sauna World Championships sauna. This week on The Next Web, interviewer Hermione Way visited with four of the Startup Sauna crew members Palo Alto, CA to discuss Startup Sauna and some of the companies that have participated in the program. Naturally, they held the interview in the sauna in the Finnish way: Naked, save for their laptops. Ms. Way offers that the next interview will be even more popular, because she will only allow iPhones. If you are visiting Silicon Valley, there are many public saunas in the greater Bay Area. However, unless you are really concerned about preserving your modesty (or passing the YouTube content filters) we don't recommend taking your MacBook or iPhone into the sauna as heat and humidity are not kind to electronics.  

Nokia Löyly showing the conditions the new Nokia 5800 Sauna Edition is enduring from AllAboutSybian.com

For those of us addicted both to our sauna and our smartphone, Nokia today announced the release of their 5800 Sauna Edition today. AllAboutSybian.com broke the story earlier today. They interviewed Dr. Huhtikuun Ensimmäinen of Nokia’s Consumer Innovations Unit who said:

So, here we have the 5800 Sauna Edition, heat resistant up to 120 degrees celsius and able to work without problems in a typical sauna humidity. We have included a thermometer/hygrometer application so you can follow the progress of your sauna, but the real innovation here is our work on the casing. The Sauna Edition’s casing is coated with a special organically-derived plastic which allows radio signals to move unimpeded but blocks 99.99% of all humidity from entering.

Dr. Ensimmäinen expects the device to be popular in the Nordic regions, central Europe, and Russia. They believe a niche product like this would have a market to sauna enthusiasts worldwide, including us in North America.

AllAboutSybian.com found that the specialized thermo-hygrometer application bundled with the phone, Nokia Löyly reported accurate temperatures, and since most saunas are dimly lit, “a backlit phone-based meter app clearly offer a potential advantage over traditional sauna meters.” They also report that “there are tentative proposals to make a Bluetooth-compatible sauna stove which will adjust its temperature automatically according to your personalised settings on the 5800 SE”

They recorded their full interview with Dr. Ensimmäinen, including a [NSFW] demo of the phone being used in a sauna by young women. It is available here. Enjoy.

[caption id="attachment_156" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Nokia Löyly showing the conditions the new Nokia 5800 Sauna Edition is enduring from AllAboutSybian.com"][/caption] For those of us addicted both to our sauna and our smartphone, Nokia today announced the release of their 5800 Sauna Edition today. AllAboutSybian.com broke the story earlier today. They interviewed Dr. Huhtikuun Ensimmäinen of Nokia's Consumer Innovations Unit who said: So, here we have the 5800 Sauna Edition, heat resistant up to 120 degrees celsius and able to work without problems in a typical sauna humidity. We have included a thermometer/hygrometer application so you can follow the progress of your sauna, but the real innovation here is our work on the casing. The Sauna Edition's casing is coated with a special organically-derived plastic which allows radio signals to move unimpeded but blocks 99.99% of all humidity from entering. Dr. Ensimmäinen expects the device to be popular in the Nordic regions, central Europe, and Russia. They believe a niche product like this would have a market to sauna enthusiasts worldwide, including us in North America. AllAboutSybian.com found that the specialized thermo-hygrometer application bundled with the phone, Nokia Löyly reported accurate temperatures, and since most saunas are dimly lit, "a backlit phone-based meter app clearly offer a potential advantage over traditional sauna meters." They also report that "there are tentative proposals to make a Bluetooth-compatible sauna stove which will adjust its temperature automatically according to your personalised settings on the 5800 SE" They recorded their full interview with Dr. Ensimmäinen, including a [NSFW] demo of the phone being used in a sauna by young women. It is available here. Enjoy.