Price: £1295.00

The product reviewed here is a La-Z-Boy Oasis Recliner, which combines a
reclining chair, drinks cooler, phone handset and 6-point massager all in one.

And yes, it is as comfortable and relaxing as it looks. It’s a plush,
black leather chair which comes in two parts – the base unit including the
arms and the back which slots in, but halfway through doing that you’ll need
to connect the various plugs and sockets together – there’s two connectors
which link the separate parts of the chair and two power connections, each with
their own separate supply, so you’ll need to make sure you have two plug
sockets free at all times to get the full benefit from the chair. Note that
you should never sit on the arms of the chair as they are not built to stand
excessive weight.

As you’ll see in the picture, there’s a wooden handle on the right-hand side.
This is used to pull the chair back for three stages of reclining, each
noted by a click when you reach them. In each position, you can thrust yourself
back in the seat so it stretches out just that little bit further. I always
opt for going back as far as the chair allows…

Under the left-hand arm is the Thermo-electric Cooler, designed to keep
your favourite pre-chilled food and beverage items cold and conveniently
located. It’s a device that should only be used for up to a few hours at a
time and not for items that are likely to leak out since there is no drainage
tray within. Once the cooler is closed, there are two cup-holders available
for when you’ve had enough exercise moving the can to your lips.

The phone located under the right-hand arm is an Audioline Sensor 150 with
all the usual functions of an easy-to-use handset such as Last-Number Redial,
Caller ID display – so you can check who’s ringing up before answering,
a 10-member phone book and a call log that holds details for the last 15
calls that came in, with an option to call any of these people back.
A function called “Least Cost Routing” is also available, which allows you to
place a code automatically in front of every number so it goes via a different
network, eg. so you could route calls via SkyTalk or Freeserve Unlimited
instead of BT.

The piece de resistance of the Oasis Recliner is, without a doubt, the
Relaxor – a 6-point massager for the upper-back, lower-back and your bum.
Any combination of the three can be in use at any one time and it can be made
to hum away constantly, or ‘pulse’ so that it hums on/off with a variable speed
at a rate between half-a-second to just over a second and also a ‘wave’ which
cycles through the three massage sections (2 points each) at a speed which is
also as variable.

As well as the speed control, other ones allow you to vary the intensity of
the massage and apply two degrees of heat.

Note that the massager can be used when the chair is in any position, but
it’s best experienced when lying back as far as it goes. The massager can
also be set for 15-minute and 30-minute durations. There’s no permanently-on
setting, presumably in case you fall asleep while relaxing (which is very
easily done!)

Also available for the internet-savvy amongst you is the La-Z-Boy Explorer
which has in-built web-surfing capability.

The left arm of this sumptuous recliner lifts to reveal the flip out table
containing the wireless keyboard, the table rotates through 360 degrees giving
easy access to the keyboard in multi positions it also allows the user to
exit the chair with out putting away the table top. The swivel top can also be
used a platform for Lap top users or Play station Gamers? The right hand arm
also lifts to give storage space for cassettes, diskettes etc.

The principle behind it’s primary use – Internet Surfing – is simple, using
wireless technology (keyboard control) instructions to the set top box are
relayed, the set top box is connected to your existing TV – most TVs are
compatible – via a scart lead, a telephone cable (supplied) is connected direct
to your phone line.

Click here for the full La-Z-Boy Explorer press release

So you’ve got your widescreen TV, Dolby Digital/DTS set-up and a cold tinny by
your side so what’s the one thing you could do with to make the cinematic
experience even better? Yes, this chair is the answer.

Admittedly it’s not an inexpensive item, but for those that can make the
investment, it comes highly-recommended from me.

Now I don’t know why, but when I mentioned to my colleagues that I’d be
reviewing one of these on here, they all said: “Lazy boy? Dom? How appropriate” :)