Maybe it’s due to the Mad Men craze, or the annoying rate at which today’s gadgets become obsolete, but there’s something charming about old technology. Sure, antique phones, TVs and music players might not be incredibly useful any longer, but in their day they were innovative, exciting, and desired by every American family. For all those who remember spinning the dial on a rotary telephone, changing the ribbon on a typewriter or adjusting the rabbit ears on a black-and-white TV—or for anyone who longs for simpler times—these fashionable retro products combine the romance of vintage tech with the quality and functionality of the 21st century. They remind us how far we’ve come and how quickly things change—there’s no way to predict which technologies the future will bring.
All we know for sure is that one day, your iPhone will be buried in a discount box at the local antiques store. Until then, here are some of the best new products to remind you of the good old days.
iGramophone Speaker
(Above) Back in the late 1800s, the gramophone was designed to amplify sound, much as the curved horn of a tuba did. More than a hundred years later, Tristan Zimmerman designed this gorgeous gramophone speaker to hold your iPod and enhance the audio output to 55 decibels. The sleek white ceramic exterior is more visually dynamic than any old-school gramophone we’ve ever seen, and this 21st-century sound system doesn’t need a power source. Instead, it relies on the laws of physics and 19th-century horn acoustics to function. Maybe we should look to the past for innovation more often.
Phonofone II, $499; Gnr8.biz
A Call to the Past
Whether it’s the sight of Don Draper making a call to his secretary or that rusted dial-up in your parents' attic, but retro phones exude a newly chic, weighty appeal that’s hard to find in today’s devices. This cordless 1930s phone combines a vintage rotary style with the all the technology and amenities we count on today: caller ID, call waiting, redial, a three-line display and, yes, it's cordless—because those annoying cords are one thing we don’t miss.
Infant Photo
Your little darling might not be big enough to sling a camera around her neck just yet, but this adorable bib will create the illusion of a precocious photographer. The printed strap of the vintage camera extends all the way behind the bib's neck to its actual Velcro closures, making the camera look more believable. And the spaghetti sauce on the lens? Not a problem.
Camera Baby Bib, $10; FredFlare.com
Tech Protection
No need to upgrade to the latest model. Protect the gizmos you already own with these zip-up canvas cases from Thomas Paul’s Ludite Collection. They feature a black hand-silk-screened design of an old-fashioned telephone, gramophone and camera. Compared to these relics, your current equipment will seem cutting-edge.
Thomas Paul Ludite Collection for the Camera, Phone or MP3 player, $24 each; VelocityArtandDesign.com
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What are your favorite gadgets that are long-gone?
