There’s no future in nostalgia? Then you don’t really know about the wave of all things retro making a comeback in technology
We know that turntables and vinyl are hip again, the iconic Nokia 3310 made a comeback with their updated version that’s to be launched this month and now, the BlackBerry will follow up from the release of KEYone recently with the exclusive KEYone Black Edition.
The BlackBerry KEYone is a sophisticated-looking smartphone that offers a dose of nostalgia with its physical QWERTY keyboard in this modern Android era. (Does that make you feel old that your one-time go-to gadget is now described as ‘nostalgic’?) On top of that, it’s also a durable phone with smart and secure software and great battery life. When it comes to entertainment capabilities though, this phone might still be more about business than leisure.
So what’s with all these gadgets of yesteryear making a comeback? Nostalgia it seems, is a powerful marketing too – and tech is not immune to it. If people can opt for vinyl over music streaming apps and Polaroid-style pictures over ones shot on fancy DSLR cameras, then the smartphone market will start looking to the past to roll out products designed to remind users of old-school devices like the Nokia 3310 and BlackBerry devices. Will it stop there? We don’t think so.
Here are some gadgets that we hope will make a comeback.
Bulky PDAs
Phones just seem to get bigger and bigger, so why not bring back the good ol’ Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that was huge among the busy business-people sorts. Complete with the stylus and tacky flap casing.
Clam phones
If phones do get bigger and bulkier, we’re pretty sure those techies out there would start craving for smaller handheld devices again – it’s just human nature. Enter the clam phone: it’s cute, it’s tiny as hell and let’s just throw in the old school keypad that takes you forever to say “OK”.
Portable music players
Maybe sometimes we need to compartmentalise – phones should strictly be for calling and texting, a camera is for shooting photos, physical diaries and calendars to organise our days and portable music players for on-the-go entertainment purposes. An iPod with Spotify installed? A portable mini boombox that includes cassette players? The Walkman? Bring it all back!
Google glass
Of course it would fail, has anyone seen how uncool it looks? Have some variety – dark-rimmed, tortoise-shell (not the real one, we love animals here), Harry Potter-esque ones, cat eye – then we’ll talk. And maybe make it less creepy regarding taking photos discreetly without permission.
The fax
Nah, that’s just a step too far.
Extreme interconnectivity is a gift that new technology has given us but it can also be a curse. No one talks at dinners, people constantly have their heads down looking at their phones, emails are the preferred way of communicating – it can be frustrating keeping up with technology. For some looking for a way out of this rapid race to keep up, it may be a good thing that familiar phones like the Blackberry and Nokia are making a comeback. They say there’s no future in nostalgia, but the same doesn’t apply when it comes to tech.
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