If you don't know what this picture represents, move along now, you're far too young to be reading my blog ! Still here ? Right, I'm sure you'll appreciate this little anecdote then ... Sophie made me laugh earlier in the week. She asked me how old I was when I got my first Facebook account and when I said, truthfully, about 30, she did a total double-take. She just couldn't comprehend growing up before the existence of facebook - "how did you ever meet your friends? how did you ever know what was going on in their lives? how did you share music and pictures of the bands you liked?" - so I dropped a few more "culture bombs" into the mix, telling her about life before mobile phones, regularly taping the Top 40 off of the radio on a Sunday night (and trying to hit pause just as the DJ started talking) and having a Vic 20 computer that downloaded programmes from an attached cassette player !
Technology has certainly evolved a lot since those days but when I saw the new range of Finisterre DAB radios from Ted Baker, they reminded me of the old audio cassettes of my youth. I'm not sure if it's done on purpose or not but there's not denying, they look very similar. I was interested to read that Ted Baker describes himself as an incurable vinyl fanatic and the retro feel of the slightly chunky, brushed aluminium and leather products certainly comes through (and appeals to a child of the 80's like me !). That's not to say they're old-school all the way though, as behind the slightly vintage look, they have all technological mod-cons you could wish for :they're equipped to receive DAB and DAB+ broadcasts as well as traditional FM with RDS; you can stream tunes from your digital device via wireless Bluetooth transmission or a 3.5mm stereo line-in cable; a 3.5mm stereo headphone out and a USB for firmware updates are included.
Even the Rockall headphones look reassuringly chunky (unlike the flimsy in-ear jobbies that Sophie seems to get through on a weekly basis) and, again, remind me of the big black headphones that I used to use (when I was taping the aforementioned Top 40 chart shows !) back in the 80's. I always remember letting out little squeals of pain as the sliding strap part inevitably ripped out a chunk of my hair whenever I put them on or took them off, so I'm pleased to see that these ones have a sleeker, pain-free headband ! Again, they combine a slightly retro feel with the best of new technology - they come with a textured tangle-resistant and fully detachable cable with handy smartphone remote and mic, allowing call and control functions for your Apple iOS device.
Is it just me that loves seeing new takes on the old-style products that are reminiscent of things I grew up with? I wonder what else they could bring back in a modernised form for all us children of the eighties - Worzel Gummidge, batwing jumpers and Walkmans maybe ?!
for more information : http://www.johnlewis.com/ted-baker-dab-fm-radio-bluetooth-speaker/p1725871
Disclosure : I will be receiving some Ted Baker goodies in return for featuring the new audio range.
No comments:
Post a Comment