Techalyzer

Mixing arcane designs with modern technologies is a big past time of gadget designers. Perhaps it is because they recognize that people do not let go of the past that easily. The result are designs that are somewhat humorous as old world technology designs meets new world efficiency.

A good example are the many MP3 players that are coming out right now that are designed to look like cassette players. There are also a number of stylistic ones that look exactly like they a normal cassette tape. In reality it is a very sophisticated digital player with the earphones or Blue tooth attached.

You can also get a retro Bluetooth handset that looks exactly like the handset of an old black phone from the 1930s. It has a handle with a place to speak at one end and a place to hear at another (just like a regular phone.) Of course it has no cord.  A blue light identifies it as the handset for your cell phone.  The design is a little odd because it is jus the handle ofa regular phone. There is no cradle provided to set it in so it would lie sideways on your desk.

You can also buy a  phone for using Skype that looks like it belongs in a newsoffice in the 1930s. Basically you hook it up to your computer and you dial an old fashioned rotary dial to call any Skype number.  To conncect you lift the receiver from the cradle. To disconnect form Skype you replace the receiver on the cradle. This is a little more serviceable and charming looking than the retro Bluetooth style of 1930s phone.

Another funny idea is the Samsung P300.  This is a phone that looks exactly like a large hand held calculator from the seventies. Nobody will know that you are actually texting because it looks like you are doing mathematical calculations instead.

If you are an old fashioned type who ha s wood chair, wood desk and wooden paneling in your office you can also take heart that you can now buy a laptop computer that is laminated with fake wood veneer. This laptop that has a rustic feel is called “The Woodie.”  You could probably make your own version of this  by simply applying wallpaper to the surface of your laptop.

Do you miss those old square floppy disks that you used to have to insert into your computer to copy information?  You can now get a USB drive that imitates the look of these old disks. They come in those weird old colors such as bright blue and lime green as well.

With summer here you are going to need some way of entertaining yourself. There are some gadgets on the market that can help you pass the time and help you spend some of your well earned money.

If you are feeling active and want to swim a few laps then you must try the Freestyle 2gb Waterproof MP3 Player.  This is a triangular shaped unit with everything that you need to play your tunes while thrashing around in a pool. You can also use it in the shower.

If you are travelling, especially overseas then you want to get an international voltage converter.  You can get these websites like Amazon.com.  Best of all, it comes with a built-in voltage converter, so you don’t have to worry about any “shocking” summer surprises.  This is not a glamorous piece of equipment but it is certainly one of the most useful pieces of equipment that you will ever travel with.

If you want to record your summer fun then you might want to take along a Flip Mino Series Camcorder which only costs about $1260 on Amazon.

The Flip Mino is tinier than a lot of cell phones, but still produces very clear video recordings. It also stores up to 60 minutes of data on its internal hard drive. Despite its scaled down size, it still has a 1.5-inch screen and 2x digital zoom. Its lithium ion battery lasts for hours, and for those of us who aren’t technologically “all there”, the camera connects directly to your TV for instant playback.  It is small sleek and about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

If you like Swiss Army Knives but also like the compactness of the devices that are a slim as a credit card then you enjoy owning the Swisscard Lite. The Swisscard takes all of the convenience of a Swiss Army knife, and puts it into a slim package small enough to fit in your wallet. The tool features everything from a magnifying glass to a tiny pair of scissors, and the carrying case comes with an LED light so you can see what you’re doing at all times.  It also has three different screwdrivers attached to it. This card also comes with a lifetime warranty.

Imagine having a small electric bike that also doubles as a beverage cooler.  The Cruzin Cooler is a “ride on cooler” that holds 24 cans of your favorite beverage.  It can also carry a rider that weighs up to 250 pounds. There is a model that is like a bicycle that can be had for about four hundred dollars but you can also get a gas powered one for about eight hundred dollars as well.

In February seventeen of the world’s biggest cell phone manufacturers banded together under a group called the GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association) with the intention of banding together to develop a universal handset jack by the year 2012. This has got many consumers excited as it means that we can all stop collecting and paying for different charger units each time we buy a phone.  You just won’t have to look at such a big snarl of old connectors, cables and chargers any more.

One of the problems with whole scheme is that Apple is not part of the GSMA. This is not supposed to be that big of a deal because the iPhone still does not account for more than one percent of the entire smartphone market today. However this is not very insightful as it is likely that iPhone use is going to exponentially explode over the next decade. By the year 2012 the number of iPhone users is probably going to be even larger than regular cell phone uses. It just seems odd that the industry trendsetter is not going to be compatible with all of the other phones because it is not part of the GSMA.

Yet another problem with the universal connector collective is that not all of the companies involved  in this industry in the world are not signed on. The majority of cell manufacturers are but that does not mean that all of them will be around. New companies could be developed that offer new types of equipment that is not compatible.  The connectors could still be varied and all over the place.

However the GSMA does have a goal to market fifty percent less chargers. This will also help the environment as more of these chargers will be able to be recycled or resold because they will plug into more cell phones.  Making this type of move is supposed to reduce of 21 million tons of waste in our landfill a year. 

Of course there is a big white elephant accompanying this idea as well. You might be able to buy a phone with a universal charger one day but this does nothing for you if you do not have the proper cable.  You might have t o shell out for a proper cable and forget about convenience if you happen to forget your cable while travelling. You will have to hope that you will meet someone else who happens to own a GSMA phone.

Yet another possibility is that we will not be using phones that require charging in the next century. Maybe we will not be using wires at all.