GeekSugar

Retro-Inspired Gadgets: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:45:02 PDT

Phones, TVs, and anything from Apple keep getting smaller, but many of us have a place in our hearts for those boxy tech goods of yesteryear. I've rounded up some products that are masquerading as vintage but are purely modern. Take a look through the gallery and let us know if you'd love it or leave it!

Telephone Card Holder: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:45:26 PDT

Maybe all your corded phones are gone, but the telephone motif itself is hot (seriously, I was just saying this!).

Even this Telephone Memo Holder ($12), which doesn't do anything gadgety - it's just a wooden memo holder - is totally cute.

But what would you use it for now? Its ideal role is holding cards that have messages of who called on them, but that kind of task is obsolete for many of us. Maybe we just bring back the handwritten note "just 'cause"?

What do you say?

Gimme the "Give Me Number 9" Telephone Purse

GeekSugar — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:55:07 PDT

This vintage-looking velvet handbag sports a name as cute as its print: it's the "Give Me Number 9" bag.

The perfect purse for the vintage geek - and vintage fashion - fan, the bag goes from shoulder bag to clutch with the removal of its strap.

And don't worry - it's also good for the modern girl: it features an interior cell phone pocket (so it's not that retro).

The 'Call Me, Betsey' Phone Satchel

GeekSugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:30:11 PDT

The free-spirited Betsey Johnson has done it again with this wristlet phone satchel, which is large enough to hold a cell phone, small wallet and lipstick. Dubbed the "Call, Me Betsey" bag, you are certainly going to get your retro telephone fix with this kitschy novelty purse! I actually liked her eccentric laptop sleeves, but this Springtime accessory has got to go. As a cell phone charm? Cute. As a cell phone bag? Not so cute. What do you think? Other colors include black, pink and purple - Check em' out below. Each bag costs $65.

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Retro Cell Phone Handsets: Totally Geeky or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:03:08 PST

Imagine the kind of stares you would get while walking down the street, using this handset to chat to a friend?! OK, so maybe for general public use this Please Hold Cell Phone Handset is a no-go, but what about at home when you don't really feel like holding your cell to your head? So they may look a bit goofy, but they are also so retro-chic - it's time to mix the old with the new!

The Please Hold handset is compatible with a slew of phones and is available in fun colors like kit kat black, poodle white, bubble gum pink, or ferrari red, with a matching coiled cord. Each are priced at $15. I must say that they are much more geek chic then the freakish mini bluetooth headsets! What do you think?

Geeksugar's Retro Gadgets Round-Up

GeekSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:30:09 PDT

After asking you readers to geek out and share your favorite retro gadgets, I have compiled a list of all the great submissions. They include everything from vintage gadgets to telephones and alarm clocks, which all appear retro but also boast many modern-day features.

When I asked readers how much they would spend on a retro phone, I was surprised to learn that a majority of you would not spend your money on old-fashioned gadgets. And when I say old-fashioned, I'm talking about the ones that you'd find at your grandmother's house. Rotary. Dial up. You know the kind.

If you click on the list below, you'll see a wide variety of retro gadgets which may be more appealing than the antique gadgets you wouldn't want to waste your money on!

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Love It or Leave It? Retro Red and Pink Telephones

GeekSugar — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 08:00:09 PDT

I don't think my BlackBerry 'classic phone' ringtone can compete with these shiny and new retroesque red and pink telephones. So they might not have call display or touch tone dialing, but what they lack in features, they totally make up for in style. And hey, we should all jog our memory once in awhile when it comes to remembering telephone numbers! For all those old school divas this might just be the perfect telephone for you. Let me know, do you love them or are you going to leave this one alone?

Rotary Phones - the Latest in Photo Booth Technology

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:17:02 PDT

In the days of cell phones and video chat, there's not much of a reason to keep a rotary telephone around other than its vintage good looks. A new project called the Rotobooth is repurposing those antique devices of yore in a way that is so 2012: a text message-sending photo booth.

Rotobooth users dial their mobile numbers the old-school way with long winds around the rotary phone located below the camera lens. Creators of Rotobooth hacked the phone with an Arduino microcontroller, so that once a photo is taken, it's sent to Flickr, and the user then receives a text message link to that photo on whatever number was dialed on the rotary phone.

This retro take on a modern digital photo booth was actually part of a hacking session at Twilio, a cloud-based texting company, and was used to send text message photo links to those smiling for the Rotobooth camera. Go, hackers!

Photo: Flickr User mauxfaux