Do you remember that summer in Dublin, when that Bagatelle song was all over the wireless and the tech future was looking so bright, we all had to wear big Buggles shades? It was the early 1980s and we were in the grip of a 20th century tech revolution. Video was killing the radio star and teenagers were killing space invaders in the new video-game arcades springing up everywhere. Fax machines were taking over our office spaces and the Sony Walkman was taking up permanent residence around our waists as we all got wired for sound. Digital watches were the up-to-the-minute fashion and the shiny new CD format was about to leave our vinyl collections looking a bit dated.
When we’re not looking back fondly on those early days of digital, and the clunky old machines that we had to remortgage our houses to buy, we’re noticing a growing trend for nostalgia in many of the new tech gadgets coming on the market. It’s as if the world, having spent the past half century charging forward, has decided to hit pause and rewind, all the way back to the halcyon days of the 1970s and 1980s, when artificial intelligence was just something out of a science fiction movie and tech bros weren’t propping up far right Maga regimes. It seems more and more of us want to relive those long, hot summers of our youth through the prism of the latest tech. Now we can, thanks to some seriously retro gadgets currently on the market.
Tivoli Audio Model One BT (70s Color Collection)
€199, tivoliaudio.eu
Summer holidays at home were soundtracked by the constant buzz of the transistor radio on the kitchen counter, keeping us up to date on the ever-changing Irish weather and the latest summer hits by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John and The Bee Gees. Back then it was just a choice between dull old Raidió Éireann or static-ridden BBC Radio One, but we also had plenty of pirate stations to choose from – when they weren’t being raided by the Department of Posts & Telegraphs. If you told anyone then that radio would still be a thing in 2025, they might well believe you – after all, who could imagine a world without endless inane DJ voices and disposable pop fluff?
RM Block
The Model One BT 70s Color Collection by Tivoli Audio serves as a kind of tribute to that magic box in the kitchen we called the wireless. It’s housed in its usual handcrafted wood cabinet, but the face comes in a choice of retro colours inspired by the 1970s, including avocado green, poppy red and navy blue. My favourite, though, is golden hour orange – a bright homage to those sun-flecked days of innocence and disco hairdos. Unlike those 1970s radios, however, the Model One BT delivers beautifully clear sound even when tuned in to the weakest radio stations. It also comes with Bluetooth connectivity for playing those classic hits off your phone (none of that modern rubbish now, mind), and an auxiliary input for plugging in other retro components such as a turntable.
We Are Rewind GB-001 portable cassette player
€149, wearerewind.com
When the Sony Walkman hit the streets, it kicked off a sonic revolution, as young people stormed the hi-fi stores to bag their own personal cassette player. Even boring old Cliff Richard got in on the act, releasing a single called Wired for Sound, with an accompanying video featuring Cliff roller skating around with his new Walkman. But that didn’t put us off – the lure of long summer months strolling down the promenade with our Walkmans blasting The Teardrop Explodes in our ears was too tempting, and so we eagerly made our own mixtapes to listen to on the go and played them until the capstans on our tape machine wore out.
In recent years, Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger Things have made personal cassette players cool again, and French company We Are Rewind has responded with its own high-end retro cassette player, but resurrecting these mechanical magnetic tape machines wasn’t a simple matter of pressing “play”. Many of the factories that made cassette players have long closed down, and finding engineers with the expertise and experience to manufacture these relics from the past was a bit of a rigmarole. But now We Are Rewind has unleashed its range of portable cassette players, with a simple, sleek retro design and with its own range of cassette tapes, in case you can’t find any Memorex in the shops.
The company has added some modern touches, such as Bluetooth 5.1 so you can listen from your phone or other newfangled device, and a recording function to allow you to make your own mixtapes. Just don’t forget to stick that Cliff tune in somewhere.
Polaroid Go Generation 2 Instant Camera
€89.99, polaroid.com
We take snapshots for granted these days, especially since everyone is now packing a 12-megapixel camera in their pockets, ready to whip it out at the slightest photo opportunity, and capable of capturing every moment of our lives in high-res clarity. But it wasn’t always thus. If we wanted to take photos on holiday, for instance, we’d have to pack our big, clunky camera, buy a few rolls of film and then send them off to be developed after we got back home. If we were lucky, we might get to see our holiday snaps around Halloween. The arrival of the Polaroid camera changed all that. Suddenly, we could take a snapshot, and the finished print would pop out of the camera like fresh photo toast.
In recent years, the classic Polaroid camera has made a comeback, even though we have access to thousands of photos on our phones. Go figure. The Polaroid Go claims to be the smallest analogue instant camera on the market, and it spits out small photo prints that can fit nicely in your phone case or wallet. And with the Go Gen 2, the scope for creativity has increased thanks to some new features. You can take psychedelic snaps using blue, yellow or red-tinted filters, or by deploying the double-exposure feature. And just because it’s analogue doesn’t mean you can’t take selfies: the handy selfie mirror at the back lets you get the right self-exposure, and there’s a 10-second timer if you want to stand back a bit further and get a group photo.
Atari 2600+ Gaming Console
€50.88, amazon.ie
In the summer of 1981, the world was gripped by the royal wedding, as then-Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. All across the land, peasants were glued to their TV sets to watch the posh nuptials – all except me and my mates. Instead, we were superglued to our brand new Atari 2600 game consoles, and too busy playing Pac-Man to be bothered with stuffy old monarchs and their marriages. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what happened in the wider world that entire summer, as the bedsit door remained shut, the dusty curtain stayed firmly drawn and there was no danger of me getting sunburned, as I didn’t actually see daylight from June to September.
Now it’s time to retreat to our caves and relive that lost summer, as the Atari 2600+ faithfully recreates the original console launched in 1977, right down to the jiggly joystick controller we know and remember so well. Atari launched its updated version of the home gaming classic in 2023, along with 10 of Atari’s most iconic game cartridges, including Adventure and Missile Command. The 2600+ easily connects up with today’s TVs using HDMI, and it has a widescreen mode. In another nod to the modern world, you can pair the console with the CX40+ Wireless Joystick for unfettered fun. There’s good news for faithful Atari enthusiasts: the 2600+ can play all your original game cartridges from 40-plus years ago, so dig them out of your garage, blow the dust off and get gaming. Just last year, the company re-released three games originally developed for the Atari 7800, Fatal Run, Food Fight and Ninja Golf, all of which are compatible with the 2600+. That’s it – I’m not leaving the house till Halloween.
Casio 40th Anniversary Recrystalised G-Shock Full Metal Collection retro digital watch
€740, weirandsons.ie
In the 1970s analogue watches were old hat, as the world rushed to embrace the new beepy digital watch revolution. Digital watches took over the world, while our Rolexes and Patek Philippes languished in a drawer somewhere. But as they become more ubiquitous, they also became cheaper to make, and before long you could pick up a digital watch in a pound store for next to nothing or even get them free in a cereal box. The arrival of the smart watch put digital watches out of their misery, but now they’re making a comeback, with brands like Casio creating a retro collection that harks back to those summers when digital watches ruled the wrists.
Leading the retro line-up is Casio’s 40th Anniversary Recrystalised G-Shock Full Metal Collection, designed for accuracy, durability, elegance and of course oodles of retro cool. It has a gold-plated stainless steel strap and black dial, and glitzy gold ion plating on the casing to dazzle folk as you walk by on the beach. It’s perfect for summer activity, with shock resistance and water resistance up to a depth of 200 metres. It might be a throwback, but it’s also got modern touches, such as solar-powered charging, which will keep the watch running for up to 10 months, or more if you use power-saving mode, and Bluetooth connectivity, giving you access to the time in 300 cities around the world and enables lots of handy smartphone features.
