Top 10 vintage gadgets for your home

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Walking around the various ‘Christmas in July’ events, including those of John Lewis and Amazon, one of the trends for this year that definitely seems to be emerging is retro styling. In truth, some of the products that these companies are pushing for the forthcoming festive season have been around a little while. But then one of the beauties about vintage looking gadgets is that they are by definition not susceptible to the fickle trends of fashion.

Compact cameras with DSLR-like features have in particular been given a vintage makeover with many of them looking like they should feature in some 1960s spy movie where Russian agents are passing secret papers to each other on a park bench. Then of course there are more gadgety looking stocking fillers including the Yuppie Brick phone from Binatone – a definite antidote to today’s sleek smart phones.

Roberts Radios have been celebrating vintage styling for years now so it’s no surprise to see they’ve extended their Revival range with new mini digital radios while classic brands like Marshall may have brought their speakers features kicking and screaming into the 21st century but the styling remains solidly as it was 50 years ago.

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Fujifilm X-M1 Compact System Camera, £418, FujiFilm

There seem to be no shortage of vintage looking cameras around at the moment. Compact and lighter than a typical DSLR this model from Fuji boats 16-50mm IS Lens, HD 1080p, 16.3 Megapixels, Wi-Fi and 3inch LCD Screen. The free Fujifilm Camera Application also lets you connect to your smartphone for quick sharing.

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Retro-Touch speaker, £29.95, Red 5

This may look like an an analogue clock radio from the 1970s but it’s anything but. It’s actually a speaker. Using near field audio technology, the speaker instantly amplifies your sounds. Simply place your phone onto the nostalgic speaker and enjoy your music with a boost. You can even charge your phone from the speaker overnight then have an amplified alarm in the morning.

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Blue Microphones Yeti USB headphone, £114, Yeti

It may look like a vintage microphone straight out the 1950s but this retro-styled model is anything but. Available in silver or black, it’s a USB microphone capable of recording in stereo or your choice of three unique patterns (including cardioid, omnidirectional, and bi-directional) straight onto your computer. There’s a built-in headphone amplifier for zero-latency monitoring, and simple controls for headphone volume, pattern selection, instant mute, and microphone gain.

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Marshall Stanmore speaker, £359, Marshall

Billed as a loudspeaker for today’s world, Marshall’s Stanmore boasts multiple connection sources for phone, record player, TV or wirelessly via the latest version of Bluetooth, featuring APTX Technology. The Stanmore comes with two standby modes Powersaver and Standard, to minimise your speakers environmental impact when not actively in use. Also available in cream.

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Sennheiser Momentum Ivory headphones, £269, Sennheiser

Made from durable brushed stainless steel and soft leather over the headband and earpads, these solid headphones feel like something out of the 1970s. But looks as they say can be deceptive. With an inline microphone and remote control for easy switching between calls and tunes they are perfect for on-the-go listening via your smart phone as well as listening to music on your 1970s ‘hi-fi’.

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Kenwood K Mixer, £399, Kenwood

There’s something reassuringly traditional about the style of this Kenwood Mixer. So reassuring that you almost feel like a kid again with your Mum letting you lick the cake mix before it goes in the oven. Boasting a five litre stainless steel bowl with large handle, 500W motor, planetary mixing action, and a range of clever attachments to choose from, it comfortably handles large quantities of ingredients and the stiffest of dough. The unique fold function allows the bowl to revolve using a 2.5 turns revolution mixing action to perfectly incorporate ingredients without losing air.

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Binatone Brick phone, £39, Meet The Brick

Secretly wish we were back in the 1980s when mobile phones weren’t so much smart as thick as a brick? Well this gimmicky phone won’t disappoint. Either you can put your mobile phone’s SIM in it and use it as a very low end mobile (it offers text messaging and a snake game but that’s about it) or you can hook it up via Bluetooth to your existing phone to use as a microphone and speaker. Perfect gift for former ‘Yuppies’. Remember them?

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Olympus OMD-EM10, £599, Olympus

If you ever owned an Olympus Trip film camera, there is something reassuringly familiar about the OMD-EM10. That combination of metal and soft leather effect gives this digital camera a decidedly retro feel. But don’t be fooled, this lightweight digital camera is packed full of the latest features including 16.1 Megapixels, WiFi control and genuine DSLR handling but in a much more compact body.

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Roberts Revival Mini Radio, £139, Roberts Radio

When it comes to retro looking gadgets Roberts Radio is the first brand that comes to mind. It’s been making digital radios that look like old fashioned ‘wireless’ radios for years. This Revival Mini Radio, available from John Lewis, is just part of a collection of great looking digital radios available from the company.

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Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic, £129, FujiFilm

If you like the idea of an instant camera, like the good ole Polaroids of yesteryear, then you may be drawn to Fujifilm’s Instax range. Trouble is most of the range look pretty kiddy – bulbous and plasticy. This is the first one that looks like a serious retro styled camera. Sturdy in your hand, the Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic offers various effects including double exposure for superimposing two images on top of each other, and ‘bulb exposure’ of up to 10 seconds for creating interesting night shots including light streaks.

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