5 Mordern Gadgets : Retro Style

1. Olympus Pen E-P1-

The recently-announced Olympus Pen E-P1 camera has generated a lot of interest recently, with various photography-related blogs I subscribe to mentioning it recently, including Chase Jarvis, norbs (and again), Alex Wise, engadget and DPS.
It's an interesting camera, and uses the micro four thirds lens system. This allows Olympus to pack an interchangeable lens system into a camera that is much smaller than a regular DSLR.
For existing Olympus DSLR shooters, there's an MF-1 Four Thirds System Lens Adaptor available, which allows the body to accept many of the other Four Thirds format lenses.

Camera Features

A brief summary of the key features:

uses micro four thirds lens system
12.3 megapixel sensor
image stabilisation (in the body)
HD video (1280x720p at 30fps)
ISO100 to ISO6400
3" LCD screen

Note that it doesn't have a built-in optical viewfinder, but requires the use of the 3" rear LCD display for liveview. An optional optical viewfinder (VF-1) is available, and mounts in the camera's hotshoe.
The Olympus Pen E-P1 really appeals to me because of its small size, compared to a regular DSLR camera. While I don't see it replacing my DSLR, I can certainly see something like the E-P1 complementing it, as its small size makes it a lot more portable than a DSLR, yet it still has the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.
As Chase Jarvis said recently, "the best camera is the one that's with you", and that is very true. A full-sized DSLR is a little large to carry around with you all the time, but the Olympus Pen E-P1 is much smaller than a regular DSLR!

2.Phonofone II-

The Science & Sons Phonofone II brings the Apple iPod right back to the earliest days of audio reproduction. Completely unpowered, you sit your iPod in a resting groove and plug the standard white Apple in-ear phones into two little cups. Then, through the magic of horn-loading, the sound that issues out of the white ceramic speaker horn is said to be comparable with laptop speaker sound pressure levels.

Being entirely passive and made of ceramic, the Phonofone II looks likely to outlive most iPods, and has a remarkably low impact on the environment in almost every respect. It has a profound impact on your wallet though; it costs €350 and is sold exclusively through European purveyor of style-led products Charles & Marie.

3.LG Classic TV:New Taste Old flavour-

The cutesy 14-inch set, known as the Serie 1 Retro Classic, makes use of the now-outdated cathode ray tube (CRT) display technology.

Over the last decade, the bulky and somewhat fragile CRT technology gave way to more modern, more efficient display technologies such as plasma or LCD. However, it seems LG want to satisfy any retro vibe consumers may be having.
LG's new Serie 1 Retro Classic TV features all the usual characteristics of an old television set, such as an extendible antenna, rotating knobs to change the channel and adjust volume, and even detachable legs.

Yet despite its throwback charm, this new set also packs in some modern features, including an updated digital tuner, composite video inputs, and a (wireless) remote control. If all those modern features are too much for you, LG has included an extremely retro feature: the ability to watch TV in black and white or sepia.
LG's latest fashionable effort is currently only available in South Korea with no word on whether the company's new $215 TV will make its way to our shores. Do you miss the retro look? Or does the love of old have no place in your 21st century home?

4.Snowball USB Mic:-

The Blue Snowball doesn’t actually come in blue. It’s a white softball-sized usb mic with three selectable audio modes. The Snowball has received great reviews (I first heard about it in Wired magazine) but since Gestalt IT handed out a few as door prizes at our first Tech Field Day in November the raves have been coming in from folks I know and trust.
The Blue Snowball impresses from the start. It’s heavier than one would expect thanks to a cast metal housing. The bundled tripod is solid and stable thanks to three low and wide legs. The mic can be located by telescoping the tripod and tilting the Snowball mic itself. But the included USB cable is so burly that its weight tugs the mic out of alignment – I used a slimmer USB A-B cable instead.

The Snowball required no drivers in Mac OS X, setting up instantly. I was able to select it in System Preferences as the default mic, and set Skype to use it, too. I imagine it’s just as easy to use in Windows.
Of the three audio settings, I imagine most will leave the switch in position 1. Being a desktop mic, a directional pattern is most useful. Position 3 is great for recording group conversations, however.

5.Panasonic Old School Monitor Stereo Headphones-

Available in black, white, red and an outrageously retro avocado green, say goodbye to fiddly modern earbuds with these totally cool cans from Panasonic. The Panasonic Old School Monitor Stereo Headphones, to give them their full title, offer leather-cushioned listening comfort you can only dream of if you’re used to in-ear audio efforts and look so darn cool you’ll be tempted to wear them out — even when you’re not listening to music.