Why people still love retro technology like iPods and instant-film cameras?

Mir Hussain

That beaten up Walkman buried in your basement might be someone's hot new accessory. The retro tech market is alive and kicking. In May, Apple refreshed the iPod touch for the first time in four years. Vinyl record sales clocked in at 400 million on average over the past four years, according to data from data tracker Statista. DVD player sales are trending downward, but they still consistently hi...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget Apple Pippin (Pt. 1)

Mir Hussain

In 1995, Apple debuted its game console in Japan, followed by a wider release in the US in 1996. Called Pippin, the game console was the result of a collaboration between Apple and Japanese company Bandai. Apple built the internals, while Bandai handled the exteriors including the casing, controls, and packaging. Based on Macintosh architecture, Pippin was designed to be a multimedia game console...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget iPod Hi-Fi (Pt. 2)

Mir Hussain

A year before Apple debuted the iPhone in 2007, the company introduced the iPod Hi-Fi. Although many companies tried to make iPod-powered speakers before, they didn’t offer home stereo quality. Apple in a way reimagined the home stereo market with the iPod Hi-Fi. The device was huge, a single white box with a 30-pin dock connector to dock your iPod. The iPod Hi-Fi was controlled using Apple’s univ...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget Newton MessagePad (Pt. 3)

Mir Hussain

The Newton MessagePad was Apple’s bold attempt at creating a personal digital assistant (PDA) way back in 1993. It might not have been a huge success, but it did pave the way for mobile devices. The Newton’s biggest feature was handwriting recognition which allowed users to write on the device’s screen with a stylus and the Newton would translate the handwriting into digital text. It also had an i...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget Apple QuickTake (Pt. 4)

Mir Hussain

At a time when John Sculley became the CEO of Apple, the company ventured into the consumer camera market. The QuickTake 100, released in 1994, was built by Kodak. This was a time when digital cameras were still in the infancy and $700 was a lot of money to pay for Apple’s QuickTake. The QuickTake wasn’t a commercial success per se, it did pioneer the digital camera market. It had a binocular-lik...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget 20th Anniversary Mac (Pt. 5)

Mir Hussain

If you thought the $5000 Mac Pro is expensive, think again. On March 20, 1997, Apple released the 20th Anniversary Macintosh, or TAM for $7,499. The limited-edition computer showed Apple’s design prowess and the ability to sell a $7,499 all-in-one PC to consumers in the late 1990s. It was designed by a young Jony Ive. The TAM wasn’t another AIO. The Mac was pitched as a complete home entertainme...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget Macintosh TV (Pt. 6)

Mir Hussain

Imagine a Macintosh that doubles as a TV. Well, in 1993, Apple did launch such a product that could be used as both a computer and cable-ready television. The Macintosh TV essentially used a 14-inch Sony Trinitron CRT display and the included card-sized remote could be used to control it. The Mac resembled a Macintosh LC 500 series, but it was fitted with a TV tuner that converted into a fully-bac...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget Apple PowerMac G4 Cube (Pt. 7)

Mir Hussain

Twenty years ago, Apple introduced the revolutionary PowerMac G4, a computer that came in a tiny eight-inch cube. Rather than sticking to a traditional tower design, Jony Ive thought of creating a computer that was an eight-inch cube suspended in a thick, translucent base. The design was to give the impression that the machine was floating in the air. The G4 Cube was fanless, making it extremely q...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget iSight camera (Pt. 8)

Mir Hussain

The one Apple device no one remembers is the iSight camera. Introduced at WWDC 2003, the iSight was Apple’s external video conferencing camera. The iSight sold for $149, and was the most expensive external web camera of its time in the market. Not many remember this, but the iSight was the first Apple product to be crafted out of aluminum. The iSight was designed to be mounted on the Mac’s displa...Read More

Forgotten Apple gadget eMate 300 (Pt. 9)

Mir Hussain

Long before the iBook was released, Jony Ive designed the eMate 300. Targeted primarily at the educational market, the eMate 300 was the first and only Newton-OS device that had a keyboard and a stylus. The eMate was visually appealing, just like any other Jony Ive’s designed product. It had a distinctive design with translucent colored plastic casing, a curvy clamshell body, and carrying handle. ...Read More