Old Devices You Would Get Again...

[kamikazekeeg]

I was thinking about how I mostly avoid Apple products these days, have for awhile, as I just find them far too pricey in comparison to other options, and can be restrictive in use, but it did get me remembering when I did use Apple products, as I had an Ipod Classic for awhile.  I bought a 5th or 6th gen, not sure which one exactly at some point and had it for awhile until it got stolen out of the car the one time I left the car unlocked like 5 or 6 years ago.  Bummed me out to no end.  Got a hand me down Nano 4th gen from a family member after that which was okay too, but I would legit buy an Ipod Classic right now if I could get it for like...50 bucks or less.  Sure, my phone does music just fine too, but I like the singular device that does a specific thing at a properly handheld size.

Another that has tempted me are portable CD players.   I use to walk around with one as a teen, especially once they got skip protection on them, so you didn't have to worry about slight bumps making the CD stop.  I still own a big cd case full of CD's, though I stopped buying as much CD's over the past year or so, using an Amazon Unlimited right now since it's just cheaper in the long run for music listening.  It's the part of me that loves physical media that wants one again, like video rental stores.

Anyone else got older stuff they'd 100% buy again, even if they aren't as convenient or useful? I see Samsung's new foldable phone concept coming and I just go "Ahh yeah! Bring back fliphones! lol

[marvelvscapcom2]

I assume your are excluding video games of course, because all of our lists would be huge.   Vectrex, And the likes being at the top of that old stuff list.

But old technology i'd love to have just for laughs  


I think sadly my real answer is none.    Everytime I think of something that was cool and that I loved, it's bested by newer greater technology.   And i'd only be buying it out of nostalgia which is something I try to avoid but fail to with games lol. 


I loved my Portable CD player and Sandisk MP3 but of course now my cell phone has YouTube Red Music and millions of songs.
 

Polaroid cameras were pretty cool but now the digital camera puts it in the dirt forever.



I just can't think of many I could warrant seeking again.   



Oh Vinyls,  those are super cool and sound better than our digital media.  Those would be something I'd entertain if I didn't already have 300 hobbies and money restraints.   

[kamikazekeeg]

The only reason I would still want an MP3 player is that I have a ton of digital music saved still.  Many gigs of it that doesn't fit into my currently "old" (4 years in phone years is relatively old) phone, that has only 20gb of storage.  I believe I can put in like 200gb sd card into it, which I might get to eventually, never really wanted to reinstall the programs till recently, but I still like a single use device, even if it's not super convenient.

Never was a vinyl person myself.  I like physical media, but that's one that has never interested me since I have no connection to it.

[redblaze57]

I with you on the views of apple. I miss my 120gb ipod classic, odd thing is I remember leaving it the basement but never being able to find it. Probably the thing I miss the most it's the clickwheel, didn't even have to look at the device to know where pause/play, skip, go back, heck at times change albums and bands. It truly was a convenient device

[bikingjahuty]

Beyond the obvious of old video games there really isn't anything else technology-wise that I'd go back to. Luckily with technology being pretty progressive and each upgrade often making a device better than the last, I just can't see myself going back to CD walkmans, PDAs, flip phones, or digital cameras. There is something about the simplicity of many of these devices that is appealing, but advances in all of these or integrating them into other devices has made them better.


Not a device, but I really like older cars in terms of them being very utilitarian without a bunch of extra crap that really doesn't make the car all that better imo. With that said, I drive a 2017 RAV4, but honestly I kind of regret getting it since it has so many amenities that I never or rarely use. My car before that was a 2006 Matrix that was just about everything that I could ever need or want in a car. Once I pay the RAV4 off I would like to try and track down a late 90s/early 2000s Japanese SUV or sedan with very low milage and get that since that is about all the car I really want.


On a side note, I still have my iPod classic from 2010 and it still works great. It's been my only MP3 player since and I will lament the day it finally bites the dust.

[oldgamerz]

Most portable CD players don't hold up well these days, the batteries ware out quickly and if that don't bother you, to replace batteries all the time, then the laser will die out. And, you will need a new one in my experience

All PlayStation 3's let you rip songs to the internal hard drive and then you can use a PS Vita to connect with your PlayStation 3 and then carry your songs over to where ever you go. I think

But SONY closed their music server so you can no longer receive, the CD album title, or the Track name and artist information from the internet connection, any more.  You now must type in the CD information yourself on the PlayStation 3 now

But A PC with a sound card beats my PS3 any day



Ipod  8 gig Nanos in my experience hold up a long time especially when you had them new. But, Ipod Nano are not good for gaming. Because the battery will need recharging right away after you play a game. But you can listen to music for hours on most Ipod Nanos and the battery will not need a recharge right away.

The downside with the Ipods, IPhone and MP3 players is that you also need a PC with music on it so you can actually place the music on the portable device itself

[shadowzero]

Another that has tempted me are portable CD players.   I use to walk around with one as a teen, especially once they got skip protection on them, so you didn't have to worry about slight bumps making the CD stop.  I still own a big cd case full of CD's, though I stopped buying as much CD's over the past year or so, using an Amazon Unlimited right now since it's just cheaper in the long run for music listening.  It's the part of me that loves physical media that wants one again, like video rental stores.

When I read the thread title thats right where my mind went.  Give me an old CD walkman with ESP technology.  Truthfully Id be happy with a cassette one too.  Oh and a micro cassette recorder.  Oh oh oh! What about a TV walkman.  I used to see those puppies in Service Merchandise back in the day.

[kamikazekeeg]

Another that has tempted me are portable CD players.   I use to walk around with one as a teen, especially once they got skip protection on them, so you didn't have to worry about slight bumps making the CD stop.  I still own a big cd case full of CD's, though I stopped buying as much CD's over the past year or so, using an Amazon Unlimited right now since it's just cheaper in the long run for music listening.  It's the part of me that loves physical media that wants one again, like video rental stores.

When I read the thread title thats right where my mind went.  Give me an old CD walkman with ESP technology.  Truthfully Id be happy with a cassette one too.  Oh and a micro cassette recorder.  Oh oh oh! What about a TV walkman.  I used to see those puppies in Service Merchandise back in the day.

I looked up a portable CD player not too long ago, because I was curious at the costs and quality lol They have some on Amazon, but they are all a little pricey and don't have the best reviews.  Having one would just remind of walking around town as a teen, listening to burned CD's that were basically just mix tapes or Rammsteins Sensucht lol

[maximo310]

I've got a couple of older phones (htc one m8/lgv20) that i use primarily for better music quality/hosting parts of my music library, and especially the latter has an amazing camera/video record capabilities compared to my regular daily driver phone (moto g5+), both rooted and I did pick up an older thinkpad t60 laptop recently mostly out of curiousity/ experimenting with lightweight linux os's.

Besides that, most of the older stuff I would want is either out of my price range, or can be integrated w/ current devices that I already have (besides missing the aux cable port in my car

[hoshichiri]

Eh, not really... mostly becuase I don't get rid of anything unless it's properly broken. I don't have to miss my portable CD player, it's in my Atari box to play my burned copy of Stella's New Brain on my Starpath Supercharger. Which I didn't burn until after I'd made sure the unit worked by pulling out my old portable tape player & hooking up an actual Starpath cassette. I still have a record player, I still have a VCR- just becuase these things don't get much use doesn't mean they don't get used at all- and when I do need them, a modern device won't work, so I'm glad to keep them around.


The closest thing I can think of that I'd re-buy is an original Gameboy for pure nostalgia. I don't need one, I have 8 other things that play Gameboy games. But for the right price/condition, I'd still like one.

[tripredacus]

Anything that is interesting. Most of the stuff I have is "old" as it is, since I am a tech collector.

Some of the items I currently have on my "future use" tech list are:
- Color TV with mono audio
- Color TV with 2 screw antenna
- 4:3 LCD TV with Component input
- 1080i CRT TV
- Onkyo ED-901 or Yamaha DDP-1 (AC-3 RF/Dolby 5.1 Decoder/Processor)
- Double-sided LD player with AC-3 RF
- AVR with AC-3 RF, Dobly 5.1, ProLogic/II
- DVHS with Toslink out
- native SVHS player
- Agile Modulator

[kypherion]

I still have my old Sony mini-CD player and that thing rocks, along with my old Zenstone 2gb mp3 player.

I don't really have an answer for that other than probably my old ipod Classic as well.

[betelgeuse]

I still use CD’s in my car. I would definitely go for a minidisc player again if they didn’t wear out so fast. My home unit, portable and car deck all stopped reading discs. It was made by Sony, so the only recorded media was through Columbia. I probably had about 50 blanks I would record on. Most of the stuff was music, but I recorded a lot of movie quotes or video game voice overs as well. Loved those discs.

I tried to use an iPod touch for my car back in the day, but it wasn’t compatible with my collection on windows media. I ended up giving it away to a family member. I tried years later with a nano and it made me dupe my whole collection from windows media to iTunes. Somehow it left a lot of missing songs in the process or randomly divided albums or artists into different catagories.

The only reason I still have iTunes  on the computer is to connect my phones.