Category: Gadgets and Tech

Back in the day, miniature music players would have been laughed out of town – the size of your boom box was all that mattered. And now you can relive that era with this suitably old school iPod boom box.

But this 80s-style stereo isn’t all that it seems – it’s actually a DIY sound system, made of flat-packed cardboard, but with fully working speakers, a dock for your iPod and power from the included batteries.

Just like the real thing – only lighter and with more tunes. It retails for $45 (around £23).

Find out more at the Fred Flare website

Feeling nostalgic for the Sega Megadrive? Well, you can soon get one to carry around with you. As long as you’re in Brazil that is.

TecToy – a company local to that particular country – has done a deal with Sega to produce a portable Sega Megadrive, which should be on sale from December 5th. For a price that’s equivalent to £50, you can pick up the machine above pre-loaded with 20 Sega classics, including the likes of Ecco, Sonic & Knuckles, Alex Kidd and Golden Axe.

But there are downsides. For one, there’s no way of adding more games, so you’re stuck with the 20. And it is powered by 3x AAA batteries – which are unlikely to last long, so budget for that too. If that’s no drawback, these are likely to flood into the UK as imports in early 2008.

Find out more at the TecToy website

A couple of months back we featured the Targus CityLite bag and its op art looks. Well, there’s a new version on the market – the Targus CityLite Retro II laptop bag.

And there’s not much change apart from the design, with the op art circles ditched for a much smarter and stylish (for me anyway) retro-style check. On a more practical side, there’s room for a notebook up to 14.1 inches, padding for its safety and a detachable pouch for bits and pieces. There’s also a choice of handle or strap for carrying.

Expect to see it in the shops in the coming weeks, again priced around that £20 mark.

Find out more at the Targus website