New and Classic

A new product category nearly always starts off with something that looks rather clunky. At least that's how we see it when we look back. Examples are radios, mobile music players and TVs.

 

I remember seeing radio receivers similar to these when I was younger. The one on the right is very similar to a radio my parents had. The one on the left resembles a radio my grandparents had. It had a mighty sound and took some time to warm up before there was any sound coming out of it.

A radio nowadays looks either similar or very different from those above. There seems to be a keen interest in old-style radios as well as new shapes like this one:

 

Then there are products that aren't radios, but speakers that you connect your iPhone to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Here's a comfy one with built-in sub-woofer:

But what's a radio compared to a Smartphone. It's just one of a Smartphone's functions. Smartphone is what you use now to listen to music. They do have a problem though that doesn't seem to be going away. Gadget makers know that and are happy to oblige. A power pack or two, or three, is what we need:

Those are available in many shapes and colors. The red one is an Ironman suitcase power pack. Things aren't like they used to and when it comes to gadgets, I think 2014 easily beats, say 1964. Anyway there is a lot more to choose from nowadays.