Category: Gadgets and Tech

Looking for something quirky and childlike for playing your iPod (i)Tunes? Look no further than the Block Speaker Dock.

Not official Lego gear, but you can see what the makers were aiming at (and where they were influenced from) when they made the Block. Just slot your iPod into the top and the bass-heavy Block will pump out your favourite tunes, with volume and power controls cunningly built into the design. And if you have it in the mains (as opposed to battery power), you can even charge your player too.

Take your pick from black or white, both retailing for £39.99.

Find out more at the I Want One Of Those website

Bush is still making audio products, but none quite as interesting as this wall-mountable clock radio.

We don't need to tell you that this has been dragged kicking and screaming from the 1970s, that orange moulded casing says it all really. But that's not the star here – I love that large clock on the top, the still usable (just) radio and above all, the option to wall mount the thing. Shame it's not got mains power as well as battery, but you can't have everything.

If you want it, H is for Home is selling it, priced at £70.

Find out more at the H is for Home website

The death of the Polaroid camera has been greatly exaggerated – it's just moved from the high street to more niche retailers, selling everything from the classic to the quirky – and the Polaroid 600 One Classic certainly belongs to that first group.

It's a modern update of the classic Polaroid camera, but still looking very much 'of an age'. It opens as and when you need it (to protect both the flash and lens), producing instant images using the Polaroid 600 colour film (still widely available to buy). There's also a focus-free lens, built-in auto flash and an LCD screen showing how many images you've got left.

Available from the Polapremium website, you can pick one up for £65.

Find out more at the Polapremium website

If you are content with just FM and MW radio stations, then the Dixie Retro Radio looks good for very little money.

It is made by Steepletone who do quite a lot of these retro designs, this one being based on a 1960s style. It is black with silver trims, features a large white LED analogue display and a large rotary On / Off volume control knob. There is also a pink version available but that looks far too much like a Barbie accessory.

The Dixie radio costs just under £20 from Just Click Radios.

We featured this some time back when it was just a prototype, but now the Jonas Damon 2B Vacuum Tube Radio is available to buy as a limited edition.

Beneath that retro-styled casing is something distinctly vintage – vacuum tubes – which promise that 'big, warm, radiant sound' you'll not hear from your average modern-day radio. You can even take the back off and watch those valves in action too.

There's a choice of AM and FM bands, with a total output of around 8.5w and connectivity for your iPod or MP3 player. Check out the full technical spec over at the website, then brace yourself for the price – a hefty $550 (which is around £372).

Find out more at the Design Public website