Category: Gadgets and Tech

Velvet Idole does a nice line in high-end laptop and gadget cases, a mix of the plain and the quirky, the latter including the eye-catching Velvet Invadors MacBook case range.

There’s a choice of two colour schemes for the invaders on the inside of the case – light blue and black on Velvet Invadors I and orange, blue and black on Velvet Invadors II. Aside from that, both are the same, available for most MacBook and PowerBook machines, with the outer case made from a fine, black calf leather.

And all sizes are priced the same – available online for 75 Euros.

Find out more at the Velvet Idole website

Via Switched On Set

Completely by accident, I stumbled upon the Voigtlander website, seeing a range of pretty uninspiring digital cameras, alongside some very stylish 35mm SLR models – including this Voigtlander Bessa R2M.

It’s an anniversary model from a German company that’s been around for over 200 years, packing the looks you might expect from a camera of the 1950s or 60s. Whether it’s good for you depends on our ability to deal with film (no memory cards here) and the camera’s specification – check the website for the full breakdown, I’m not qualified to make a valued judgement.

If you like it, prepare to dig deep – the body sells for 999 Euros.

Find out more at the Voigtlander website

Embracing new technology whilst maintaining the retro look of your home can be tricky, especially where televisions are concerned. Plasma televisions might offer better picture quality but they lack the charm of the Keracolor or Alphelion TV sets. But the Vision Swivel Plasma TV stand might provide a good compromise.

Designed by Gino Carollo for Bonaldo, the stand houses the boring modern screen within the infinitely more pleasing space age surround. Also available in black or chrome, the white lacquer finish is probably the best.

This product is not cheap – in fact it probably costs more than your television, but it is currently available at a slight discount from Pink Apple Designs.

At first glance, the Revo Blik looks just like the radio alarm clock you probably had by the bed in the 1980s. Inded you might still have something similar. But beneath those throwback looks is a cutting edge piece of bedside technology.

The Revo Blik offers it all – DAB radio, internet radio (around 5,000 stations), even good old FM radio. And you can wake up to any of them. Even better, you can stream your digital files (like your MP3s) from your PC or Mac to the Blik. And you can plug in your iPod and use it as a speaker and control the whole thing via a remote control.

Which makes the Blik a rather smart little item. You can pick one up from Colloco in black or white, priced at £99.95.

Find out more at the Colloco website