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5款涅槃重生的经典科技产品

5款涅槃重生的经典科技产品

Chirs Morris 2017年05月07日
科技产品很容易迅速过时,但也有一些充满“情怀”的老产品重新焕发了生机。

 

 

 

伊士曼柯达公司是由乔治·伊士曼于1888年创立的,一直到创立100年后的1980年代,它依然是一家备受尊敬的公司,只是此时的柯达公司已经喊出了止住颓势重现辉煌的口号。1983年第一季度,该公司的营收入暴跌了83%。当时,新一代照相技术的出现,标志着柯达公司的掘墓人已经现身,很多消费者从此不再使用传统的相机胶片。虽然柯达早在1975年就发明了数码相机技术,但它一直不愿将该技术进行推广,生怕挖了自家胶片业务的墙角。然而市场最终还是在2009年彻底淘汰了已经74岁高龄的Kodacrome胶片品牌。仅仅三年后,一度无比强大的柯达公司也申请了破产保护。

但是,我们永远不要低估怀旧的力量。

不管是80年代老乐队的重组巡演,还是我们孩提时代最喜欢的儿童游戏,人们总是很容易被陪伴自己长大的事物所牵动,甚至连科技产品也不例外,也无怪这年头卖“情怀”的人这么多了。

很多人对这一点可能觉得不可理解,因为现在的科技产品实在更新得太快了,很多人一台手机用不到两年,就愉快地又买了一台新的。不过有些科技公司凭借别出心裁的改装,却让一些充满“情怀”的老产品重新焕发了生机。

下面就是几个值得介绍的例子:

拍立得

上世纪六十七年代的时候,你拿一个拍立得相机给人拍照,咔嚓一声就从相机里打印出一张照片来,简直是一件酷得不得了的事情。不过现在的数码照相机大都缺乏这个功能。拍立得早在2008年时就已是死而不僵,只能靠再次申请破产和暂时停产苟延一时。然而在情怀大军的千呼万唤下(加上聘请了Lady Gaga当品牌代言),拍立得竟然又重新焕发了一丝生机。现在,拍立得又推出了售价仅70美元的PIC-300相机,它在拍照后仅需4秒钟就可以打印出名片大小的照片。当然,你还得像过去那样购买专用的拍立得胶片。一盒双组胶片的售价是20美元,大约能拍20张照片。

手提音响

图中这种80年代美国嬉皮少年最爱的手提音响又回来了(当然它在国内从未远去,只要有广场舞的地方就有它的身影),这在很大程度上要感谢Monster Products公司。为了迎合新一代年轻人的口味,这款400美元的SuperStar Monster Blaster音箱内置了一枚超带感的低音炮,不仅能将声音传递给听众,还能将墙壁反弹的回声再反射回去,从而将声音填满整个房间。该音响有两种不同的声音模式,配有一个USB插口和一块可充电电池。另外它还可以通过蓝牙与手机或平板电脑进行连接。虽然这是一款主打情怀牌的产品,但它也没有傻缺到真的需要播放磁带或CD的地步。

索尼随身听

索尼当年之所以成为了一个家喻户晓的品牌,就是因为它发明了世界上第一款随身的音乐播放器。但自此之后,它的创新力度一直没有跟上去,从而为竞争对手留了一扇门,最终让智能手机成了这个领域的主宰。不过“随身听”这个名字至今还是很有杀伤力的,因此索尼也顺势推出了一款售价420美元的NW-A37HN 64GB随身听。不要因为这一串字母就觉得头大,它和当年的随身听已经完全不可同日而语。这款设备能够播放高清音频,更加迷你化的设计也能让用户全心沉浸在音乐中。

计算器手表

坦率地讲,我们认为上图这款卡西欧CA53W Databank手表跟80年代热卖的那几款没啥区别,然而它依然很受现今用户的喜爱。它的8位计算器功能只能做一些简单的加减乘除。跟它几十年前的老大哥比起来,它的优点在于体型比较轻薄,而且具备防水功能。虽然它的功能比不上苹果的Apple Watch,但和Apple Watch的269到1299美元的售价相比,它15美元的价格真是大大的良心价。

Super 8摄像机

在上世纪70年代,Super 8摄像机一直是J.J.艾布拉姆斯等知名电影人青眼有加的一种设备,也是当时家用摄影机的标杆。在去年的拉斯维加斯消费电子展上,柯达公司宣布将要复活这个风靡一时的品牌,只是这次要加入模拟和数字功能。不过该产品未能按期出货。今年,柯达公司再次展出了一款模型产品,它虽然使用了胶片摄影,但同时也搭载了一块LCD监视屏、一个SD卡槽(仅用于音频)以及一个用来连接大尺寸监视屏的HDMI接口。该产品目前仍无一个确切的上市日期,不过该公司此前曾暗示过,第一批产品(售价2,000美元)可能将在今年夏天前出货。随后推出的非专业版本的售价预计将有所降低。(财富中文网)

译者:朴成奎

Founded by George Eastman in 1888, Eastman Kodak was still greatly admired in the 80s, when it launched its rallying cry to recover from its struggling business. In the first quarter of 1983, the company announced a 73% decline in earnings. Consumers' shift away from cameras that used traditional film was the nail in the iconic company's coffin. Although Kodak invented digital camera technology back in 1975, it was hesitant to release the technology for fear of cannibalizing its film business. The market ultimately forced the company to retire its film brand Kodacrome in 2009, after a 74-year run. Three years later, the once-mighty company filed for Chapter 11. Photo: SSPL/Getty Images

classic technology

Never underestimate the power of nostalgia.

Whether it's reunion tours of 80's hair metal bands or favorite childhood games, people have a huge interest in the things they grew up with—even technology.

That might seem a little weird considering how disposable most of our gadgets are today. People keep smartphones for maybe two years before gleefully buying a newer model. But with a few tweaks, some tech companies have found ways to make old tech new again.

Here a few examples that are worth checking out.

Polaroid Instamatic Camera

During the 1960s and 70s, there was nothing cooler than being able to take photos and then immediately get prints of your shot. But today's digital cameras mostly lack that ability. Polaroid was thought to be all but dead in 2008 when it filed for bankruptcy for a second time and temporarily quit producing cameras, but a wave of nostalgia (and the hiring of Lady Gaga as the brand's face) brought it back. Today, the $70 Polaroid PIC-300 lets users take snapshots that they can print as business card sized photos within at least four seconds. You'll need to use special Polaroid film, just like the cameras of old. A two-pack of that film that will take 20 pictures will run you $20.

The Boombox

The iconic 80s audio staple is back, thanks in large part to Monster Products. The $400 SuperStar Monster Blaster has been rethought for the current generation with an integrated subwoofer, giving it a deep, rich sound that’s designed to not only aim audio directly at users, but also bounce the sound off of walls to fill the room. It comes with a pair of different sound modes, a USB charging slot, and, a rechargeable battery. It will pair with smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth, but it didn't go so far as to add an old-school cassette or CD player.

Sony Walkman

Sony built its reputation with the first portable music player, but it then failed to innovate—opening the door for competitors and eventually smart phones to dominate the scene. There's still power in the Walkman name, though, and Sony's hoping to capitalize on it with the $420 NW-A37HN 64GB Walkman. Don't let the alphabet soup product name put you on pause. The device offers high-resolution audio and a minimal design that lets you focus on the music.

Calculator Watch

Honestly, we don't see a tremendous difference between Casio's $15 CA53W Databank Watch and the models that were hot in the early 1980s. But they're still popular with users. The eight-digit calculator lets you add, subtract, multiply, and divide, but that's about it. It is a thinner, lighter model than its parent (or grandparent) and is water resistant. It may not have all the features of an Apple Watch, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the $269 to $1,299 those will run you.

Super 8 camera

The Super 8 camera has long been a favorite medium of filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams and was a standard for just about anyone who shot home movies in the 1970s. Last year at the annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, Kodak turned a lot of heads when it announced plans to revive the long dormant brand, this time merging analog and digital. The product failed to ship on schedule, but this year Kodak showed off a working prototype that used film, but also had an LCD monitor, a SD recording slot (for audio only) and an HDMI port that let people watch the footage on a large monitor. There's still no definitive date of availability, but the company has hinted that the first units, which will cost $2,000, will be out before summer. Later non-special edition models are expected to cost less.

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