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These days, it’s more common in homes to have a smart speaker over a radio, a streaming stick instead of a DVD player, and a video doorbell in place of a bell-and-chime doorbell. Yes, smart gadgets have taken over most households, bringing with them a whole new level of convenience and improved quality of life.

But while these fancy modern gadgets are impressive in their own right, there’s no denying that retro gadgets still have a certain unexplainable allure. These devices were once household staples and proved incredibly useful in people’s day-to-day lives. For instance, cassette players ensured you could play your music anywhere, and film cameras let you practice more thoughtful photography due to their limited number of shots.

Although many retro gadgets have been phased out, there are still a couple ones out there available for purchase — some of which have been refreshed with a modern twist. If you’re looking to introduce some retro vibes into your living space, here are five of the practical retro gadgets you can get straight from Amazon.

Before TVs and an WiFi became household staples, radios were everyone’s source of entertainment and news. They were pretty much everywhere. Radio stations are still very much alive these days, but you’ll usually use your phone to hop on their website, social media page, or app unless you’re in a car listening. If you prefer to have a dedicated device for tuning into your favorite radio stations, check out Audiocrazy Vintage Wooden AM FM Bluetooth Radio from Amazon. 

From the outside, it looks like a vintage radio, complete with dials, speaker grilles, and antenna. It’s even made out of real wood grain to add to the aesthetic. But these aren’t mere embellishment — this retro radio actually works like one. To use it, just plug it into a wall outlet, rotate the volume knob to turn it on, and then choose between AM, FM, and Bluetooth to twist the function knob to. For Bluetooth (which offers Bluetooth 5.0), the pilot lamp will change to blue, and you should be able to pair it with your phone. If you turn to either FM or AM, you’ll notice the frequency scale glow amber. You can then rotate the tuning dial to go to your preferred radio station. The Audiocrazy Radio supports FM stations between 87 to 108 MHz and AM stations between 520 to 1710KHz. Once you’re set, you can adjust the bass and volume with the respective knobs. 

Other than its radio and Bluetooth capabilities, this Audiocrazy Radio also features an AUX IN and headphone jack. The AUX IN port allows you to connect line-in input like phones and laptops, while the headphone jack supports any 3.5mm headphones for private listening. 

The alarm clock is probably the most annoying part of your morning. However, it’s also useful, especially when you have a busy day ahead. Normally, you’d use your phone to set an alarm, but this isn’t the most reliable. It can die in the middle of the night, your Android or iPhone alarm won’t go off due to some glitch, or you’re tempted to hit the snooze button. Instead of relying on your mobile, an old-school analog alarm clock could be better. One top-rated choice you’ll find on Amazon is the Peakeep Analog Alarm Clock.

It follows the design of early alarm clocks with a metal body, from the frame and hands to the bells and hammer. On the inside, it runs on a single AA battery that powers its silent quartz movement. This makes the Peakeep Alarm Clock quieter than rustling leaves and promotes better sleep.

But more than being silent aside from the alarm, the clock is conveniently easy to operate too. It comes with two knobs at the back: one has a clock hands icon for adjusting the time and the other has a bell icon for setting the alarm. Once configured, the clock will ring every day right on schedule. It blasts an intense 100dB sound to jolt you awake. And unlike phone alarms that stop after just a few minutes, this alarm clock keeps blaring for 50 minutes until you manually stop it. It also doesn’t have any snooze knobs. So if you’re a heavy sleeper, it’s best to place the clock a few feet from the bed to force you to get up and start the day.

When computers took over word processing, typewriters became obsolete due to their inconvenience. But in hindsight, they have one real upside: no distractions. All you see in front of you are the keyboard and paper, so you’re forced to focus on writing. If you find yourself wasting hours distracted on your computer, then it might be time to bring back typewriters. Amazon offers one with a modern twist in the form of the Freewrite Traveler Portable Typewriter. 

The Freewrite Traveler might not look retro on the outside, but it’s vintage at its core as it draws inspiration from the typewriters of yesteryear. Design-wise, it looks like half a laptop. It measures 11.3 by 5 inches, is under an inch thick, and weighs 1.6 lbs. This sleek profile still managed to pack in a lot, though. It comes with a full-size tactile keyboard, six-inch screen, and a couple of control buttons. The keyboard can be set to one of over 85 variants and supports more than 60 supported languages. The screen, on the other hand, is e-ink instead of the regular LCD to give it a printed paper vibe. It also makes it more comfortable to look at, whether you’re inside or outdoors. 

Just like an old-fashioned typewriter, the Freewrite Traveler has no internet, distracting notifications, email, or social media apps. All you can do with it is write drafts. These drafts then sync to your Google Drive, Dropbox, or Evernote account in real-time, as long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi. The drafts are also stored locally in the Traveler’s internal memory, which is capable of retaining as many as a million words. In terms of battery life, a single charge can last you a up to four weeks. 

More often than not, the type of speaker you’ll see in people’s homes is either a Bluetooth speaker or a smart one. That isn’t surprising, given how they’re widely available both in-store and online, work with all sorts of inputs, and can come in the tiniest of forms for on-the-go use. But if you’re feeling nostalgic or want to add a touch of retro feel in your living space, the Cotsoco Vinyl Record Player from Amazon might just fit right in. 

This turntable is among the cheap gadgets that belong in every audiophile’s home. It’s a functional vinyl player, which supports records with 7″, 10″, or 12″ sizes and can be set to 33-1/3, 45, or 78 rpm listening speeds. You don’t necessarily need a vinyl record to use this player, though. That’s because it also works perfectly fine as Bluetooth speaker. Connect it your phone, tablet, or laptop and play your music wirelessly.

But the speaker does support wired connections for both input and output as well. At the back, you’ll find an AUX IN port to connect the vinyl player to your input of choice (e.g., phone, laptop) and RCA jack to plug it into an external speaker, amplifier, or subwoofer for better audio. There’s even a headphone jack in front if you want to listen to your music privately. Unfortunately, the vinyl player needs to be powered from a wall outlet, so you can’t take it anywhere like any Bluetooth speaker. But when not in use, it can serve as a nice decorative piece at home. It’s especially eye-catching with its retro-inspired wood-like exterior, a woven fabric speaker grille, and vinyl player parts like stylus and platter. Just close the dust cover to keep it clean.

Smartwatches are like Swiss Army knives. Beyond telling time, they can measure your heart rate, receive calls, and control music playback with a tap. But decades before smartwatches came to be, there was one nifty gadget that allowed you to multitask right on your wrist — a Casio watch with a built-in calculator. The first model, the C-80, was released in 1980. It initially sported a basic arithmetic calculator for up to eight digits and was upgraded over time. Today, you can still buy yourself a Casio calculator watch from Amazon for your everyday use. 

The Casio CA53W Vintage Series is an alternative to smartwatches if you feel like they’re an overkill for your needs. This model includes several handy numeric utility tools. Right up front is the calculator, which lets you perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of up to eight digits. The watch also doubles as a stopwatch with 1/100-second precision. When in use, you can set it to one of three modes: split time recording, total elapsed time recording, and dual stop to get the first and second-place times. It can also serve as an alarm.  

As for timekeeping itself, the Casio CA53W comes complete with dual time zones, a 12- or 24-hour format, and an auto calendar. Simply press the divide button to see the current date, including with the day of the week. When you release the divide button, the clock face will return to the regular digital clock, but with the day of the week still visible at the top. Durability-wise, this Casio watch is built to be resistant to water splashes (but not water immersion!). It’s powered by a CR2016 battery, expected to last roughly five years.

The Amazon products we recommended on this list checked three key criteria: retro feel or functionality, everyday usefulness, and good customer reviews. Each item should be retro, whether that means designed to like a retro gadget or work like one. They should also serve some practical use around the house. And finally, the products must be rated with at least four stars on Amazon.