All types of different gadgets enter and leave our lives. Some stay for years and are cherished well past their prime. Others we lose, whether sold off in our youthful ignorance or lost in some other equally tragic way.
Last month we asked all of you about the gadgets that you miss the most, and answers ranged from decades old video game handhelds to Walkmans to ancient Apple products and yes, even a Blackberry or two. Here’s some of the highlights from that army of gadgets we’re sad to have left behind.
Commodore 64
My father bought that computer for me and I would spend hours with every program I could get my hands on…even some text based adventure games….Zork III anyone? My best friend and I would play a single player game cooperatively, called Elite…was a vector 3D (ish) space shooter….was so much fun… Ah memories…
via clarksbrother
NW-MS7 Memory Stick Walkman
IMO – ahead of its time and a wonderful piece of tech. Went with me EVERYWHERE. My locker got cut open during gym class in high school and it and my wallet was nabbed from me years before it should have gone by the wayside.
via shirosake
In addition the Sony MW-10 Walkman and Sony MiniDisc Walkman were also dearly missed.
Wildfire Handheld
Same here, camping as a little kid also this was my favourite to bring along going across the prairies in Alberta & Saskatchewan…I sold it when I grew up & wish I hadn’t.
via Hifrequency
Apple II
My “Woz edition” Apple IIGS. There were probably plenty of them produced, so it’s not really a collector’s edition, but considering how much geek credit Wozniak has today, there would be something cool about having it still.
via Jimothy
Tons of mentions of the Apple IIc and the Apple IIe as well.
Nintendo Game & Watch
I should have taken better care of my Mario’s Cement Factory instead of letting the neighbour kids play with it and eventually lose it.
via Mihai Pruna
I had this one. It was a gift from my dad who wasn’t around very much so it sucked that much more when it disappeared
via Cavey
Big Trak
The axles were known to break. Sad day when they broke. The best news is my son and I are basically recreating it with Arduino now.
via Moetop
Atari 2600 VCS
When I was a kid, I had an Atari 2600 VCS, which I disassembled when I was 16 and eager to know everything about electronics. Now I regret that so much. My hands still tremble and my eyes go watery as I type this. My 2600, noooo!! How could I do that!?
Note: Yes, the annoying kid in that commercial is Seth Green.
Apple Newton MessagePad 2000
For my final two years of seminaryI took every single note in every single class on that Newton, comfortably from wherever I wanted to sit while students with laptops maneuvered for the few electric outlets in a 150 year-old lecture hall….That bad boy continued to work for me for another three months until it developed an intermittent power problem, and finally went to geek heaven in January 2000.
via Pete Zaah
Blackberry Pearl
Bottom line was Blackberry was in its prime, the trackball was a huge leap in innovation, the curve was all the rage, and then boom. The Pearl came out. I pull it out every now and then and consider what life would be like to go simple tech (per se) in just using this for email and lite browsing. Of course then I get the itch to watch some video and that dissipates quickly, and the phone goes back in the box… RIP little pearl.
via Naro27
Cybiko
Waaay ahead of its time. Around 5 or so years before smartphones were a thing. Very few people used them, but I thought I was very cool having one. Tons of apps and games (and a crummy doom clone).
via 89340
Fairchild VES
I remember when my dad brought home the Fairchild VES and set it up on our big 19″ console TV the basement. He didn’t tell anyone, just started playing with it on his own (which til this days astounds everyone as he is still hopeless with electronics). Man did that thing dazzle us.
via crackblind
Motorola E815
I’ve had many gadgets come and go, but the one I miss the most is probably my Motorola E815. It was my last “dumb” phone, but was far from dumb…It was a beastly lil’ guy, and I miss it the most due to its untimely death.
via David
Zune 120
Compared to the iPod classic (it’s obvious contender) it had a bigger screen, a more intuitive input method (for me), and a vastly superior clean headphone output. It died on me 2 years ago.
via vixducis
Mattel Sports Handhelds
All Mattel Electronics sports handhelds. I left them behind when I went to college, never did hook up with them again.
via rraattbbooyyy
Arcades…Just Arcades
The regular old video arcade. When I was in college in the late 90’s you could still find them everywhere, malls, stand-alone ones, even the student center. I took my family to an amusement park last week and the only games they had were a motorcycle one, whatever passes for “cruzin USA” now and maybe Buck Hunter or whatever. And the “beercade” places don’t count, since I can’t take my kids there.
via MannyBones