Just in the days when the Walkman's 40th anniversary is celebrated, a device is making its debut, combining the nostalgic attraction of music tapes with the comfort of Bluetooth cable listening. It is called IT'S OK and is financed by an internet crowdfunding campaign that starts on the Kickstarter platform today.
NINM Lab, Hong Kong startup seems to have a true enthusiasm for vintage technology to suggest it. He launched theI'M FINE disposable camera in the past and Instant Magny 35, a small printer to be directly connected to the camera in a couple of seconds to get an instant copy of the shots.
At this stage, IT'S OK can be purchased at a price of around EUR 57, with the delivery of the first units scheduled for the month of December if the funding campaign is successful. About a quarter of the required amount has already been collected in just a few hours.
As already stated, the reader integrates a Bluetooth 5.0 module capable of transmitting the audio signal to headphones or wireless speakers. You can also depend on the more traditional 3.5 mm jack. The controls are those that are well remembered by those with more than a few springs behind them and with a pinch of nostalgia: Play, Stop, FF, RW. There is also the Rec button for recording the voice with the integrated microphone.
No lithium rechargeable batteries, clearly it operates with batteries, it requires two AA batteries. The sizes are 18x84x33.5 mm, about 150 grams of weight. There are three colors available: Sakura (pink), Cloud (white) and Evening (blue). In any case, the cover is transparent, so you can show everyone what you hear.
A item of this sort has the ability to take on nostalgics in the era of streaming: online stores have returned to include dedicated cassettes and readers in their catalogue, with sales amounts not even imaginable until a few years ago. It's the fascination of ancient style techniques, the same thing that has brought vinyls back to fashion lately, even though in this situation a sound experience is acknowledged at 33 and 45 rpm that digital can sometimes compromise.