This power bank is pure ’90s nostalgia
In the age of iPhones and smart watches, pagers are often seen as relics of the 1990s or dramatic props for doctors in shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER. But those looking to relive the glory days of the beeper may do so by stepping into the aisles of the MoMA Design Store and finding a power bank…
In the age of iPhones and smart watches, pagers are often seen as relics of the 1990s or dramatic props for doctors in shows like Grey’s Anatomy or ER.
But those looking to relive the glory days of the beeper may do so by stepping into the aisles of the MoMA Design Store and finding a power bank masquerading as the old-school gadget.
The Retro Beeper Portable Power Bank looks like a ’90s pager styled with a transparent case that reveals the object’s inner mechanics. Roughly the size of a credit card but thicker, the device is made of ABS and polycarbonate plastic, and can be attached to one’s belt or carried as a key chain.
Equipped with USB-C and USB-A ports, the battery can charge an iPhone 15 up to two times, or provide emergency juice to laptops or tablets. The screen displays the remaining charge on the device, which reaches full capacity after being plugged in for two hours. It retails for $60.
Despite being highly reliable to deliver short messages (believe it or not, there are still some holdouts who prefer pagers for this reason) the beeper has mostly become obsolete because of smartphones. But it hasn’t gone completely out of style, as the power bank’s form shows.
In addition to charging, the power bank can send and receive messages from other beeper power banks. Think of it as a tribute tosingle-function devices, with more personality than the minimalist devices we carry in our pockets today.
The messaging feature operates like a real beeper, using radio waves to send and receive text. It comes with 86 preset messages like “Hello!” and “Call me back” dialed into the devices. These messages can be sent to other Retro Beepers within range, which emit an audible beep when receiving a message.
The beeper arrives just as retro design continues its takeover, with customers craving turntables, cassettes, film cameras, and analog products.
At MoMA Design Store, the beeper is shelved in what could be called a retro tech section, next to small key chain-sized Kodak cameras and a Bluetooth-enabled boombox. For each product there are two customer types, according to MoMA’s merchandising director, Emmanuel Plat: one looking back at their past and another looking for a momentary way out of the present.
“There’s also a reaction to a culture today that is overly connected to technology and AI and so forth,” Plat says. “This goes back to something simpler where you press play and press rewind.”
Originally published by fastcompany.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Glamour Canada.
