8 Embarrassing Gadgets Everyone Loved ...

Photo Credit: rbatina

I have no idea why these ever existed. I was bought one from a distant aunt, who had holidayed in Atlantic City, and saw these everywhere. She said she knew I liked gadgets, and posted it to me. I was always quite scared of it. Ifthe songsweren’t bad enough (Mine sang ‘take me to a river’, and ‘don’t worry, be happy’) the jolty action of it moving was...mine was quickly relegated to the loft!

Photo Credit: gameyeeeahteam

I love my Bluetooth. Being able to instantly transfer documents to my partner was really convenient for me, so I was quick to invest in a Bluetooth headset. It wasn’t very stylish...it looked like an expensive pen selotaped to my face, and it looks like you are talking to yourself. The newer ones seem to be getting a bit better, but bigger, too, and look like part of a Borg costume. Sexy!

Photo Credit: aimal.styler

I got one of these. Again, it was a present. It was to be shared between me and mysisters. It was never unboxed. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be worth anything...ever! Despite a completely over the top launch ceremony in Regent Street, including performances by Sting, Jay Kay and Busta Rhymes, the device never took off, and was discontinued within a year.

Photo Credit: slworking2

I have no idea why these are cool. Maybe for people who don’t have their own internet, and need to hunt out wi-fi zones? Well, regardless, light upt shirts have never been cool. A small battery pack is hidden in a pocket in the t-shirt, lighting up various displays, which all scream attention-seeking-geek. Sorry guys, they just aren’t cool.

Photo Credit: Magic Photography

Sony excellently convinced Walkman owners that Mini Discs were the future of music, and managed to bag themselves a lot of money doing so! Mini Discs themselves looked cool, being smaller, and rainbow coloured. But then Apple came alone with it’sIpod, and the minidisc was never seen again...

Photo Credit: Garota Sem Fio

This was supposed to be an amazing hybrid gadget, and Nokia’s selling point. It claimed to mix all the components of a phonewith those of a games console, to make a brilliant portable phonegames thing. But, it didn’t work. The controls were clunky, and it couldn’t handle up to date technologies. So it died away quietly.

Photo Credit: martin.w1

An aunt bought one of these to my boyfriend, and insisted that he use it. I’m not even sure where she got it from...they come in many forms, from cars to hamburgers and crude naked women, and if you are really lucky, it’ll come with a matching mousemat! Needless to say, my boyfriend's got accidentally broken...

Photo Credit: Jussi J

Everyone had a soda stream. Acceptable in the 80’s, this appealed to children, who found the ability to make their own fizzy drinks amazing. Especially because you just needed water and a sachet of powder, which means never-ending soda...apart from that it tasted disgusting. And Soda Stream has just been relaunched, claiming to be the ‘green’ way todrink soda. Hmmm.

Whether you love them or hate them, gadgets come in hundreds of forms, and these eight really were popular. Or supposed to be! How many of them did you own? I owned a lot...But I own a lot of amazing gadgets, too, so I’ll let myself off! Do you remember owning an embarrassing gadget? Please tell me about it!

Top Photo Credit: Jaap Oostinjen