retro design
retro design at Spoot: Spotted Early is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “Fiat stuffs four into an electric microcar shorter than a Mini”, “Kevin Noki's 3D-printed brick phone is a Bluetooth handset for the distraction-proof”, and “Nothing Ear 1 dips to a whisper while October deals circle the drain”. Four bodies, one tiny box, and a lineage that goes straight back to 1956. Nineteen physical keys, a slab of 3D-printed plastic, and the audacity to make you hang up on your own century. Spoot: Spotted Early New things, caught while they're still new and a little weird. Spoot finds fresh gadgets, clever inventions, crowdfunding campaigns,… The list below is every retro design story on Spoot: Spotted Early, newest first.
Fiat stuffs four into an electric microcar shorter than a Mini
Four bodies, one tiny box, and a lineage that goes straight back to 1956. Fiat's new Multipla-inspired electric concept, the Multiplina, squeezes four seats into a body barely ten feet long, shorter than a Mini, retro in every curve, and utterly Italian in its refusal to accept that small means impractical. The original 600 Multipla was a miracle of packaging, and this thing clearly studied the old blueprints. It's an electric microcar that doesn't apologize for being small; it dares you to question why bigger ever became the default. I love the audacity. Will it actually happen? Concept cars are slippery things, but this one feels like it *wants* to exist. If you're hungry for more clever space experiments, Kevin Noki's 3D-printed brick phone proves that compact doesn't have to mean boring either.
Kevin Noki's 3D-printed brick phone is a Bluetooth handset for the distraction-proof
Nineteen physical keys, a slab of 3D-printed plastic, and the audacity to make you hang up on your own century. Kevin Noki has recreated the 1980s brick phone as a Bluetooth handset for the distraction-proof, a chunky, tactile middle finger to the infinite scroll. It pairs with your iPhone but gives you nothing to stare at. No screen. No notifications. Just the pure, almost forgotten act of answering a call and hanging up when you're done. The keys are real. The weight is probably absurd. And that's the whole point. Noki isn't selling a gadget; he's selling a permission slip to be unreachable for a few minutes.
Nothing Ear 1 dips to a whisper while October deals circle the drain
October deals are circling the drain, and Nothing's first over-ear headphones are whispering from the discount bin. The Nothing Ear 1, sorry, *Headphone 1*, drops to $189 at Amazon, which is $110 off a $299 launch price that always felt a little ambitious for a first-gen product. But that retro transparent design? Still gets me. Active noise cancellation, spatial audio with head tracking, plush pads, and a paddle button that lets you flick through tracks without fishing for your phone. It's a lot of personality for under two bills. The question, as always with Nothing: does the polish match the panache? At this price, the answer gets easier. Also worth a peek at our "Prime Day's cheap seat" roundup if you're hunting for deals that don't demand a Prime subscription.