As the chief executive of the online electronics retailer ALshop.com, Sheriff Rizwan rarely makes house calls to personally thank his customers.
But for one long-time shopper in Dubai, he gladly made an exception.
While walking through his customer's villa, Mr Rizwan was shown a collection of gadgets including various generations of iPads, iPhones and iPods, as well as older classics from Apple such as desktop computers adorned with a colourful logo used only between 1976 and 1998.
It came as little surprise, then, when the same customer asked Mr Rizwan to find another item to add to his personal high-tech museum: an Atari videogame console dating back to the 1980s.
"Very, very niche collectors associate themselves with those kinds of designs and products that have some sentimental meaning," says Mr Rizwan. "When you compare an Atari to a PS3, you are comparing a Toyota to a Rolls-Royce."
Turns out those classic Toyotas of techland can be just as profitable as a shiny new Roller.
About two years ago, a man from the United States sold a copy of Air Raid for an Atari 2600 gaming console via eBay for US$31,600 (Dh116,065) - the second-highest price at that time for a videogame.
Although analysts admit it is difficult to accurately track the sales of old gadgets through auctions or speciality sites, there are plenty of shoppers these days who are buying new accessories and devices intentionally designed with retro themes.
This has helped to fuel growth of the electronics industry to US$4.3 billion (Dh15.79bn) globally by 2015, according to a sector forecast by Business Monitor International.
"Retro as a theme has existed and has been popular from time to time with a number of different products, from hats, jeans to cars and motorcycles," says Omar Kassim, the founder of the online electronics retailer JadoPado. "I think it's a great theme for gadgets, if the accessories are of the right quality, style and are targeted to the right audience.
"The retro-theme is also an interesting one for individuals from older generations who are just getting into newer technology products and may want to re-experience the good ol' days."
So, just how old school are some of these products?
Last month, Philips announced it would be releasing a radio inspired by its Philetta design from the 1950s, complete with its boxy body constructed of premium-wood casing and two aluminium knobs to control the volume and music playback.
But to make sure the updated model is "versatile" enough for today's customers, Philips has also added a digital radio feature plus docking station that can pull music from either an iPhone or iPod.
Quirkier gizmos seem to be all the rage in this sub-sector.
One public relations professional in Dubai picked the Moshi Moshi vintage phone handset as his favourite. The big selling point on this Dh179 accessory, which has been sold through Virgin Megastores in Dubai, is that its long, curly cord connects into a modern-day smartphone.
Other contraptions, which have yet to be sold en masse or priced for consumers, include a typewriter that can hold Apple's precious iPad as users tap or bang directly on to the screen while producing words in painfully slow motion.
Even the Furby, which debuted 14 years ago but went on to sell more than 40 million models, has been brought back with a new twist. The latest version, out this autumn for $60, includes the same bug-eyed, big-eared look and also features more touch sensors. It can interact via an app for the iPad.
Part of the reason for the interest in resurrecting certain gadgets from the digital graveyard is that many consumers upgrade devices much more quickly these days, unlike in the past.
"Decades ago we didn't have options to play with anything other than an Atari or Nintendo but fast-forward 15 years down the line - if we're having kids today they really get bored after a few months," says Mr Rizwan.
Nintendo's earlier gaming consoles did stay in the market years longer than more recent offerings from the same company. And data released in the summer from the analytics firm Flurry showed tablets and smartphones are being adopted 10 times faster than PCs were back in the 1980s.
Another reason companies are making what was once old new again comes down to shoppers wanting to customise their gadgets with certain extras that feature a vintage look.
"The bigger trend is people accessorising their devices," says Ben Arnold, the director of industry analysis at the research firm NPD Group.
Sales of mobile accessories increased 32 per cent during the first half of this year in the US compared to the same period last year, while the average price point for these products has climbed 25 per cent during that time, according to the NPD Group.
Cases for phones proved to be the most popular accessories category, with a 69 per cent increase in one year, followed by headphones with microphones at 67 per cent growth.
Next month at Gitex, the huge technology exhibition in Dubai, I-mego, a company from Hong Kong, is set to display retro-themed headphones.
Its Throne and Throne Cambo series, which retail for about $129 each, invoke the same look as vintage microphones into which jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald used to croon.
Fast-forward musical eras to the age of the cassette tape and that same design now appears on multiple covers for smartphones, with some versions running to as much as $100 each via Amazon.com.
"How many hundreds of black iPhone cases are there in the market?" says Mr Arnold.
"I've seen GameBoy covers, cassette tape covers - I think it helps differentiate and people stand out," he adds.
"But I think there's probably the case of how everything that's old is new again."
business@thenational.ae
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Company%20Profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
BLACKBERRY
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Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Company%20Profile
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