Page 62 - 153 varsity ebook

60 / Varsity's Choice

One of a Kind Cassette Player

NINM Lab kickstarted the world’s first cassette player which is compatible with Bluetooth
5.0 headphones or speakers.
By Emilie Lui

owadays, music streaming OKAY”, hoping to establish a dialogue people to display their tapes while lis-
services make it easy for us to with users and remind them that tening to them, just like when people
Nget access to almost any song, when we are saying “It’s okay” to our share songs they are listening to on
anywhere and at any time. However, friends, there may be possibilities that Instagram.
cassette tapes have made a comeback we are actually not. NINM Lab thinks In fact, they have encountered
in a wave of nostalgia. that music has accompanied people in some difficulties in finding a manufac-
Sales of cassette tapes have seen an times of happiness and healed them turer. Cat Ong, another member from
upsurge in recent years when a mix- in times of sadness so the launch of NINM Lab, explains, “The greatest
tape was shown on-screen in Marvel’s IT’S OK Bluetooth 5.0 cassette player obstacle was finding a supplier since
Guardians of the Galaxy film. The ap- brings a new perspective to the ro- compact cassette technology had 40
pearance of cassette tapes can also be manticism of the 80s cassette player. years of history. Production of cassette
found in a popular Netflix’s TV pro- Apart from taking an emotional players declined in the 90s when com-
gramme, Stranger Things. Some for- approach, the design studio also fo- pact discs were introduced. Indeed,
eign singers such as Justin Bieber and cuses on the design of the cassette the production of Sony Walkman has
Ariana Grande have also published player. They have found that cassette been ceased for 10 years. So, there are
their album in cassette format. This tape collectors are not necessarily not many factories that still produce
shows the antiquated device is gain- music lovers but people who love aes- cassette players.” Eventually, they
ing popularity again in this digital age. thetic goods. “Some people may think found a factory that has 30 years of
NINM Lab has launched a Kick- that CDs could be replaced by music experience in manufacturing cassette
starter project, which is a Bluetooth streaming services. However, cassette players to support their production.
5.0 cassette player, giving the music tapes or vinyl records are special and Despite having obstacles in launch-
device a brand-new appearance. The tangible products that encourage ing the cassette player, NINM Lab has
merging of Bluetooth and convention- people to purchase them even if they successfully raised $648, 205 with 978
al audio technology from 40 years ago know they are not going to listen to backers on Kickstarter. The first batch
makes the tape player stand out from the songs.” They believe that the de- of products will be delivered to their
other similar devices. sign of cassette tapes is one of the rea- customers by the end of 2019.
However, the design studio is not sons for its growing popularity in the If you want to know more about
only selling the features of the cassette digital era. the ITS OKAY Cassette Player, you
player. Sanami Kwok, who works on Having noticed the increased de- may pre-order on their website or visit
public relations and marketing for mand for an aesthetically pleasing their Facebook page for more details.
NINM Lab, says, “We won’t empha- music player, NINM Lab has decided
sise that our product is more techno- to recreate an affordable device for Edited by Lily Yu
logically advanced. Instead, we take cassette tape collectors, providing
an emotional approach and relate customers with a way to appreciate
the products to one’s mood.” The Lab their cassette tapes apart from shelv-
has named the cassette player “IT’S ing them. Its transparent case allows