Have you heard of the Playbutton? Until now, neither had we. The play button, or play ‘badge’, as they’d be known in the UK, is a new concept that harks to the old analogue days of tapes and VHS, but in a technologically advanced, badge setting.
Essentially, think of an Apple iPod Nano, (e.g. tiny, portable
music device with headphones attached) but with an attractive design /
image on the front and you have the Playbutton. (www.playbutton.co). The first slide offers ‘Why just play a record when you can wear it too?’
The throwback to the analogue age comes because the sequence on
the badge can’t be altered or changed, like an album. You can however
skip forwards and backwards, but it’s strange to us at BIG that it’s not
a fully digital solution. Controlling your play button music is easy,
with simple buttons located on the back of the badge.
The ‘PLAYBUTTON’ measures 4.5 centimetres in diameter and 0.7
centimetres in thickness. It weighs 10.8 grams. Unfortunately, there’s
nothing on the site about getting one aside from emailing them… Could
make a novel present or gift, especially for an artist or musician!
Closing thought - How about taking this a step further, and
printing QR codes on the 'badge' part, therefore selecting the music
based on the QR code... Hmmm...