January 29, 2010: Cultural industries, Friday FTW

Friday FTW: Forget your stupid iPad. Radio Canada’s the gadget we want

Toronto-based beautiful-tchotchke makers Science + Sons have a proposal for the legions of CBC-only listeners out there: a radio that only tunes into Radio One and Two. The Canadian Design Resource blog seems to have caught this first:

Obviously inspired by the CBC’s iconic logo, Radio Canada also pays homage to the national broadcaster’s dedicated listening audience. With a tuner hidden on the bottom of the radio, users can preset their local CBC stations. Once programmed, the radio’s oversized toggle switch flips between Radio One and Radio Two – because what else do you need? [...] Appropriately, the case itself is constructed from maple and aluminum, which are both local and loaded with national narrative. Conceived from the ground up to cater to a niche audience, this design is a direct challenge to the prevailing trend of mass-appeal-products.

Now, of course, Radio Two isn’t what it used to be. But still, this is a home-grown piece of beautiful design that simultaneously allows you to show off your cultural bona fides. And when that CBC personality you love to hate — everyone has one! — comes on, you can plug in your mp3 player and drown out  the babble. It’s still just a prototype, but you can sign up for Science + Sons’ mailing list and they’ll email you when it goes on sale.

[Hat tips: Mondoville, Sarah Barmak]