5 Cool '90s-Inspired Gadgets You Can Find On Amazon

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The technology of the 1990s, in many ways, came to define the decade. It became enmeshed in the culture, with Blockbuster Video stores acting as both hangout spots and primary access to movies and video games. Tech also began to shrink down into devices capable of fitting into backpacks and pockets. Smaller tech like Game Boys and Tamagotchis aren't yet the kind of retro gadgets your grandpa might have, but eventually the '90s will be far enough behind us for that to be the case.

But as always, technology moves forward, and devices like portable CD players gave way to MP3 players. Laptops even emerged as computing options that were far more capable than the desktop PCs of the 1990s. But there has been a wave of nostalgia lately, with some disillusionment with modern tech sparking interest in both gadgets inspired by the 1980s as well as gadgets that throw back to the 1990s in one way or another.

Amazon, of course, has a massive amount of inventory, and among it can be found a lot of tech gadgets that have a '90s feel to them. We've sorted through the best of them and have handpicked a number of gadgets we feel belong with the '90s kid that still lives in all of us. So, whether you were alive in the 1990s and want to reconnect with those times or simply want to find some different ways to tap into the '90s vibe, let's explore some gadgets the Amazon shelves have to offer.

While the portable CD player first hit the scene in the 1980s, the Sony Discman is one legendary gadget that was born in the '90s. Its rise came with improvements in anti-skip technology, allowing CDs to play cleanly even when the player was on your lap or tucked away into a backpack while you walked. Even though music has become mostly digitized, the Greadio Discman portable music player is a great way to listen to music in a variety of formats.

It's a modern take on the Discman portable CD player, as it supports both MP3 CDs and traditional audio CDs. Unlike portable CD players of the 1990s, this device has a built-in rechargeable battery. This upgrade is likely to be a hit with those who remember having to track down a set of AAs every time they ran their Discman dry. The battery lasts up to 11 hours between charges, and an included AUX cable allows you to connect it to your car stereo or other external speakers.

However, this gadget isn't likely to completely replace your smartphone or other music player. Some 1990s tech fell away for a reason, and for many, a portable CD player may be an inconvenience. But it is a realistic device for those who want to own their music libraries rather than rely on streaming services. Those who do have their own music library can burn CDs in the vein of old mixtapes to enjoy on demand ... and on the go, thanks to the Greadio, available for $40 on Amazon.

Pokémon was a 1990s cultural explosion, and while the card games, Game Boy games, and animated TV show didn't reach the United States until 1998, each played a major role in how the decade is remembered. For those who spent their afternoons trying to "catch 'em all," eKids has captured some of that nostalgia with its Pokémon Pokéball Bluetooth speaker.

While it isn't going to rank among the best Bluetooth speaker brands, eKids makes a quality Bluetooth speaker that somewhat resembles the popular Amazon Echo Dot. Made to look like a Pokémon Pokéball, it shouldn't be confused for a toy. eKids has included speakerphone functionality, and the device can connect to smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices with Bluetooth compatibility. It also has a USB-C port that can be used for charging, with the speaker lasting up to 10 hours between charges.

The eKids Pokémon Pokéball speaker isn't fully a toy, nor is it fully a smart home device. It's not meant to integrate with other devices like the Echo Dot and other smart speakers are capable of. But it's also priced at just $25, which is relatively inexpensive for a Bluetooth speaker that delivers good audio playback, connectivity with numerous device types, and some desktop flair of 1990s nostalgia.

Gaming handhelds are among the retro gadgets that are making a comeback, and the 1990s saw portable gaming rise to a new level. Nintendo's Game Boy game library grew throughout the decade, and devices like the Sega Game Gear also influenced gamers of the day. Amazon has a lot of different options for those seeking a way to access retro video games, but the Xiskt retro gaming handheld console is one of the most affordable.

The gaming gadget is priced at just $19 and comes in five different color options. It has a three-inch LCD color display and very closely resembles both the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color. It comes with 400 video games preinstalled, all of them categorized as either casual, puzzle, shooting, or sports games. The console even comes with a built-in battery, preventing the need to swap out batteries like portable gaming consoles of the 1990s required.

One thing to know before purchasing this gadget is that nowhere is it listed which games are preinstalled. Verified purchasers at Amazon have provided photos that show titles like Dr. Mario, Contra, and even Super Mario Bros. 3 on the console's display. But Xiskt doesn't make claims about such titles being available, so there's no definitive way to know which games are among the 400 that come preinstalled on the console without firing it up yourself.

It was commonplace to find Tetris preinstalled on PCs and other gaming devices in the 1990s. It was paired with the Game Boy when the device first hit the market, making it a staple of portable gaming from the outset. The My Play Tetris smartwatch is a nice combination of the 1990s craze with modern technology. It's a fully functional smartwatch that can track fitness and health metrics, but it also allows you to play Tetris wherever you go.

It could be said that a good share of the cheap Android smartwatches on the market take themselves a little too seriously for those who don't have specific fitness goals they're reaching for. The My Play Tetris smartwatch, however, provides fitness necessities like daily step count, heart-rate tracking, and calorie counts without becoming an overbearing piece of wearable tech. The watch's main focus is providing an arcade-style Tetris-playing experience.

Priced at $80, this gadget may be a little expensive for a device that doesn't offer a full smartwatch experience or a full gaming experience. It's made for Tetris lovers more than fitness nuts or retro gamers, as its design is Tetris-themed even when not playing the game. But it has an IP67 rating for water resistance and a 1.91-inch color display, making it a fairly competent piece of 1990s-inspired tech.

The CD-ROM emerged on the consumer PC market in the 1990s, but the standard way to back up and move files for much of the decade was the 3.5-inch floppy disk. It held 1.44 MB of data, which doesn't amount to much at all these days, and it's why devices like thumb drives and burnable data CDs took over. But for those who utilize a modern solid-state drive, the Haggis floppy disk SSD enclosure is a nice homage to external storage in the 1990s, mimicking the form factor of those old floppies.

The enclosure is suitable for M.2 NVMe solid-state drives, and supports 10-Gbps USB-C connections for fast data transfers to and from your computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile device. It comes in three different color options and is priced at $28 on Amazon. One of the main features is a high-performance main control chip that offers a lot of compatibility and lower power consumption than control chips found on some other SSD enclosure options.

Even so, some Amazon customers have noted in reviews that the enclosure isn't compatible with the SSD they believed it to be compatible with. This is one you'll want to double-check specs on before making a purchase, as it seems it won't fit every kind of SSD out there. But it's a nice piece of nostalgia and travels easily, as it's smaller than a standard 3.5-inch floppy disk and comes with a lanyard and short USB-C cable that are both easy to keep close by.

The 1990s produced a lot of great tech, and much of it laid the groundwork for the devices we use today. In searching Amazon for worthwhile selections here, we focused on gadgets that are either descendants of '90s tech or that conjure some fondness and nostalgia for the culture and events of the time. A gadget such as the Greadio Discman portable music player is the spitting image of '90s portable CD players, and at the same time, it offers updated hardware and more modern features. Some other gadgets presented here lean more on cultural nostalgia for their '90s inspiration, yet still make for a legitimate piece of modern tech worth owning. All of the products listed above also have overall favorable ratings from the Amazon customers who have bought them.