Until a few years ago, joyful families could be seen walking along the seafront on Sunday afternoons in all parts of Italy.
More or less joyful families, because usually the male parent (we’re not sexists: that’s how it went) tried to listen to the result of his football team on the radio, giving as little attention as possible.
Umberto Eco explained to us the existence of objects which, once invented, are destined to be eternal, because they are essentially essential and unchangeable. Among these is undoubtedly the radio.
Right, the radio from the 1980s would be terribly out of fashion today. But the very concept of radio information (which has recently been joined by the booming universe of podcasting) continues to accompany us. On the contrary: today that its use – between Bluetooth technology, bone conduction earphones and so on – is even simpler and more refined, it enjoys a second youth.
So how do companies make radios attractive in the time of the metaverse?
Sharp’s Radio Tokyo
This is demonstrated, for example, by Sharp, with its Radio Tokyo, a portable instrument whose full name is Sharp DR-P420. And which, as we will see, focuses on ease of use and a glam aesthetic. The serious little radios that gave us Tutto il calcio minute by minute are, in short, just a memory.
We have tested Radio Tokyo for you. But first let’s find out its technical characteristics.
The technical characteristics
Sharp’s Radio Tokyo is available in four colors: Midnight Black, Steel Blue, Blossom Pink and Snowy White.
It measures 174 x 90 x 53 centimeters and weighs 400 grams. This is a DAB+, DAB, and FM radio with RDS. But which can also be used for streaming listening thanks to Bluetooth 5.0 technology.
You can store up to twenty DAB+/DAB radio stations, and as many in FM. Tuning and scanning are done automatically.
The power supply is double: either via micro USB cable or in the old-fashioned way, via battery (to be precise, Sharp’s Radio Tokyo works with four AA batteries). So, if you want, you can also dust off old and controversial Sunday rites.
The display allows you to manually set the date and time (which will synchronize automatically thanks to the DAB system). And to choose from seven languages: in addition to Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch and Polish.
The autonomy with battery power is about 16 hours. In the package you will find Sharp’s Radio Tokyo, the USB to micro USB cable, a complete user manual and a more agile one (both multilingual), in addition to the guarantee.
In USB mode, two different alarms can also be set. Finally, the sleep timer function turns off the device after a certain number (settable) of minutes of non-use.
Sharp’s Radio Tokyo: the setup
Sharp’s Tokyo DR-P420 radio connects easily to devices via Bluetooth 5.0.
Equally intuitive are setting the date, time and language, tuning channels, and switching between the various listening modes (DAB+, DAB, FM and Bluetooth).
Everything is clearly within reach. On the back there is the input for the USB cable, the jack for listening with headphones or earphones, the battery compartment and the telescopic antenna.
On the front, in addition to the loudspeaker and the display, we find a small knob for the volume and eight buttons that allow you to tune channels and move from one function to another.
He tests
The ease of use of Sharp’s Radio Tokyo is top notch. The simple and compact design creates a nice contrast with the four sober but modern colors.
The dimensions are such as to allow both to carry it with you and to use it in a closed environment, placing it on a surface. Of course, the 2 watts of power do not guarantee excellent audio quality. But completely in line with the product, designed for entertainment and placed on the market with the cost of an entry level device: 49 euro.
In short, it is a good product, so to speak transgenerational. It works as an old-style radio and, at the same time, for listening to our music libraries or our favorite podcasts.
Even the aesthetic line of Sharp’s Radio Tokyo, we imagine, will appeal to both young people and those who, a few years ago, hung on the lips of Enrico Ameri, Sandro Ciotti and other legendary characters.