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Porsche Design / Eton Radio

Posted by Scott


Etón’s Porsche-designed P’9120 clock radio is a must for any self respecting minimalist / design aficionado with a schedule to keep. I’m loving the knob / speaker combo, so efficient and a great interaction metaphor to boot. This thing could sit comfortably beside some the the jewels of Braun modernism and Porsche even kept it old school with the remote.  My only gripe with the design is the sore thumb Etón logo that breaks up the clean lines of the face. It feels misplaced and cheapens the aesthetics; it also clashes badly with the wonderful typography of the Porsche Design logo. I guess that’s what Sharpies are for though. Now if DWR would just make a matching Herman Miller walnut pedestal I’d be set. Unfortunately, at $600 it’s prohibitively expensive; but then again, dedicated design geeks wouldn’t let half a grand stand between them and waking up to such a specimen of functional art.

Via Dvice

12 Comments Leave A Comment

1

Bas says:

September 8, 2008 at 4:02 am

The concept is great, but I don’t like the execution completely. I think the control wheels are too near the outside. Don’t be a bore, but it feels too cramped. Would have been better if the space between the wheels and the space at the outside would would have been even. And the screen feels a bit unbalanced too.

But then again, that remote is very neat.

3

Jakub says:

September 8, 2008 at 1:57 pm

im definitely a fan of knobs over alot of the other choices like sliders, the font clash is pretty gross, as for color of the light i’ve always been a fan of white or the 80’s green

4

Matt says:

September 8, 2008 at 1:58 pm

You would think for $600 they would have made the radio display better than they did. Like a custom porsche typeface instead of the played out standard digi-numbers and letters would do it for me.

5

NAVIS says:

September 9, 2008 at 2:59 am

Designer bed: check
Designer desk: check
Designer bookshelf: check
Designer pen holder: check
Designer alarm clock: check
Designer desktop speakers: check
Designer swivel chair: check
Designer hamper: …

Where’s my designer hamper. I need a designer hamper.

6

Geoff Teehan says:

September 10, 2008 at 7:14 am

I saw this a couple of years ago at CES as a prototype (it looks the same as what I remember). I recall the dials having a beautifully tactile feel with amazing feedback – so nice in fact I can’t even recall what the system sounded like.

9

Ken says:

March 30, 2009 at 7:57 am

I purchased one of these radios at the Sharper Images (SI) long before Scott posted his blog on this radio and like most of you, I was totally blown away by the design and the expected reliability of an equipment bearing the Porsche name plate. Well, I used it and enjoyed it for about a good year when it suddently stopped working. I’d have to unplug it to allow it to re-set itself and then it would work. This lasted for about a month when it simply went blank. I then contacted the SI who informed me that they discontinued selling it shortly after I purchased it. They suggested that I contact the manufacturer direct because the warranty had expired.

I contacted Eton and other than a referral to a repair shop in Las Vegas, ACT Electronics, they were not very helpful. I then sent the radio to ACT Electronics….., to cut a long story short, ACT Electronics was able to salvaged the radio after “repairing” it. I now have a beautiful tabletop piece that works occasionally and only gets AM/FM frequencies. The sound is still great, I have to admit. But I still have to un-plug it occasionally to get it to work.

To sum up: This radio is a piece of crap!! Beautiful crap, but still crap! In deference to ACT Electronics, I’ll refrain from publishing their comments to me regarding this beautiful piece of junk. Apparently inside this beautiful package is what appears to be a spaghetti inspired wiring configuration made in China. I hate to burst bubbles but based on my experience, I would stay clear of this radio. I am sorry to say but this has been an expensive and extremely disappointing experience for me.