PADAM is a Wi-Fi speaker with knobs on that wants you listening to music, not faffing with your phone

As we barrel towards a future where every device is seemingly legally obliged to be a featureless, buttonless slab of glass and metal, some creators are fighting back. PADAM (€199) echoes personal radios of old, with its big speaker, buttons to prod, and knobs to twist – but this is still a thoroughly modern effort. Using your phone, you define favourite radio stations and podcasts. PADAM’s then good to go on its own – twist the favourites knob, and your selected source is played back using Wi-Fi, blasted from the 30W speaker. Bluetooth’s supported too, for when you want to fire across something from your phone; and for the more adventurous, there’s a discovery knob, which triggers a random playlist from Spotify or Deezer (assuming you’ve a premium sub). You get six hours of battery life in all – or can plonk PADAM in its dock for endless audio bliss.