A new study has highlighted a nostalgic streak in many of the nation’s gadget-lovers.

Statistics published by financial services provider Halifax indicate that nearly a third (30 per cent) of all consumers questioned in a recent study examining attitudes to technology viewed the 80s as the pinnacle of gadgetry. Video cassettes, vinyl albums and 12-inch singles were all chosen by this group as being preferable to new digital music devices such as iPods and other mp3 devices. The study attempted to offer a snapshot of how the country’s homes have changed in the past years - and what they could look like in another quarter of a century.

Figures showed that in 1983, more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of people had a record player for their living room, while just more than half (51 per cent) were said to have a Sony Walkman. Just under half (47 per cent) of those questioned were the proud owners of a digital LCD watch. A look at the kind of technology common in the home today shows the speed at which gadgets have come on since then. Respondents to the study said that currently, the most widespread devices were PCs (75 per cent), laptops (65 per cent), iPods (45 per cent) and plasma TVs (29 per cent). The development of these and other products such as the Nintendo Wii, Sky Plus and the iPhone led 53 per cent of those questioned to state that the noughties would come to be viewed as the dominant era in terms of home gadget innovation.

Those who hanker for the very latest in consumer technology may be interested in taking out a personal loan to ensure that they are among the first to get their hands on new phones, TVs, PCs or music players. Taking out this type of loan may also provide enough spare cash to make sure that all such items can be included on a robust home insurance policy.

Indeed, in the future a loan may help to pay for a whole host of incredible gadgets, with 21 per cent of people believing that by 2033, households will contain washing machines that also iron clothes, while cookers controlled remotely via voice recognition were predicted by 29 per cent of those questioned in the study.

David Rochester, Halifax Home Insurance head of underwriting, said: “The digital revolution has allowed entire music, film and TV collections to be stored digitally out of sight, but for many people - certainly those old enough to actually remember the 80s - they miss being able to display their tastes around the home for visitors to see. We’ve certainly moved away from having clutter in our homes towards more ordered, neat living spaces - people who had a bulky music system in the 80s, with turntable, cassette decks and giant speakers, for instance, are now likely to have an iPod.”

As well as providing capital for the latest in gadgetry, taking out a loan may also help pay for some of the more essential demands such as food, fuel and energy. Taking out a loan for these purposes may be particularly appealing after the Office for National Statistics announced that such costs had driven the Consumer Price Index up 3.3 per cent in the 12-month period to May 2008.

1 Stop Finance Shop providing you with breaking personal loans news.