Richard Polt knew, that’s who. A while back, sold a typewriter to a young gal who said she was from Singapore, which prompted RP to observe that that that city-state is a global center for typewriter collection.
An idle search found lots of proof that typing machines are finding favor in a place that thinks nothing of balancing a cruise ship atop a skyscraper:
Such as this site, “AITYPE” http://aitype.wordpress.com/about/
To me, typewriters are not “cute” things, but a few minutes on this mega-cheery site, and I started to think, hmmm, maybe some Hello Kitty stickers would make my SG-1 easier to carry–then a few minutes more, and saw there was much more to this site; Aitype eloquently expresses the deep connection to the past that these machines embody–and young as she may be (at least compared to me or her machines!), she’s already working to make sure that people younger than her dig the clack.
And she may have coined a lovely new word–at least I personally haven’t seen it anywhere else before– here it is, as Karen of Singapore puts it on Aitype:
<<<< Bring a laptap (typewriter) instead of a laptop to a family picnic… >>>
LAPTAP. It already brings to mind a variation– desktap — for larger typing machines.
What think’st the typosphere — is this a new noun for an old machine? Should it get into usage? Has she coined this word or has she simply acquired it from elsewhere? (yes, PC maker Micromax is selling something they call a Laptap–but good luck with that!)
As far as its noun status–my mind has set like lime Jello in the fridge; must fetch the laptap (which word currently requires a quick backspace to foil the spellcheck which of course, keeps saying, “you must mean lapTOP” and must learn “lapTAP” is what I in fact meant) and impress some words on wood pulp; Cheers and happy tapping.
mcget/ phillytyper
phillytyper 
Not that Natalie over at ‘NatsLaptaps’ Hadn’t been lap-tapping! I’ve liked the name of that for a while.
There’s a fair few in Singapore, but they aren’t so much collectors in as much as a lot of the typosphere collect and use. With the exception of Karen, Nat and a couple of others, it is quite a different driver for collecting – something of a fashion accessory in a ‘vintaged’ home. There’s also others that are more in it for a buck for business, than are actually collectors – regardless of what they tell you. They’ll be the ones emailing you for parts and machines. Be mindful.
Some Singaporeans are definitely collectors, and also use their machines to write letters to each other. Most of these typewriter fans, unlike those in the rest of the world, are female.
I do like the term “laptap.” It was Nat who introduced it to me.