14. TELEX MACHINES
These machines used radio and/or microwaves to transmit information over the airwaves.
Variations of them are still in use today for communications by the hearing impaired.
15. WANG CALCULATORS
No, we didn’t pick that just for the headline.
In the seventies, Wang manufactured mini-computers that were a cut above your standard accounting computer, with exciting features like a FORTRAN IV compiler.
16. ANALOG TELEPHONES
While exactly who invented the phone is a topic of debate, the first patent was awarded to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.
They have evolved from rotary dial models to smart phones that we can use today to surf the internet.
17. PDAs
Considered one of the biggest tech flops of all time, the Apple Newton was sold at a huge price point compared to other Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) that were on the market.
Personal digital assistants were electronic timekeepers for the times when you couldn’t fit a computer in your pocket. The Newton’s development laid the groundwork for Apple’s hugely successful iPod and iPhone. Who’s laughing now?
18. PORTABLE TELEVISIONS
Portable televisions, such as Sony’s Watchman, were an idea that came a little before the ability of the media to catch up to it.
With a limited selection of channels, they never really caught on.
19. WALKMAN
The Walkman was invented by the co-chairman of Sony, Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to his favorite operas on plane trips.
It was initially marketed as the Soundabout in North America, but the “Walkman” name was used for the product up until the present day.
20. DISCMAN
Two years after the mass production of the Compact Disc, Sony released its portable player for it.
While they were popular with audiophiles, who appreciated the quality of the recording, earlier Discmans would skip and didn’t allow for the popular “mixtapes” until it became possible for computers to “burn” CD’s.
21. PAGERS
Pagers were commonly used from the seventies to the nineties when widespread adoption of cell phones rendered them obsolete for mass market use.
They are still used by emergency responders as they are not subject to network outages or similar disruptions in communication.
22. LED WATCH
The watch pictured is the Pulsar, the first LED watch.
The watch’s designer was inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, having worked on the timepiece props for the movie.
23. TV WATCH
While the concept of this watch was attractive, it faced the same lack of channel availability issues as the Watchman.
24. SEIKO WRIST COMPUTER
The smartphone of 1984: this took the idea of the “computer watch” to a whole new level.
Think this is too much? Consider the nuclear watch, whose invention was rumored in this Time magazine article. Be very glad that never happened.
25. CALCULATOR WATCHES
The eighties saw watches infused with more gizmos than ever before. The most ubiquitous watch in geek culture was the calculator watch.
Since most of us now have computers attached to our hips, it is no longer necessary. Unless you’re Dwight Schrute.
26. CRT MONITOR
Just when you thought you were done with vacuum tubes in your computers, they put them in your monitors in the form of cathode ray tubes (CRT).
