Ever since technology was invented, it has been a human desire to put it in your pocket and take it with you. And taking a look at the history of portable electronics, it seems like many inventors and designers may have jumped the gun when using the word ‘portable’ for some of these products.
Many early ‘laptops’ would probably crush your legs if you actually used them in your lap as we do nowadays. And today it’s hard to imagine needing to carry around a briefcase-sized transceiver in order to make a mobile phone call. But this was the reality for most of history.
Take a look at some of these chunky portable technologies from times past and be glad we live in an era when we can listen to music off of our phones, instead of lugging around a suitcase-sized machine.
1
First ever portable camera, invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839.
2
The Blickensdorfer, nicknamed the “Blick” was the first truly portable typewriter. It was patented in 1892.
3
First portable superheterodyne radio receiver, created in 1923.
4
The Mikiphone. A pocket-sized phonograph invented in 1924. It was powered by hand-crank and could play 10-inch records.
5
Edison P-1. An unsuccessful portable record player from 1929.
6
The Peter Pan Alarm Clock Gramophone. A self-contained portable record player invented in Britain in the 1930s. It could also be used as an alarm clock.
7
Regency TR-1. The first portable transistor radio from 1954.
8
Emerson Model 1232 Television-Radio. Released in 1956. It weighed just over 20 pounds and featured a built-in AM radio.
9
Vintage Soviet-made portable record player that folds into a suitcase. Circa late 1950s.
10
Sony TV8-301, an early portable black-and-white television. Released on the market in 1960, it was prone to malfunction and was discontinued after only two years.
11
Canon Pocketronic. The first handheld calculator, launched in 1971. It weighed 2.5 pounds and originally cost $250.
12
The IBM 5100. One of the first portable computers, released in 1975. It weighed 55 pounds.
13
Mattel Auto Race. The first handheld electronic game, released in 1976.
14
TRS-80 Pocket Computer. Introduced in 1980. It was mostly a calculator, with a cassette tape interface.
15
Osborne-1. The first commercially successful portable computer, from 1982. It weighed 24.5 pounds and was sold for $1795.
16
Toshiba T1100. The first mass market laptop computer, released in 1985. It weighed 9 pounds and had a whopping 720 kilobytes of internal storage.
17
Sony WM W800 Walkman. A double cassette Walkman from 1986 with the ability to copy tapes.
18
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. The first commercially available mobile phone, from 1983.
19
NEC PowerMate Portable SX. A “laptop” from 1988
20
Motorola Bag Phone. Produced from 1988 to 2000, they were big bulky portable phones stored in bags that were powered either by battery pack or the cigarette lighter outlet in a car.
21
Colby WalkMac. A modded Mac computer from 1990 to make it portable, predating actual portable Macintoshes.
22
IBM Simon Personal Communicator, released in 1994. The first PDA/smartphone, featuring a touchscreen and many different ‘apps’.
23
Panasonic DVD-L10. The first portable DVD player, from 1998. Featured a 5-inch color screen and a rechargeable battery pack that could be attached for portable use.
