It was a great time for electronics in the early 80's, so many cool products coming out, we thought it would never end. Sinclair never had a big footprint in the US but we loved hearing about all of his cool gadgets and having a face matched with a product was great marketing, that was pretty big back then. Over here we had Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and who could forget George Plimpton and the Mattel Intellivision Commercials? Sinclair Flat Screen Pocket TV from 1984 Found an earlier article on the TV of the future, they really dragged out production. Sinclair advertised heavily in this magazine so updates weren't uncommon. From 1981
The first generation weren't called Watchman yet, these early models tend to be really rare and very expensive. If I had to guess I'd say these really hurt Sinclair's Production. A few years later Casio would flood the market with color LCD models that were under $100 USD but I never really saw anyone using them except at sporting events where they could watch replays of the game (that they were attending). Where I lived could get 4-6 channels if you were lucky. Sony FT-200 Flat TV "Watchman" from 1982
Early Sanyo M Series, they sarted getting a little more plasticy and bare bones during this time. While they were inexpensive, something like the M-G10 was a good entry level player that was much better quality than the private-labeled competition. These units were big and clunky compared to the high-end units coming out at the time.
I don't own the Sanyo M-X33, I have the PH M20 and it looks identical. I consider this one of the best looking microcassette players with all of the small buttons and dials. The all-metal body with engraved markings on the case is a nice touch and these things are small, maybe the smallest stereo microcasstte. Interestingly the PH M20 does not record but it has a microphone and "MIXING" button. Is my model the step below, according to the article the M-X33 can record but I don't see the "RECORD" button in this photo. The Sanyo RD-XM1 would have been the home unit you used to make the stereo recordings to play on these little players. Both of these are from 1981.
Some interesting reading on the brand new Sony CD Walkman, this also talks about the Bose Speaker System and Amplifier I've also posted in a separate thread. From 1985 ETI Australia
I've got a small handful of the Sony ICF line, extremely well made little multi-band radios. It was an amazing feat of miniaturization but I never could more than the normal bands on mine. Here's the ICF-4900 from 1985.
From Cashbox, 1982, an interesting sidenote of Philip Glass remixing his "Glassworks" for the limitations of tape.
The portables are fueling cassette sales! From Cashbox 1982. They rarely mention that cassettes were much less expensive than albums.
A brief mention of the notorious Sony Tiffany Walkman Tribute, one of the rare units supposedly given to elites of the music industry. This one was givin to Lou Reed in 1989, from Cashbox Magazine.
Sony WM-10 Giveaway from Cashbox 1983 Remember when bands used to do "in-stores?" In the old days when a band came to town they'd show up at a record store or two and then head over to the radio to do a brief interview, maybe play some live songs, before the big show. It was an exciting time and bands really took care of their fans, going out of their way to sign albums and tapes and even giving out tickets or back-stage passes. Here's a cool photo of Quiet Riot in 83, they set heavy metal on fire along with Def Leppard in the early 80's.
aiwa was still cranking out new models in 1998 but had postioned itself as a budget brand under full Sony Ownership. The sad part is they had the best sales years during this decade with people forgetting about their early cassette player dominance. From Stereo Review's Stocking Stuffers December 1998
Pioneer's X-Ray Cd Player also from Stereo Review 1998. I don't remember a lot of people carrying around portable CD players, in the beginning they were a statement because they cost some much, but cassette always seemed to be the best way to carry music.
Panasonic RZ-SX50V from Stereo Review 12/98, this looks a little more interesting, I don't have any 90's players but this might be a fun one to mess around with.
