Wow a watch maker also selling radios http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D31

wikI-Ist

Akio Morita showed his belief that he could control his own destiny early in Sony's history. It had created the first transistor radio, which Morita took to the US. The Bulova Watch company came up with an order for 100,000 units, worth several times Sony's capital, on one important condition. The radios had to carry Bulova's name. Morita wouldn't agree. The Bulova man was astounded:

'Our company is a famous brand name that has taken over fifty years to establish. Nobody has ever heard of your brand name.' Morita replied, 'Fifty years ago your brand name must have been just as unknown as our name is today. I am now taking the first step for the next fifty years of my company. Fifty years from now I promise you that our name will be just as famous as your company name is today.' Three decades on, Bulova is just another watch brand: the Sony brand spells high enough quality and reputation to attract premium prices and underpin assets which now total $41.7 billion.

Morita, born in 1921, founded the business in 1946 with Masaru Ibuka, backed by only a few hundred dollars of family capital. The first significant product was an American-inspired tape recorder. In the 1950s, however, Ibuka found the newly invented transistor at Western Electric, and immediately licensed the new technology for a down-payment of $25,000. The first pocket transistor radio, launched by Sony in 1957, started the company on its upward trajectory.

By 1990, it was the world's 51st largest company, thanks to breakthroughs like the Walkman, the video cassette recorder, 8mm video and many others. Ibuka supplied the technical brilliance and Morita the marketing genius: he thus, Sony chose as company and brand name because 'that way we would not have to pay double the advertising cost to make both well-known.' And Morita has always called the Bulova decison the best he ever made.

There where also BULOVA`S marked
"matsus-hita japan"
"made for bulova by matsus-hita,japan"
several appeaered too as
NEC, REGENCY -some as ZENITH.



(the wik link disappeared a while ago)

Another famous watchmaker put its brand name on radios: Elgin.

Elgin Watch Co. in Wiki.

btw,baby boomer ... this might be interesting for you .

quote:

Originally posted by *TPR*:
btw,baby boomer ... this might be interesting for you .

WOW!!! As someone who likes/collects electronics twins, this is PARADISE!! Thanks!

The 'Transistor Radio'
That reminds me of....
I had 'the smallest transistor radio'
as they called it
Was nothing more that a AM tuning knob
and a volume on-off control
no speaker, just a earphone jack.
Very small.
Around 1969, Was blue in color.
I think it used 3 mini (watch) batteries.
???

Then there are famous radio brands put on watches!

For example.

Yo, thats a very interesting story.

Didnt know ever for Bulova/Sony history.

Thanks Jens.

quote:

Originally posted by transwave5000:
The 'Transistor Radio'
That reminds me of....
I had 'the smallest transistor radio'
as they called it
Was nothing more that a AM tuning knob
and a volume on-off control
no speaker, just a earphone jack.
Very small.
Around 1969, Was blue in color.
I think it used 3 mini (watch) batteries.
???

Like this transwave ?

Micronic Ruby Transistor Eight

That one has a speaker in it.
.
.
It had no speaker and
Was more of a cheap plastic almost like a toy thing.
Only a earphone jack. Even smaller than that.
Might have been the first transistor radio without a speaker.

Today it might be called a 'AM personal radio'.
.
Tried to find it on google, but don't know
the name of it, so might be impossible to find.

Uhm, this country had the first transistor radio. It was the Regency TR-1, made in Indianapolis around October 1954. Sony's first set was in 1955 or 56.

Here's video of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...feature=channel_page

BTW, the first Bulova transistor sets were American made--at least one, the Hercules, was probably made by Zenith, as its chassis layout's identical to the Royal 500.