MOOT™
Museum Of Obsolete Technology®
Innovative Technology
Motorola Dynatac 8000x
First Handheld Mobile Phone (1983)
Early Transatlantic Cable
Connecting Countries To Interconnect the World (mid-19th century)
Regency TR-1
First Handheld Radio - First Transistor Radio (1954)
Canon Pocketronic
First Handheld Calculator - First Transitor Calculator (1970)
Sony Walkman
First Truely Portable Personal Sound Device (1979)
Telephones
The MOOT holds a variety of telephones and telephone memorabilia in its collection. They will be he subject of future posts. In the meantime, here is a manual for the world's first portable celular phone, the Dyna T-A-C 8000X by Motorola.
Motorola Dyna-Tac 8000x
19th Century Tranatlantic Telegraph Cable
Radios
Regency TR-1
The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufacturerd transistor radio, introduced in 1954. About 150,000 units were sold in various colors despite its marginal performance due to the novelty of its small size. Prior to this, radios were large, heavy, and full of vacuum tubes. The TR-1 represented the first use of new transister technology for civilian use and would lead to all the consumer electonics we have today.
Portable Audio
Sony Walkman
The portable audio player wasn't a single invention. Instead it was a progression of every increasing portability. Sony's Walkman, a pet project of their then C.E.O. who was interested it it for both personal use and business potential, was the first to succeed. The first model produced was the TPS-L2 (pictured below). Initial units were marked 'STEREO' on them (which was an advancement at the time), though this was soon changed to the familar 'WALKMAN' instead. It was a hit long before Guardians of the Galaxy brought its revival.
