Category Archives: consumer electronics history
Most Popular Toys from the Last 50 Years (Infographic)
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Edison’s First Movie Projector: A Phonograph for Pictures
Today in 1888, Thomas Edison filed a patent for the first movie projector, the “Optical Phonograph,” which projected images just 1/32-inch across. Steven Lubar in InfoCulture: “Thomas Edison was thinking about the phonograph when he decided to invent a moving picture machine. … Continue reading
History of The Home Theater (Infographic)
The History of the Home Theater infographic
Launching a Japanese Giant
Today in 1946, more than twenty members of the Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute, founded by Masaru Ibuka in the previous year, attended the inauguration ceremony which officially established the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. Ibuka’s father-in-law, Tamon Maeda was appointed president of the … Continue reading
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The Television of the Future
Today in 1939, the 1939 New York World’s Fair, “Building the World of Tomorrow,” had its grand opening, with 206,000 people in attendance. The April 30 date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration as President in New York City. … Continue reading
iTunes Launched
Today in 2003, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store. The store sold more than 1 million tracks in its first five days and became the biggest music vendor in the U.S. five years later. Here are iTunes stats, … Continue reading
First Mobile Phone Call, 1973
Forty years ago today (April 3, 1973), Martin Cooper made a phone call from a prototype Dyna-Tac handheld cellular phone. The phone, which weighed about 2.5 lb, connected Cooper to Dr. Joel S. Engel, head of research at Bell Labs. Update: From “8 Guys, 6 … Continue reading
Phototransistor Invented
Today in 1950, the invention of the phototransistor was announced by Bell Telephone Laboratories. This was a transistor operated by light rather than electric current, invented by Dr. John Northrup Shive. Last year,, Bob Metcalfe reviewed a new history of Bell Labs, The Idea … Continue reading
The MiniDisc Announced
Today in 1991, Sony’s President Norio Ohga announced the MiniDisc as the new personal audio format. From Sony’s official history: “Ohga had led the establishment of the CD business, and CD technology had quickly replaced analog audio technology thanks to its … Continue reading
The Story of Information 