Credit card radio
Radio
ca. 1985 (made)
ca. 1985 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This credit-card-sized radio represents an important stage in Sony's development of miniaturised audio equipment. Its predecessors included the first pocket radio, the TR-63, developed in 1957, and the Walkman, introduced in 1979.
The electronics are all incorporated into one chip, which takes up only a fraction of the space inside the plastic casing. Most of the space is devoted to batteries and to the component that controls the tuning, called a capacitor. The capacitor was itself replaced by an even smaller tuning component, a tiny diode, in later models. The small size of all the components allowed the designer great freedom to choose the shape of the final product, making it resemble another familiar product: a credit card.
The electronics are all incorporated into one chip, which takes up only a fraction of the space inside the plastic casing. Most of the space is devoted to batteries and to the component that controls the tuning, called a capacitor. The capacitor was itself replaced by an even smaller tuning component, a tiny diode, in later models. The small size of all the components allowed the designer great freedom to choose the shape of the final product, making it resemble another familiar product: a credit card.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Plastic case |
| Brief description | Credit card radio, Model ICR 501, designed and manufactured by Sony, plastic, ca. 1985 |
| Physical description | A credit card sized radio made of plastic. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Sony (UK) Ltd |
| Historical context | This represents a further stage in Sony's development of compact audio goods, leading on from the first pocket radio TR-63 (1957) and the Walkman (1979, see W.12-1992) |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This credit-card-sized radio represents an important stage in Sony's development of miniaturised audio equipment. Its predecessors included the first pocket radio, the TR-63, developed in 1957, and the Walkman, introduced in 1979. The electronics are all incorporated into one chip, which takes up only a fraction of the space inside the plastic casing. Most of the space is devoted to batteries and to the component that controls the tuning, called a capacitor. The capacitor was itself replaced by an even smaller tuning component, a tiny diode, in later models. The small size of all the components allowed the designer great freedom to choose the shape of the final product, making it resemble another familiar product: a credit card. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.20-1992 |
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| Record created | February 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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