‘The days of radio are over. The future lies in television,’ said Sony co-founder Masru Ibuka in the late 1950s. Having developed a successful line of transistor radios, the recently renamed Sony Corporation turned to the next development in post-war media electronics to produce a miniature transistor television. The idea for the transistor television required a completely different design approach. Whilst the transistors used in radios were suitable for low voltage and low current circuits, televisions required a higher voltage circuit and a vastly higher frequency than radios. When Sony succeeded in manufacturing the first portable transistor television in 1960, the TV8-301, they demonstrated the extraordinary ability of Japanese manufacturers to miniaturise technology in consumer products. Televisions no longer had to be static furniture in the user’s home.

In 1962, the TV5-303W was the world's smallest and lightest television, developed with the aim of bringing TV entertainment into the automobile environment. This television has some compelling stories associated with it. Frank Sinatra was so impressed with the set during a visit to Sony that he asked for one to take back to the U.S. Six months later, the television went on sale in the U.S., specially adapted to U.S. specifications. On the day after the sets went on sale, Sony's chairman visited Paramount Pictures where Sinatra was filming to personally deliver him a television. The TV5-303W was tested on the road to see how it would stand up to vibration. These tests were run secretly on a 600km stretch of motorway, however, Sony staff were caught driving over the limit by police while testing image deterioration at high speeds. They were not prosecuted.