‘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.

The 4-204UW was the smallest TV in the world when it was released in 1964 with a 4” screen. Dubbed the ‘Walkie-Watchie’, it could be carried around the neck with the strap attached to the receiver. It contained 32 transistors and featured a built-in battery pack and built-in antenna in the shoulder strap. The television was included in the V&A/Boilerhouse exhibition (1982).