Retro technology

Advances in technology from the 50s have been amazing. No one would have predicted the staggering growth in television ownership to the point of being almost universal by the end of the 60s. In other fields, science and technology was changing people's lives. In the sixties ownership of a transistor radio was considered essential to be part of the modern world - just as mobile phone ownership is viewed today. This section looks at technology in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

The 50s

The television set was the must-have gadget of the fifties. The telephone was slower to catch on. With the advent of Rock'n'Roll listening to music was important for teenagers. Sales of record players boomed, as did those of portable radios, such as the Bush MB60.

See 50s technology.

The 60s

The cheap pocket transistor radio was a must-have for any teenager in the 60s. It firmly cemented the link between technology and music, which later developed via the Sony Walkman, the ghetto blaster and the iPod of today.

More upmarket products from the 60s included the Trimphone, the Bulova Accutron (the world's first electronic watch), a very original compact camera, the Olympus Pen EE and the first cassette tape recorder. See 60s gadgets and 50s & 60s cameras. Surprisingly you could, if you had enough cash, own a mobile phone in the 60s, see Retro mobile phone.

The 70s

Technology developed further in the 70s. Integrated circuits made pocket calculators a reality as well as quartz digital watches. In the kitchen freezers brought convenience to many.

The 80s

In the 80s transistor technology and the new Cellular system made brick sized mobile phones possible for the first time. For most people though they were out of reach. Technology made video recorders and microwave ovens common in many homes in the 80s.