Transistor radio
A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenient hand-held devices—the Regency TR-1 was released in 1954 becoming the first commercial transistor radio. The mass-market success of the smaller and cheaper Sony TR-63, released in 1957, led to the transistor radio becoming the most popular electronic communication device of the 1960s and 1970s. Transistor radios are still commonly used as car radios. Billions of transistor radios are estimated to have been sold worldwide between the 1950s and 2012.
This article is about an electronic device. For the album by M. Ward, see Transistor Radio. For the song by Benny Hill, see Transistor Radio (song).The pocket size of transistor radios sparked a change in popular music listening habits, allowing people to listen to music anywhere they went. Beginning around 1980, however, cheap AM transistor radios were superseded initially by the boombox and the Sony Walkman, and later on by digitally-based devices with higher audio quality such as portable CD players, personal audio players, MP3 players and (eventually) by smartphones, many of which contain FM radios.[1][2] A transistor is a semiconductor device that amplifies and acts as an electronic switch.
Pricing[edit]
Prior to the Regency TR-1, transistors were difficult to produce. Only one in five transistors that were produced worked as expected (only a 20% yield) and as a result the price remained extremely high.[11] When it was released in 1954, the Regency TR-1 cost $49.95 (equivalent to $567 today) and sold about 150,000 units. Raytheon and Zenith Electronics transistor radios soon followed and were priced even higher. In 1955, Raytheon's 8-TR-1 was priced at $80 (equivalent to $910 today).[11] By November 1956 a transistor radio small enough to wear on the wrist and a claimed battery life of 100 hours cost $29.95.[28]
Sony's TR-63, released in December 1957, cost $39.95 (equivalent to $434 today).[11] Following the success of the TR-63 Sony continued to make their transistor radios smaller. Because of the extremely low labor costs in Japan, Japanese transistor radios began selling for as low as $25.[11] By 1962, the TR-63 cost as low as $15 (equivalent to $151 today),[25] which led to American manufacturers dropping prices of transistor radios down to $15 as well.[11]
Rise of portable audio players[edit]
Since the 1980s, the popularity of radio-only portable devices declined with the rise of portable audio players which allowed users to carry and listen to tape-recorded music. This began in the late 1970s with boom boxes and portable cassette players such as the Sony Walkman, followed by portable CD players, digital audio players, and smartphones.
