The Sinclair MTV-1 Micro TV
Sinclair’s little ultra-sharp black and white TV was meant to be a pocket set. But with a 4×6-inch footprint, it was impossible to stash in most disco-tight pockets at the time, even if it was under 2 inches thick.
The 2-inch screened set took 10 years to develop and was $US395. [Modernmechanix via retrothing]
Gizmodo ‘79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analogue age gave way to the digital, and most of our favourite toys were just being born.
- Next Post: How Apple.com Would Have Looked In 1983 »
- « Previous Post: These Window Blinds Are Better Than Most Views
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Is that a TV in your pocket or are you just happy to see me...really happy?
smegz
@HibikiRush:it was a very small kitchen.
And I use to complain about the size of my old cellphone screen.
Lol. now if time-travel existed I would...
1. Leave that time and get me an actual HDTV w/ that money and
2. Go back in time and sell that for some money...
I know you would do it too
iKon.695
Goes perfect with a little bitty Atari.
That page would have been dogeared in whatever catalog it was in . :)
I have one of these up for sale any collector interested?
@maven2k: Me too but it was hard to come up with $400 when I was only making $2.83 an hour.
reddingofish
@maven2k:
reddingofish
I wanted one of these so bad back in the day.
maven2k
@R_Claw:
Why did you have a 4x6" TV in your kitchen?
HibikiRush
We had one of these when I was a kid. I did feel like I was looking into a tricorder. She screen was super bright, you could feel the radiation burning into your eyes as you held it 2 inches from your face.
Spideyrex
That's almost identical to the tiny TV we had at the cabin my parents used to rent in the 80s! You couldn't see Jack on that thing. Still, thanks for the cool memories.
I'm sure lots of the Disco Stu's in the 70's were used to stuffing 2 inches into their pants.
Crenshaw13
We had one of these in our kitchen. Next to the simulated wood cabinets. I miss the late '70s and early '80s...
I remember 6 of us crowding round one of those on holiday trying to watch telly. My dad should have kept it - probably worth a mint now.
I can still remember watching the screen warm up, then the cool little dot when you switched it off. Proper CRT technology!
robman84
@Saboth: You just leave that laying around?
I'm pretty sure thats illegal in most states.
@Saboth: Wow...
6"x2"? That reminds me of something I have laying around here somewhere.
Saboth
I'd like to replace that screen with a LCD and shove a pico mobo in it for a really tiny AIO nettop.
@ATSC-M/H.
BloggyMcBlogBlog
@tande04 mile island in the sun: So I'll have to lug around a digital converter box with this monster? DAYUM!
Skeetz
@facepuncher: WIN! I have a 2.6" Trinitron that I regularly plat Ghost Recon on.
Completely.
I'm amazed that the US still doesn't have a broadcast standard for mobile devices.
I know there was supposed to be a big push for it with the switch to digital but I still haven't seen much of it.
Say what you will about this device but I can't do now what it did then.
TOS tricorder much?
TheCrudMan
Little did they know that 30 years later, people would still try to watch TV on devices with screens entirely too small for TV watching...
Algerad
i still own one of these, i play ps2 on it. don't be fooled, that 2" screen has AMAZING clarity
Wow... I thought it was a nifty CB radio at first. With a metal syringe in it. O.o
@tande04 mile island in the sun:
Yeah, where else am I supposed to put my TiVo remote?
Jozer99
A few years later they built the one where they mashed a CRT onto its side and got it down to about an inch thick (and the electronics down to pretty much nothing.
UtaStoat
This reminds me of a picture I saw in National Geographic from over 30 years ago. It was a picture of a child looking at a small TV similar except the design was more vertical than horizontal.