TABLE OF CONTENTS The history of portable electronic devices is very brief. It is only since the development of the transistor, and subsequently the transistor radio in the 1950s, that portable electronics have even been possible. Further developments lead to the planar integrated circuit in 1959, which made possible highly integrated electronics. The first highly integrated portable electronic devices were calculator products developed by Texas Instruments. These devices combined integrated circuit technology for processing and LED technology for the display. Even though these first portable electronic devices were rather expensive, at several hundred dollars each, they became very popular because they greatly reduced the time required to perform routine calculations.
While Texas Instruments was first-to-market with these new devices, innovative Japanese companies such as Sharp were quick to apply their advancing manufacturing capabilities to electronic calculators. Efficient Japanese production methods and low operating costs enabled the price of electronic calculators to fall rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s. By the mid-70s, almost any student could afford an electronic calculator to perform their math homework. Affordable, programmable scientific calculators also began to appear in this time frame. These programmable calculators were the precursors to the first personal computers.
Digital watches also became popular in the 1970s. The first digital watches were also developed by Texas Instruments and used integrated circuits plus an LED display. Since watches require a smaller form-factor and must be left on all of the time, however, battery life was more of an issue...
