History of Output Devices

First Electrical Speaker Device

Jan 1, 1876

In Boston, Alexander Graham Bell constructed and patented the first electrical speaker device to allow people to communicate without meeting physically.

Very Sensitive Headphones

Jan 1, 1919

Very sensitive headphones were created by Brandes for early radio work. These were made in the U.S.

Stereo Installed in the London Philarmonic Orchestra

Jan 1, 1931

The stereo was installed in the London Philarmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road, UK to allow people to hear music clearly.

Shearer Horn System for Theatres

Jan 1, 1937

The Shearer Horn System for Theatres was the first speaker system of industry standard that was installed in the U.S.

IBM 740 CRT Recorder

Oct 12, 1954

IBM 740 CRT Recorder, made by IBM, was first introduced in the US. This product was manufactured in the US. It was compatable with the IBM 740 CRT Display (a monitor).

Stereo Headphones

Jan 1, 1958

John Koss, an American, developed stereo headphones that were used with microgrooved records in the US.

Plasma Display

Jan 1, 1964

Donald Bitzer designed the Plasma Display (monitor) to improve
computer productivity. It was released in the U.S.

IBM's First Read-Write Floppy Disk Drive

Jan 1, 1972

IBM introduced the first read-write floppy disk drive, the Memorex 650, to develop a simple and inexpensive way to load microcode into their System/370s’ predecessors. It was manufactured in the U.S.

The Walkman

Jan 1, 1979

Sony developed the Walkman, a portable music device. It was first introduced in 1979 and sold in Japan, US, and other countries.

IBM PC

Jan 1, 1981

IBM released the IBM PC to replace the old style monitor.
It was first released in the U.S.

First Consumer Laser Printer

Mar 1, 1984

HP introduced the first consumer laser printer in the U.S. The product was to provide high quality text and graphics on plain paper.

First Inexpensive Inkjet Printer

Jan 1, 1988

HP introduced the first inexpensive inkjet printer. It was first released in the U.S. The inkjet printer offered the advantages of printing finer, smoother details, being quieter in operation than the other models, and having practically no warm up time.

First USB Device

Jan 1, 2000

The first USB flash drive was manufactured by Sony in the early 2000s. It was built to store videos, pictures, and other data.

iPod

Oct 23, 2001

iPod was launched worldwide by Apple on October 23, 2001. The product was more user-friendly, had sleek design and provided ample storage for music digital files.

iPad

Jan 27, 2010

The new iPad allows to use multiple input and output devices. iPad is manufactured and marketed by Apple. It was first released in the U.S.