My Technological History Timeline

By zealeibrandt

  • Record Player Invented

    Records, used to record sound, were invented in 1877 by Thomas Alva Edison, who invented the first machine to record and play back sounds. Early records were cylindrical, but flat disks soon replaced them.

  • Rotary Dial Invented

    I had a rotary dial in my house when I was growing up, around the age of 4. It wasn't connected to a phone line anymore but I enjoyed playing with it and making fake phone calls.

  • Computer Invented

    ENIAC was the first electronic general-purpose computer. It was Turing-complete, digital, and could solve "a large class of numerical problems" through reprogramming.

  • Video Recorder Invented

    The history of the videocassette recorder follows the history of videotape recording in general. Ampex introduced the Quadruplex videotape professional broadcast standard format with its Ampex VRX-1000 in 1956. It became the world's first commercially successful videotape recorder using two-inch (5.1 cm) wide tape.

  • VCR Invented

    I had a VCR player in my house when I was young. We still have old cassette tapes in storage that need to be transferred to DVD.

  • Tape player Invented

    In 1962, Philips invented the Compact Cassette medium for audio storage, introducing it in Europe on 30 August 1963 at the Berlin Radio Show, and in the United States in November 1964, with the trademark name Compact Cassette.

  • Laptop Invented

    The Osborne 1, released in 1981, used the Zilog Z80 and weighed 23.6 pounds (10.7 kg). It had no battery, a 5 in (13 cm) CRT screen, and dual 5.25 in (13.3 cm) single-density floppy drives. In the same year the first laptop-sized portable computer, the Epson HX-20, was announced.

  • Discman Invented

    Discman was the product name given to Sony's first portable CD player. The D-5, which was the first on the market in 1984, and adopted for Sony's entire portable CD player line.

  • Gameboy Invented

    The Game Boy is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on April 21, 1989 , in North America on July 31, 1989 , and in Europe on September 28, 1990 .

  • PlayStation 1 Invented

    PlayStation is a series of video game consoles created and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The brand was first introduced on December 3, 1994 in Japan with the launch of the original PlayStation console

  • Flip Phone Invented

    Motorola StarTAC. The Motorola StarTAC is a clamshell mobile phone manufactured by Motorola. It was released on January 3, 1996, being the first ever clamshell/flip mobile phone. The StarTAC is the successor of the MicroTAC, a semi-clamshell design that had been launched in 1989.

  • Tamagotchi Invented

    The Tamagotchi is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi. It was first sold by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads of the 1990s.

  • MP3 Players Invented

    I owned my first MP3 player at the age of 12, in 2008. 10 years after it had been invented.

  • PlayStation 2 Invented

    It is the successor to the PlayStation, and is the second installment in the PlayStation lineup of consoles. It was released on March 4, 2000, in Japan, October 26, 2000 in North America, November 24, 2000 in Europe, and November 17, 2000 in Australia.

  • Nintendo DS Invented

    The Nintendo DS is a 32-bit dual-screen handheld game console developed and released by Nintendo. The device went on sale in North America on November 21, 2004.

  • PlayStation 3 Invented

    PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11, 2006. Soon after its release in Japan, PS3 was released in North America on November 17, 2006.

  • PlayStation Vita Invented

    The PlayStation Vita is a handheld game console developed and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation Portable as part of the PlayStation brand of gaming devices.

  • Iphone 5 Invented

    The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the sixth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4S and preceding the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Formally unveiled as part of a press event on September 12, 2012, it was released on September 21, 2012.

  • PlayStation 4 Invented

    The console was released on November 15, 2013 in the United States and Canada. By the end of 2013, the PS4 was launched in more European, Asian and South American countries The PS4 released in Japan on February 22, 2014.

  • iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Invented

    The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The devices are part of the iPhone series and were announced on September 9, 2014, and released on September 19, 2014. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus jointly serve as successors to the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.