WD200711ZA-sm.pdf

Gadget Hall of Fame
Regency TR-1
Transistor Radio
With its “genuine superheterodyne circuit”
and “standard 22½-volt battery,” the
Regency TR-1 not only launched portable
audio, it also brought us gobbledygook
technospeak. The Regency was the first
transistor product for the mainstream.
A relatively simple 12-ounce AM radio, it
marked the turning point from analog to
digital and the start of a half-century of
breakneck innovation in consumer electronics.
It’s quite possible the Regency also
pioneered the idea of high tech as fashion
accessory: Originally available in four
colors, it soon expanded to 11 options,
including jade green and pink.
1954