Flashback Friday: The ICC-500
AUTHOR
Gina
|
POSTED 10/9/2009
1967. Twig-like models took over fashion, paper clothing emerged, the summer of love was coined. To add up all these amazing life moments in 1967, you could simply turn on your Sony SOBAX ICC-500.
Titled "SOBAX" this device was considered Sony's first personal computing unit. It stood for "Solid State Abacus" and marketed as a portable electronics calculator. This nifty gadget could calculate process complex calculations quickly and easily.
Displayed first as a prototype in the 1964 World Fair in New York, the ICC-500 was evolved a tad and then hit markets in the summer of love, 1967. Retailing for a little over $1,000, it was considered a pioneer in the world of personal computing. The SOBAX weighed close to 14 pounds and was actually powered by battery. The package included a rechargeable battery along with a car adapter which would let owners plug into a car cigarette lighter and start adding. You know, since we do that all the time…
Although eventually phased out to make way for better, stronger, faster computing devices by Sony – the SOBAX left its mark as the first of its kind to include features such as founding, percentage calculations, floating decimals, etc.
So with better software and powerful computers, we've now gotten the luxury of spending less time calculating and more time relaxing. Why, because the SOBAX ICC-500 helped pave the way and because…It's Flashback Friday.