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The Sony Watchman is a line of portable pocket televisions trademarked and produced by
File:Sony watchman models (cropped).jpg, Various models of Sony Watchmen
File:Sony watchman fd210.jpg, A Sony FD-210 Watchman
File:Sony Watchman TV FD-10A Austin Calhoon Photograph.jpg, Sony FD-10 Pocket Watchman
The Short History of Pocket TV
Vintage Micro Television
{{Sony Corp Watchman Television technology Mobile technology Portable electronics Products introduced in 1982 Japanese inventions
The Sony Watchman is a line of portable pocket televisions trademarked and produced by Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
. The line was introduced in 1982 and discontinued in 2000.
Its name came from a portmanteau formed of "Watch" (watching television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
) and "man" from Sony's Walkman
is a brand of Personal stereo, portable audio players manufactured by Sony since 1979. It was originally introduced as a portable Compact Cassette, cassette player and later expanded to include a range of portable audio products. Since 2011, ...
personal cassette audio players. There were more than 65 models of the Watchman before its discontinuation. As the models progressed, display size increased and new features were added. Due to the switch to digital broadcasting, most models of the Sony Watchman can no longer be used to receive live television broadcasts without the use of a digital converter box.
FD-210
The initial model was introduced in 1982 as the FD-210 (FD-200 in Japan), which had a black & white five- centimeter (2")Cathode-ray tube
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms on an oscilloscope, a ...
display. The device weighed around 650 gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...
s (23 oz), with a measurement of 87 x 198 x 33 millimeters (3½" x 7¾" x 1¼"). The device was sold in Japan with a price of 54,800 yen. Roughly two years later, in 1984, the device was introduced to Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
.
Later releases
Sony manufactured more than 65 models of the Watchman before its discontinuation in 2000. Upon the release of further models after the FD-210, the display size increased, and new features were introduced. The FD-3, introduced in 1987, had a built-in digital clock. The FD-30, introduced in 1984 had a built-in AM/FM Stereo radio. The FD-40/42/44/45 were among the largest Watchmen, utilizing a 4" CRT display. The FD-40 introduced a single composite A/V input. The FD-45, introduced in 1986, was water-resistant. In 1988/1989, the FDL 330S color Watchman TV/Monitor with LCD display was introduced. In 1990, the FDL-310, a Watchman with a color LCD display was introduced. The FD-280/285, made from 1990 to 1994, was the last Watchman to use a black and white CRT display. One of the last Watchmen was the FDL-22 introduced in 1998, which featured an ergonomic body which made it easier to hold, and introduced Sony's ''Straptenna'', where the wrist strap served as the antenna.Marketing and media
A model of the Sony Watchman (FD-40A) is seen multiple times in the film '' Rain Man''.Gallery
References
External links
The Short History of Pocket TV
Vintage Micro Television
{{Sony Corp Watchman Television technology Mobile technology Portable electronics Products introduced in 1982 Japanese inventions