By Admin
We always complain when we see the price tag on that crazy new gadget or new TV. But when you look back at some of the electronic wonders Sony and RCA were throwing out on the market 30 years ago, you realize that we really can’t complain. Figure inflation into the comparison, and that snazzy Hi-Def-Whatever-It-Is seems like a steal. Take a trip down memory lane as we compare some of our favorite electronics to those of yesteryear.
In 1977, an Atari 2600 cost $200. Today, that would be $589. For comparison, an Xbox 360 costs $250 and a Nintendo Wii costs $200.
In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x cost $4,000. In today’s dollars, that’s $8,589. For comparison, the Apple iPhone costs $499.
In 1979, a JVC 19” color TV cost $560. In today’s dollars, that’s $1,650. Today, the Samsung 50” Plasma HDTV costs $899.
In 1977, the radio Shack Tandy TRS-80 was a 1.77 MHZ processor with four kilobytes of RAM. It had no mouse. It cost $600. In today’s dollars, that’s $1,767. Today, the ASUS EEE All-In-One has a 1.60 GHZ processor, two gigabytes of RAM and a 20” screen. It costs $599.
In 1975, a Dot Matrix printer printed one page per minute in black and white only. It cost $450. In today’s dollars, that’s $1,326. Today, the HP Officejet 6000 prints 32 pages per minute in color or black and white, and it has a wireless connection. It costs $899.
In 1977, the Apple II had a 1 MHZ processor with 48Kb of RAM and a 5.25” floppy drive. It cost $2,638. In today’s dollars, that’s $7,770. Today, the 27” Mac has a 3.0 GHZ processor, four gigabytes of RAM, a one TB hard drive, a Magic Mouse and wireless everything. It costs $1,699.