“Everything from 1991 Radio Shack Ad I Now Do With My Phone”, Steve Cichon2014-01-14 (economics, tech; backlinks)⁠:

I recently came across a big pile of The Buffalo News front sections from 1991, every day for the first 3 months of the year… collected as the First Gulf War unfolded…The back page of the front section on Saturday, February 16, 1991 was 4⁄5^ths covered with a Radio Shack ad.

There are 15 electronic gizmo type items on this page, being sold from America’s Technology Store. 13 of the 15 you now always have in your pocket…So here’s the list of what I’ve replaced with my iPhone.

1. All weather personal stereo, $29.57^$11.88₁₉₉₁. · I now use my iPhone with an Otter Box [rugged iPhone case]

2. AM/FM clock radio, $34.55^$13.88₁₉₉₁. · iPhone.

3. In-Ear Stereo Phones, $19.62^$7.88₁₉₉₁. · Came with iPhone.

4. Microthin calculator, $12.15^$4.88₁₉₉₁. · Swipe up on iPhone.

5. Tandy1000 TL/3, $3,980.37^$1,599₁₉₉₁. I actually owned a Tandy1000, and I used it for games and word processing. · I now do most of both of those things on my phone.
6. VHS Camcorder, $1,988.94^$799₁₉₉₁. · iPhone.

7. Mobile Cellular Telephone, $495.37^$199₁₉₉₁. · Obvious.

8. Mobile CB, $124.34^$49.95₁₉₉₁. Ad says “You’ll never drive ‘alone’ again!” · iPhone.

9. 20-Memory Speed-Dial phone, $74.55^$29.95₁₉₉₁. · Obvious.

10. Deluxe Portable CD Player, $398.16^$159.95₁₉₉₁. 80 minutes of music, or 80 hours of music? · iPhone.

11. 10-Channel Desktop Scanner, $247.81^$99.55₁₉₉₁. I still have a scanner, but I have a scanner app, too. · iPhone.

12. Easiest-to-Use Phone Answerer, $124.34^$49.95₁₉₉₁. · iPhone voicemail.

13. Handheld Cassette Tape Recorder, $74.55^$29.95₁₉₉₁. · I use the Voice Memo app almost daily.

14. Bonus Replacement: It’s not an item for sale, but at the bottom of the ad, you’re instructed to ’check your phone book for the Radio Shack Store nearest you.’ Do you even know how to use a phone book?

You’d have spent $7,604.33^$3,054.82₁₉₉₁ in 1991 to buy all the stuff in this ad that you can now do with your phone. That amount is roughly equivalent to about $7,018.56^$5,100₂₀₁₂ in 2012 dollars.

The only 2 items on the page that my phone really can’t replace:

• Tiny Dual-Superhet Radar Detector, $199.02^$79.95₁₉₉₁. But when is the last time you heard the term “fuzzbuster” anyway?

• 3-Way speaker with massive 15-inch Woofer, $373.27^$149.95₁₉₉₁.

It’s nothing new, but it’s a great example of the technology of only 2 decades ago now replaced by the 3.95 ounce bundle of plastic, glass, and processors in our pockets.

See Also:

• “The return of the $70 video game has been a long time coming: Top-end game pricing has never been lower when measured in constant dollars”

• “Secrets of the Little Blue Box: A story so incredible it may even make you feel sorry for the phone company”

• “Transistor Radios Around the World: 1958 Braun T3”

• “Harvard Innovation Lab visualizes the evolution of the desk”

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