35 Retro Tech Pictures from The 70s Through The Early 00s Showing How Far Technology Has Come
I grew up in the 80s, which means my idea of “cool tech” used to involve blinking lights, chunky buttons, and machines that made loud, confident noises when they turned on.
I’ve always loved technology, and looking back at the gadgets from the 80s and 90s feels like flipping through an old sci-fi catalog of the past.
These retro tech photos are a perfect mix of impressive and hilarious. Back then, everything looked futuristic even when it barely worked.
Now, we carry more power in our pockets than entire computer rooms once held. It’s wild how fast things changed in just a few decades.
These pictures show how cool tech used to look and just how far we’ve come in such a short time.
1. The KoalaPad (1983) was a 1983 graphics tablet for the Apple II, TRS-80, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64 and PC.
2. The Nokia 770 from 2005 was a Linux-based tablet that connected to WiFi. It had a touch sensitive screen.
3. This was my first own CD player. The Sony Discman D-E307CK.
4. Apple VideoPad prototype from MacWorld (1995)
5. Seiko TV Watch (1982)
6. The IBM ThinkPad 220 from 1993 with a 6.4 inch screen
7. HP-41C calculator from 1979
8. The HTC Universal from 2005 ran Windows Mobile and accessed the 3G network, a rare connection at the time.
9. Otrona 2001 (1984)
10. Bang & Olufsen Beosound 9000 6-disc CD player (1996). This CD player could be mounted vertically on a wall.
11. Peugeot Quasar concept (1984)
12. Fujitsu Oasys 30AF (1986)
13. Canon Fax 170 (1992). This was the future we were promised.
14. The Toshiba Portege P3110CT Ultrabook (2004)
15. One of my brothers gave me a Maclock for Christmas. It’s going to live on my desk next to Robie and my Snood mug.
16. RCA Dimensia (1985)
17. Virtuality VR for the Commodore Amiga (1992). These were sold for $65,000
18. Sony Ericsson P910i (2004)
19. The perfect form factor existed back in 1997. Psion Series 5 Palm-top computer.
20. This reflective acrylic sheet shows how 1980s illustrators were able to trace real-life objects on the computer. Once it was aligned, it reflected whatever was in front of it over the monitor’s display, allowing artists to trace it in a tool like MacPaint or MS Paint. Simple, low tech and effective.
21. Thinking Machines CM-2 (1983). The CM-5 was in the movie Jurassic Park.
22. The Barbie PC (1999)
23. The $99 TwitterPeek from 2009 was a dedicated handheld that only accessed Twitter. Service cost $8/mo or $199 for lifetime access before shutting down in 2012.
24. Citroën Visa (1978)
25. Camaro Berlinetta (1984)
26. Amiga Computing Magazine (1988)
27. The Tele-Mouse 3D Mouse and Phone called itself a product of the “internet era.” I can’t find the exact year, but it was from the early 2000s.
28. The Nokia 5110 (1998)
29. Sun Ball, designed by Ferdinand Ris
30. Casio TV300 pocket color television (1987)
31. Tribute to Winamp (by @rickgude )
32. I’ve never wanted a reverb amp as much as I’ve wanted the Sansui RA-700 (1975)
33. Apple’s Newton prototypes (1995, MacWorld)
34. Mazda Cosmo (1981)
35. Remember when Zip disks were the industry standard?
