'80s T.V. Watch

[cageyJG]

Hadn't seen Dragnet ('87) before, then I saw this watch.

How cool is that!Now some such "iCompetitor" is talking about a new one, like it's never been done before. Wrong!

[cageyJG]

Also spotted: The cheeseburger phone.http://www.amazon.com/Hamburger-Cheeseburger-Burger-Phone-Telephone/dp/B0016CVUR8

[Stinger390X]

I used to own a Seiko Computer watch back in the 80's. I remember using the tiny keyboard to input stuff on it to recall when needed. Great for cheating on exams!I loved technology and toys back then and always was the first guy on the block to own new toys. I remember I was the first guy on my block to own a VCR and we rented movies and I would have fifteen people over to my house on a Sunday night to watch videos.Then the "Superchannel"(first pay tv movie channel in Canada) came out so I went to buy blank VHS tapes. Could you believe I paid $45 dollars for a package of THREE VHS-120 tapes!!!Get this... the vcr had a remote control with a twenty foot wire on it and the tape was a "toploader"!We have come a long way since then.......................I taped a lot of 80's TV on that machine especially when the price of vhs tapes became reasonable to buy later on. I still have many programs from the 80's in their original format on vhs, but mind you the quality is getting very poor over the years!Recently I bought a combination VHS-to-DVD recorder machine. A few years ago these things were 500 bucks so I never bought one until I found one on sale a few months ago to 79 bucks. I have been transferring some of my rarest programs to dvd from the old vhs collection. I wish I had started earlier but the price of these machines were ridiculous before. Some of my classic movies on vhs are in very poor condition.................By the way...I gave the JVC VCR to my mother in law as she only watches the odd movie now and then. The vcr still sits on top of her tv and it still works over thirty five years after it's original purchase! try to find a product today that lasts five years???

[BlueAir]

I want that TV watch!To me,even today it looks futuristic.I can imagine someone being fooled into thining that it is new technology and be shocked that it is an '80s gadget.I would love to have a phone like what Crockett has in the St.Vitus Dance.I seen one on ebay titled as a "Miami Vice phone".The problem is that the phone is wireless and its signal might be jammed,will it still work or does one have to rig it to get anything?I wouldn't mind getting some vintage VHS,stereo,and CD players from the '80s in my place just for the heck of it!

[Diplo]

Indeed 80s VCRs, especially those top-loaders, where built like a tank. Personally, I own a mid range model I bought about mid 90s. I used it every day in the 90s, in recent years not so much, though. I had it repaired a few weeks ago, because I still have quite a collection of old tapes. Prices for tapes in the early days were really insanely high, but as I recall, they were heftier and somehow seemed to have better quality, at least the VHS-tapes. Regarding those Seiko watches with extra functions, imho, a lot stuff today seems like a refinement of things invented in the 80s, like Mp3-Players are just a refinement of the idea of the Walkman. I don't know how you guys perceive it in your countries, but planned obsolescence in consumer products has become quite a topic in recent years. A lot of products are cheaper than ever - TVs, dish washers, fridges, washing mashines. In recent years, people threw out their old stuff here in Germany, in order to save money by using newer, more energy-efficient stuff. Problem is, that old washing machines often worked at least 15 years plus without any malfunction, whereas newer washing machines last meager five years, and they are often that cheap, that the repair is too pricy. And we also might experience the same problems with cars in upcoming years. They squeeze 150+ hp out of turbo-charged 1.2-litre-engines now -more fuel efficient, but way more complicated engines.

[BlueAir]

Indeed 80s VCRs' date=' especially those top-loaders, where built like a tank. Personally, I own a mid range model I bought about mid 90s. I used it every day in the 90s, in recent years not so much, though. I had it repaired a few weeks ago, because I still have quite a collection of old tapes. Prices for tapes in the early days were really insanely high, but as I recall, they were heftier and somehow seemed to have better quality, at least the VHS-tapes. Regarding those Seiko watches with extra functions, imho, a lot stuff today seems like a refinement of things invented in the 80s, like Mp3-Players are just a refinement of the idea of the Walkman. I don't know how you guys perceive it in your countries, but planned obsolescence in consumer products has become quite a topic in recent years. A lot of products are cheaper than ever - TVs, dish washers, fridges, washing mashines. In recent years, people threw out their old stuff here in Germany, in order to save money by using newer, more energy-efficient stuff. Problem is, that old washing machines often worked at least 15 years plus without any malfunction, whereas newer washing machines last meager five years, and they are often that cheap, that the repair is too pricy. And we also might experience the same problems with cars in upcoming years. They squeeze 150+ hp out of turbo-charged 1.2-litre-engines now -more fuel efficient, but way more complicated engines.[/quote']I get the same impression when I look at new cars.They look like they could only go so far before some issue happens,cheap is what comes in my mind!.It seems like quite a few gadgets from the '80s can still do the job and more reliable then their modern counterparts which is awesome!