The Sony Watchman is a line of portable pocket television

Handheld television

A Handheld television is a portable device that usually uses a TFT LCD or Organic light-emitting diode color display. Many of these devices resemble handheld transistor radios.-Hardware:...

s trademarked and produced by Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

.

FD-210

The initial model was introduced in 1982 as the FD-210, which had a grayscale five centimeter display. The device weighed around 650 gram

Gram

The gram is a metric system unit of mass....

s, with a measurement of 87 x 198 x 33 millimeters. 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

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

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 Watchmans, 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

Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....

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 Watchmans 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.

Legacy

Due to the switch of over-the-air television to digital, most models of the Sony Watchman in the US have lost their usefulness, because they now require to be connected to a digital converter box. Because of this, the Sony Watchman, especially the older CRT-based models, are becoming increasingly popular as collector's items.

External links

• Reverse Time Page
• The Short History of Pocket TV
• Vintage Micro Television http://www.visions4.net/journal/time-line/