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40 Hilarious Ads For Technology From The Past That Look Insanely Expensive Now
Name a better time capsule than ads for technology. Go on, I'll wait.
Looking back at a gadget from decades ago really shows how far humanity has come. A landline answering machine, a 10-megabyte hard drive... It's crazy to think that at one point, now-obsolete technology was not only top-of-the-line but also a bargain. Now, paying a couple of months worth of salary for memory that fits no more than a few songs makes little sense when you consider that 4 terabytes of external storage cost less than $100.
These vintage ads no longer serve any other purpose than to point out the major shifts in technology and how much better things are now. But then again, that's quite something.
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#1
Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00 [$3,116.43 Today]
![Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00 [$3,116.43 Today]](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/old-vintage-technology-ads-1-2-5f2a54d04a3dd__700.jpg "Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00 [$3,116.43 Today]")
Haunting Spirit 5 years ago
In twenty years the ad will be replaced by an iPhone or Samsung phone as they are way too expensive for what you get nowadays.
As this list clearly illustrates, there seems to be a significant innovation that changes how we live our lives each decade. With these advancements, some technology always becomes obsolete. With this in mind, one might wonder: which today's devices can become useless in the future?
Isaiah Nwukor, web developer and designer at Storemods, a service for e-commerce-using individuals, said that the cloud might eventually become all that people use for data storage, pushing the flash drive out into oblivion.
In the early 2000s, USB drives replaced floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs due to their larger storage capacity, but now cloud storage has become the top competitor when it comes to storing and sharing. Mostly because of its limitless capacity and increased security.
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#2
Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00 [$18,700 Today]
![Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00 [$18,700 Today]](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/old-vintage-technology-ads-1-12-5f2a54e532eb6__700.jpg "Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00 [$18,700 Today]")
chi-wei shen 5 years ago
In the early 1980s hard disks were not that common. Many computers had 1 or sometimes 2 floppy disk drives.
Some experts are also saying their goodbyes to laptops. "Laptops are quickly being replaced by tablets. Modern tablets have more computing power than the traditional user needs," Bryan Lemon, software development lead at Heliponix told Business Insider, adding that most computing needs, even those of many software developers, will likely transition to tablets.
Lemon said it might become common to have a tablet with a docking station that allows peripheral attachments, like a keyboard or a larger screen.
#3
Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19 [$2,046 Today]
![Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19 [$2,046 Today]](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/old-vintage-technology-ads-1-4-5f2a54d529e9a__700.jpg "Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19 [$2,046 Today]")
And let's not forget the advancements made in developing autonomous cars. "The driver's seat will become just another passenger seat as self-driving cars become more powerful and a new generation doesn't even learn how to drive," Lemon said.
Of course, all of this play out to be completely differently. Because as you might not, even though there have been accurate prophecies about the future, there were horribly bad ones, too.
#4
The 1978 Ibm 5110: $18,000
#5
Sears 8-Digit Electronic Calculator: $98.95
#6
Xcomp 10mb Hard Disk: $3,398.00
MrTree1779 5 years ago
I just bought two 12TB Hard drives for $280. $23/TB. -- This 10MB HD is priced at $340 per MB. At that rate, the 12TB HDs I bought would have cost $23M. -- Today, 1GB (1000MB) is around...23 cents. And 10MB of space is worth less than a penny. -- Amazing how much tech changes in 30-40 years.
#7
Spartan Apple II+ Emulator: $599.00
#8
Betavision Video Cassette Recorder: $985.00
#9
Corvus Systems Inc. Mass Storage: $5,350.00
moldyapples 5 years ago
I worked at Corvus Systems from 1979 to 1988, employee #9. I have that poster on my office wall. We could not build those drives fast enough.
#10
Intecolor 3621 With 51k Disk Drive: $3,300.00
#11
Sinclair Zx80 With 4k Basic: $199.95
#12
Phone-Mate Answering Machine: $129.50
Meyer Weinstock 5 years ago
Had one. My elder mother still uses hers, which she bought in 1983...
#13
Emerson Radio Corporation Television Set - 1949: $599.50
WilvanderHeijden 5 years ago
Would be cool to get one of these, replace the tv with a touchscreen pc and use it to play my music....
#14
Jvc Hr-7300 Vidstar Vhs: $1,280.00
#15
Sears Color TV: $327.88
#16
Motorola Stereo Hi-Fi Coffee Table: $169.95
#17
Trs-80 Computer Sold In 1977: $3,450
#18
Mid-80's Seagate St4096 Memory Hard Disk: $12,000
Matthew Smith 5 years ago
I can tell you from personal experience that de-fragging one of those drives takes hours.
#19
10 Megabyte Hard Drive: $3,500
ISAAC HARVEY 5 years ago
And today, one can get an iPad Pro with 1 terabyte(1024 Gb) of storage from Apple for around $1500.
#20
Sinclair Microvision TV: $395.00
#21
Cellphone From UK: $895
Matthew Smith 5 years ago
This is why I didn't bother with a mobile phone till they became affordable around the late 90's.
#22
Ampex Fr200 Tape Transport: $2,675.00
MrTree1779 5 years ago
C'mon, right? I mean, who *doesn't* want a tape player build right into the wall and exposed to the elements? If that thing un-spools, they can just use one of those giant *gag* pens to re-spool it.
#23
Bell & Howell 8mm Camera: $207.70
M O'Connell 5 years ago
since the zoom mechanism was driven by the same clockwork that advanced the film, I wonder if the frame-rate briefly dipped while using that feature.
#24
Osborne Computer: $1795
#25
1977 The Apple Ll: $1195
#26
1984 PC Computer Unit: $5,000
#27
The Commodore 64: $600
#28
The Trs-80 Model 4 (1983): $1,300
Madzdad the bard 5 years ago
I actually had this. My dad added an extra 64k memory to the base 64k, but since it was an 8-bit OS, it could only access 64k of memory and the rest (that he paid several hundred $ for) could only be used as a RAM drive.
#29
Westinghouse 'Big Picture Television': $269 (Today Would Be Around $2,700)
MrTree1779 5 years ago
Another 1949 ad which promises the ridiculous: "Giant Electronic close-up". Definitely a feature we've all used on our TVs. Right...
#30
Atari 400 PC: $549.00
MrTree1779 5 years ago
Exactly 2-3 games being advertised. The rest are "educational" or "business". Console computer companies often had no clue who their real audiences were...
#31
Realistic Trc-471 Transceiver: $259.95
#32
15mb Hdd: $2,500
#33
The Trs-80 Micro: $3,875
#34
1976 Apple 1: $666.66
#35
Sears Video Arcade: $178.95
#36
10 Megabyte Hard Disk System: $3,695
#37
Low-Cost Hard Disk Computer: $10k
Terri Rimmer 5 years ago
My dad was a computer tech in the 70s, working on giant computers for The Omni.
#38
2 Cents A Byte! Sink Your Teeth Into A Helping Of Ram Without Burning A Hole In Your Wallet. From 16-32k Ram Memory: Starting From $299
Baali Venomax 5 years ago
Sure, so you burn a hole in your parents' wallet instead? like a kid can afford that.
#39
The Apf Imagination Machine A Video Game Console: $599
M O'Connell 5 years ago
Including the tape interface, that seems like a pretty good deal for an entry-level machine.
#40
A Basic Cassette Tape Recorder From Philips: $166
MrTree1779 5 years ago
Matt "Techmoan" Taylor has a great episode explaining Grundig and DC international, and how they relate to Philips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT3_cS1KNYc
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What do you think ?
chi-wei shen 5 years ago
I still remember when these products were new, and now I feel very old.
J Rob 5 years ago
In 40 years you will be able to look back at every single, cutting edge, "high tech" product of today and say the exact same thing.
Jace 5 years ago
Possibly not. The rate of change/advancement in computer tech has slowed down VERY much. There’s not much further to go in making chips smaller or faster, due to physics.
Load More Replies...
Daria B 5 years ago (edited)
"40 Tech Ads That Illustrate How Rapidly Technology Ages And Goes From Super Expensive To Being Useless" No, no, no! The year is poopy enough, let's focus on the positive. How about "40 Tech ads that illustrate history"? Here, better now. ♡ Edit: Also, would love to see some of the east Asian tech pieces too on this list.
Oathbraker 5 years ago
The Japanese make some killer Hi-Fi. There are turntables made in the '70s and '80s that are worth hundreds (and even thousands) now.
Load More Replies... chi-wei shen 5 years ago
I still remember when these products were new, and now I feel very old.
J Rob 5 years ago
In 40 years you will be able to look back at every single, cutting edge, "high tech" product of today and say the exact same thing.
Jace 5 years ago
Possibly not. The rate of change/advancement in computer tech has slowed down VERY much. There’s not much further to go in making chips smaller or faster, due to physics.
Load More Replies... Daria B 5 years ago (edited)
"40 Tech Ads That Illustrate How Rapidly Technology Ages And Goes From Super Expensive To Being Useless" No, no, no! The year is poopy enough, let's focus on the positive. How about "40 Tech ads that illustrate history"? Here, better now. ♡ Edit: Also, would love to see some of the east Asian tech pieces too on this list.
Oathbraker 5 years ago
The Japanese make some killer Hi-Fi. There are turntables made in the '70s and '80s that are worth hundreds (and even thousands) now.
Load More Replies...
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