> Mobile CB, $49.95. Ad says “You’ll never drive ‘alone’ again!” iPhone.
I mean sort of. CBs are still a thing that the phone doesn't quite replicate.
I would make the argument that the modern version of this is LORA/Meshtastic... Im sure at some point they will jam a few more radios into the phone just to have more features.
Interesting that one of the items that they iPhone can’t replace is the “fuzz buster”, a radar detector
Arguably that’s also covered by Waze or any other speed trap app
But the dystopian take is that the iPhone gave away far more to the surveillance state than we ever had with scanners and radar detectors of old. I don’t think we’ll ever go back.
Except the stun gun, volt meter, and the cash. Even back then, they call out the value of non-digital paper money. A phone absolutely can't replace that.
While its rather cool that its available to everyone. Phones kinda killed the cool gadget market. Since your phone does everything, anything new or interesting is now some $5k+ minimum purchase.
I wonder if inflation adjusted gadgets are similar priced.
Author seems to have misread what the ”10-channel desktop scanner” is about. He seems to think it’s referring to an image scanner? I think it’s a device that monitors AM or FM radio for you.
I’m sure it’s been made obsolete, but I’m not sure it was by the iPhone.
So my broad comment is, yes, your iPhone will replace all of these things, with some compromises. Its just like the things I see with with UI/UX design in my day job - I can make an app that does three unrelated things, but you lose something for each functionality you're adding in.
* All weather personal stereo, $11.88. I now use my iPhone with an Otter Box
Sort of, but not exactly, yes it does all of the things my portable radio does, but not as well - mostly audio fidelity.
* AM/FM clock radio, $13.88. iPhone.
Again, sort of, but not exactly, yes it does all of the things my clock radio does, but not as well - mostly audio fidelity.
* In-Ear Stereo Phones, $7.88. Came with iPhone.
This is a place with notable improvements from then.
* Microthin calculator, $4.88. Swipe up on iPhone.
This is a place with notable improvements from then.
* Tandy 1000 TL/3, $1599. I actually owned a Tandy 1000, and I used it for games and word processing. I now do most of both of those things on my phone.
If this was an iPad I would agree, but it's the same thing as the others - sort of but not exactly. It can do those things, but not as well.
* VHS Camcorder, $799. iPhone.
Again, yes if I squint at it - but it's the same thing as the others - sort of but not exactly. It can do those things, but not always as well without additional accessories.
* Mobile Cellular Telephone, $199. Obvs.
This is a place of clear improvement, todays cell phones are a world better in both audio quality and coverage.
* Mobile CB, $49.95. Ad says “You’ll never drive ‘alone’ again!” iPhone.
Yes, iPhone can do these things, but not as well as a dedicated device (no PTT button for a start)
* 20-Memory Speed-Dial phone, $29.95.
Yes, a clear win for replacement.
* Deluxe Portable CD Player, $159.95. 80 minutes of music, or 80 hours of music? iPhone.
Yes, a clear win for replacement.
* 10-Channel Desktop Scanner, $99.55. I still have a scanner, but I have a scanner app, too. iPhone.
Not much of an improvement over a dedicated device.
Voicemail (which you could get in 1991), is a clear winner over an answering machine.
* Handheld Cassette Tape Recorder, $29.95. I use the Voice Memo app almost daily.
Also a clear improvement.
* 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?
The internet replaced the phonebook before ubiquitous mobile data, I do miss phonebooks however.
Maybe I missed the rollout for the iPhone that performs all these functions, but no iPhone has ever:
• Picked up AM/FM radio (even though throwaway Nokia mobiles could do so)
• Allowed you to talk to truckers on the CB band.
• Played CDs you already own.
iPhones no longer come with earbuds (so they can sell you overpriced wireless ones), and a wayward update to the Calculator app kept it from functioning like a traditional 4-function calculator ever again. (Delete button? Really?)
Considering this article is nearly 12 years old and there have been no improvements on the above I declare this list dubious at best.
Tangibly related, but I enjoy remembering my GCSE (an exam taken in the UK at 16 as you leave compulsory education) Maths teachers telling us “you won’t always have a calculator in your pocket”. I guess they were half right, in a way? It’s not a calculator, but it does have a calculator alongside access to the entirety of human knowledge.
On the other side of the coin, while I enjoy this memory I do think it’s a shame how lacking most people’s mental arithmetic skills are… and indeed their understanding of some basic mathematical constructs, like multiplication being commutative, but I suppose that’s not the calculators fault.
So we pay roughly 3 times more for the same functionality... Is the convince worth that much?? By this logic in 2090 people would have to pay most of their salaries for that "one device".... Dystopian....
Wow, cool, but is it a good thing? It's a bummer that so much of computing has moved from content creation devices to content consumption devices. Desktop applications can be more advanced than mobile apps, there's just inherent limitations on the mobile input methods and OS. Though if you're playing games or browsing the web, touching and swiping works great.
Don't even get me started on the fact that only one tech giant allows you to run code on your mobile OS without their permission, and next year we're even losing that. Because the other tech giant normalized taking away the freedom.
It's actually ridiculous that our phones support dozens of sophisticated radio protocols but can't act as two way radios without a cell tower from the right company nearby. A $10 walkie talkie can communicate over miles but your phone is a brick without service. This capability would save more lives than Apple's satellite SOS IMO.
I was sort of on board until the Tandy 1000. It's disingenuous at best to assume that your phone can replace it because it 'does games and word processing'. A phone, no matter how much you like it or how much you can do with it, does not replace an actual personal computer. A phone is a locked down appliance running software written on personal computers. By design, you will never be able to truly explore the system or get it to do anything you can dream. You can do what the software designers / managers want you to do and that's it. (Obviously there are exceptions, but those exceptions are rapidly diminishing.)
These old PCs encouraged exploration, expansion, tinkering, and development. They were true personal devices that you could do whatever you wanted with. Phones are personal in that they know everything about you but they will never match the freedom and exploration of a personal computer.
I truly feel like we've lost something special with the move to smartphones and tablets. :(
44 comments
[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 60.6 ms ] threadI mean sort of. CBs are still a thing that the phone doesn't quite replicate.
I would make the argument that the modern version of this is LORA/Meshtastic... Im sure at some point they will jam a few more radios into the phone just to have more features.
Arguably that’s also covered by Waze or any other speed trap app
But the dystopian take is that the iPhone gave away far more to the surveillance state than we ever had with scanners and radar detectors of old. I don’t think we’ll ever go back.
https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Mondo_2000_ma...
Except the stun gun, volt meter, and the cash. Even back then, they call out the value of non-digital paper money. A phone absolutely can't replace that.
2025 me would prefer the separate devices.
I wonder if inflation adjusted gadgets are similar priced.
To a lesser extent, the good old days when swiping up brought up the control panel
I'd argue this is important to add since iPhones no longer ship with earbuds (or so I'm told; I'm an Android guy myself).
I’m sure it’s been made obsolete, but I’m not sure it was by the iPhone.
* All weather personal stereo, $11.88. I now use my iPhone with an Otter Box
Sort of, but not exactly, yes it does all of the things my portable radio does, but not as well - mostly audio fidelity.
* AM/FM clock radio, $13.88. iPhone.
Again, sort of, but not exactly, yes it does all of the things my clock radio does, but not as well - mostly audio fidelity.
* In-Ear Stereo Phones, $7.88. Came with iPhone.
This is a place with notable improvements from then.
* Microthin calculator, $4.88. Swipe up on iPhone.
This is a place with notable improvements from then.
* Tandy 1000 TL/3, $1599. I actually owned a Tandy 1000, and I used it for games and word processing. I now do most of both of those things on my phone.
If this was an iPad I would agree, but it's the same thing as the others - sort of but not exactly. It can do those things, but not as well.
* VHS Camcorder, $799. iPhone.
Again, yes if I squint at it - but it's the same thing as the others - sort of but not exactly. It can do those things, but not always as well without additional accessories.
* Mobile Cellular Telephone, $199. Obvs.
This is a place of clear improvement, todays cell phones are a world better in both audio quality and coverage.
* Mobile CB, $49.95. Ad says “You’ll never drive ‘alone’ again!” iPhone.
Yes, iPhone can do these things, but not as well as a dedicated device (no PTT button for a start)
* 20-Memory Speed-Dial phone, $29.95.
Yes, a clear win for replacement.
* Deluxe Portable CD Player, $159.95. 80 minutes of music, or 80 hours of music? iPhone.
Yes, a clear win for replacement.
* 10-Channel Desktop Scanner, $99.55. I still have a scanner, but I have a scanner app, too. iPhone.
Not much of an improvement over a dedicated device.
* Easiest-to-Use Phone Answerer, $49.95. iPhone voicemail.
Voicemail (which you could get in 1991), is a clear winner over an answering machine.
* Handheld Cassette Tape Recorder, $29.95. I use the Voice Memo app almost daily.
Also a clear improvement.
* 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?
The internet replaced the phonebook before ubiquitous mobile data, I do miss phonebooks however.
> AM/FM clock radio
> In-Ear Stereo Phones
> Microthin calculator
> Mobile CB
> Deluxe Portable CD Player
Maybe I missed the rollout for the iPhone that performs all these functions, but no iPhone has ever:
• Picked up AM/FM radio (even though throwaway Nokia mobiles could do so)
• Allowed you to talk to truckers on the CB band.
• Played CDs you already own.
iPhones no longer come with earbuds (so they can sell you overpriced wireless ones), and a wayward update to the Calculator app kept it from functioning like a traditional 4-function calculator ever again. (Delete button? Really?)
Considering this article is nearly 12 years old and there have been no improvements on the above I declare this list dubious at best.
On the other side of the coin, while I enjoy this memory I do think it’s a shame how lacking most people’s mental arithmetic skills are… and indeed their understanding of some basic mathematical constructs, like multiplication being commutative, but I suppose that’s not the calculators fault.
Don't even get me started on the fact that only one tech giant allows you to run code on your mobile OS without their permission, and next year we're even losing that. Because the other tech giant normalized taking away the freedom.
- Color TV (screen's a bit tight though)
- VCR
- Pager
- GPS (very recent and expensive in 1991)
- In-car navigation (just barely available in 1991)
- Portable cassette player
- Portable video game console (GameBoy launched in 1989)
- Modem and sound card for the Tandy
- SGI workstation for rendering 3D graphics
It's actually ridiculous that our phones support dozens of sophisticated radio protocols but can't act as two way radios without a cell tower from the right company nearby. A $10 walkie talkie can communicate over miles but your phone is a brick without service. This capability would save more lives than Apple's satellite SOS IMO.
These old PCs encouraged exploration, expansion, tinkering, and development. They were true personal devices that you could do whatever you wanted with. Phones are personal in that they know everything about you but they will never match the freedom and exploration of a personal computer.
I truly feel like we've lost something special with the move to smartphones and tablets. :(