Technology
New Smartphone App
We, at onlythe80s.com, are in the final stages of developing a smartphone app to compliment this site.
At this stage, the app will be only for Android based devices with iOS devices targetted for 2015.
Now for some input from our visitors – What would YOU like to see in the app? Leave a comment below.
Atari Lynx
The Lynx was a colour handheld game console that was released in 1989 – in fact it was the first colour one of its kind.
For the techncially minded, the Lynx used a 65C02 CPU, which was part of the 6502 8-bit family. But it also used a 16-bit graphics chip to achieve all the scaling and sprite effects – a stand out amongst other competing products.
The Lynx could run by batteries or mains, and had the ability for headphones to be connected also. There were two slidewheels, one for screen contrast and and the other for volume.
A large number of games were released for the Lynx – 120 in fact, and they came in the form of slim ROM cards that made them fairly easy to store. They featured a lip on the top so you could remove them from the back of the unit easier once finished playing that game.
With a backlit display, the console featured a switchable right-handed/left-handed configuration, and the ability to network with up to 17 other units via its “ComLynx” system which in essence was a proprietry cable that Atari produced to phuscially link multiple units together. The best mutiplayer game was undeniably Slimeworld. Here’s a peek of the gameplay:
In the same year, Nintendo released the (monochromatic) Game Boy, and gradually they gained the market share of the console world (why I dont know – IMO the Lynx was better).
In 1990, Atari released version two of the Lynx. It was a bulkier unit, and what I noticed is that the volume could not go as loud as version 1. However, it had a clearer screen and a power save feature if you were running off batteries.
Retro iPhone Cover
I have to laugh at this. I was glad to get rid of my brick a longggg time ago but it seems it has returned to haunt.
For people that weren’t lucky(?) enough to experience the size of mobile phones in the 80s (I’ll leave the exorbitant running costs for another post), the mobilephone massif has created a cover/case for your iPhone. It’s not truely comparable to the bricks of yesteryear, but it’s the closest you will get to one (that actually still works).
Sony Discman
The Sony Discman was a portable CD player that took over from where the Walkman left off. Released to the masses in November 1984, it took the world by storm but I remember that there wasn’t a huge range of CDs to pick from – if you were a David Bowie fan then you were in luck! All of his were available, and not much else was/
Live TV demonstrated the unit to show how even scratched discs could still play and being digital, the quality of the sound would never diminish – something laughable today but at the time it was a big selling point.
Even though it was sold as portable, the D50 (which was the first model) required the purchase of a battery pack that attached to the back of the unit which added to the sized and weight. If you didn’t use the battery pack, power was supplied by a conventional plug pack transformer.
The original discman did not like getting knocked or bumped. It was a bit sensitive and it wasn’t the type of thing you could go running with.
I still have my original D50 and after all the years it works flawlessly. Typical Sony quality! Below is a pic of my discman:
I also still have my D121 and shown below is a photo of it. Again, still working as good as the day I bought it.
Even though the Walkman was originally released in the late 70s, it was the 80s that they became popular – for many years even after the Discman was released.