Lesson Three Culture and Products 0503

0503 Lesson Three Culture and Products p48 p35

Well, I’m sure all our listeners would love to be brought up to date on the lastest tiny televisions.

It’s an expanding market, that’s for sure, and they seem to be smaller every year.

Which countries are dominating the market? At the moment it’s Japan, principally.

In the spring of 1982, Sony introduced the Watchman.

Is that the Walkman? No, the Watchman is a portable black and white TV set with a tiny screen and aerial.

How big is the whole thing? Oh, I’d say about 35cm by 12cm and it weighs only a couple of kilograms.

Was it a success from the start?

Funnily enough, a Sony executive said that no one would want to watch a TV while walking around

and also a slightly larger model could be bought for half the price! Really?

But, despite this pessimistic view, sales this model far outnumbered projections.

Well, you never can tell! How big was the initial production?

The company started with 2000 units per month and increased to 5000 by the end of 1982, but they still couldn’t keep up with the demand.

So I suppose they raised the production levels even higher.

It was much more radical than that! In the spring of 1983 Sony launched the watchman all over again with a new model.

Oh, what’s it like? Well, it’s 20% smaller and price is 25% less and the components were designed from scratch.

And what about production levels?

They quadrupled to 20000 units a month just for the Japanese market! The Watchman certainly seems to have taken off. Indeed it has. And I

believe there were other Japanese companies as well.

Yes. At the end of 1982 Hattori—that’s h a a t t o r i

—you know, the makers of Seiko watches—well, they unveiled an even smaller TV, around 3cm,

which is built into a wrist-watch. Incredible! It certainly is.

The rest of the set is carried separately in your pocket and it’s about the size of a packet of king size cigarettes.

And how does it work? It has a liquid crystal display screen.

The TV receiver and battery pack fit into your pocket, and they’re connected by a cord to the watch.

Is there a headphone? Oh, yes, that’s plugged into the receiver as well.

Seems a bit complicated, that one, with all the wires and bits and pieces.

Yes, it does. Any other Japanese models? Yes, Casio—that’s c a s i o.

Their latest is a calculators-sized TV about one-third the bulk of the Watchman

and with 1983 production figures of 2000 units a month. I see.

And, according to a spokesman, they hope to match their calculator sales,

which are about 25 million units per year. Very impressive.

And no doubt other Japanese companies will jump on the bandwagon. Most likely.

Now, could you tell us about other countries making this tiny TVs?

Of course. From Sinclair in England there’s on similar in size to the Casio, and their production levels were 1 million for 1993.

Obviously they’re planning on backing a winner! How right you are.

A representative said they expect a mass-market response, not just as a novelty item.

And just which market are the manufacturers aiming at?