The Seiko TV Watch

I first saw the Seiko TV Watch at the Seiko headquarters in Japan on display as part of the company’s personal museum collection. The watch is an incredible item because it didn’t have a clear consumer purpose when it was released. At the time the Japanese market was entirely OK trying to invest in new consumer needs and habits — so, why not assume that a lot of people traveling on public transportation might like to watch television on their wrist, similar to how they might listen to music or the news, all on their wrist... More here.

Few products exude the time they came from more than the Seiko TV Watch. The terrible earphones, the clunky experience and unreliability all emphasise how cutting edge this product was. And it is still a charming artefact from a time when we were just starting to think about personal tech that we could carry with us.