Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Kronoform: Transforming Robot Watch & More - Sort Of...
By bohus
When the Transformers craze hit in the 80's, everyone wanted in. The successful toyline consisted of vehicles (cars, jets) & kid sized replica models (tape recorder, gun) that transformed into robots. The "Transformers" weaved a storyline that combined toys from several different Japanese toy companies - a fascinating history that we'll discuss in the future.
For now here's a toy that wasn't part of the American Transformers saga. I remember TV commercials for this LCD watch with robo-limbs. It was kind of cool that it folded out into the semblance of a robot, but even as a kid I scoffed at the gall of this ad that tried to market the Kronoform as being much more.
When this commercial was on the air, LCD watches were still pretty exotic for a kid to have. The commercial didn't need to try so hard to sell the Kronoform; a robot watch is cool enough, okay? Let's face it - simply standing a robot on its head does not make it a "battle station" or "solar creature". Every kid knows that!
related:
Nintendo robot oscillating fan
2-XL - the robot that runs on 8 track tapes
Build a real HE-RObot
