These may look like Bang & Olufsen TV remote controls from the 1980s but they're actually Sinclair Sovereign LED calculators from 1977. Sadly, the Sovereign was a market failure due in part to the nearly simultaneous domination of the category by its technology successor, the LCD calculator. From Planet Sinclair:
Sinclair Sovereign (1977) (Thanks, Rob Beschizza!)
Named patriotically for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Sinclair Sovereign was an attempt to break out of the bottom end of the calculator market and recapture the top end. It was one of the better-engineed Sinclair calculators and was very well-designed - so much so, in fact, that Sinclair designer John Pemberton won a Design Council Award for it. It was available in a satin chrome finish or plated in silver or gold. A few limited edition silver Sovereigns inscribed to commemorate the Silver Jubilee were also produced. Sinclair even produced two in solid gold!
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Sweet. I'd enter the destruct sequence for my doomsday device into one of these babies anyday.
I have one of those. It actually used it as a toy when I was a kid. Pretended it was all kinds of sci-fi gadgets. Really cool.
Sinclair was a flawed genius, he did however anticipate the mass appeal of low-priced, well designed electronic gadgets. As always the Brits were out marketed and out produced by the Japanese and Americans but much of today's mobile phone, home computer and iPod culture has its roots in Cambridge and Clive Sinclair. Pity about the C5.
Non US readers should try and catch Micro Men which was broadcast yesterday on the BBC, I'm sure it's out there somewhere.
My dad had one of those (a little bit the worse for wear than the ones in the photo). It was cool in the way that only chunky electro-mechanical tech can be. I recall that the button presses had this satisfying *click* that really made you part of the input process.
*nostalge*
That looks cool, and I'm not too surprised that it picked up a design award; but the ergonomics seem extraordinarily questionable. Too tall and skinny to thumb-type on two handed(not that you'd really want to do that, given the calculator tech of the era, you'd probably want one hand for a pencil, to note down results) and not sized right to control one handed, remote style.
Micro Men is available via the BBC iPlayer (only with a UK IP, but you Boing Boingers probaby know how to deal with that).
"Non US readers should try and catch Micro Men which was broadcast yesterday on the BBC"
Unfortunately, this programme (made with the help of Acorn staff members) shows the opposite to the reality which was an extremely rude and arrogant Chris Curry and Acorn, and the calm collected modest and quiet genius Clive Sinclair.
Still facts don't get in the way of a good story.