Retro Techno: Brionvega TS-502

If the portable radio was the MP3 player of the 1960s, then this was the iPod of the day.

Designed by Richard Sapper and his mentor Marco Zanuso, it is essentially two cubes joined by a hinge. This allowed the device to close like a book, protecting the speaker and AM/FM dial. A U-shaped handle could be slid up, allowing it to be carried like a lunch box.

Sapper and Zanuso developed a series of designs for Brionvega, including the iconic Algol and Doney 14 television sets. The company was working at a time when television and radio design and production was increasingly moving to Japan, and its efforts mark an important period in Italian design.

The TS-502 went back into limited production a couple of years ago, and there are still a few about if you trawl the internet.

Posted on August 1, 2009 | Filed Under Tech

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