For the low low price of $250 in 1959 money (around $2200 today) plus another $5.25 ($47 now) for the rechargeable battery, you too can own your very own battery powered television. Imagine being able to watch your favourite programs on a plane or train. It’s as handy as a camera. It only weighs 15 and a half pounds.
Yes, the Philco Safari was a real thing. I’m sure it was pretty cool in its time, but portable? It’s only portable in the same way that a piano is portable if you can find enough people.
Think of it this way. That’s only one large bag and one smaller bag of potatoes. For 1955, that is super portable. Definitely not even close to the same as a piano. The piano is a couple hundred pounds.
I didn’t mean the piano thing literally. I partly wrote it to make Carin laugh, but my point was that even in the 1950s, nobody was dragging that thing onto trains or planes to enjoy media in transit. Yes it’s impressive for the era like I said in the post, but it’s not portable in that context.
That piano thing came from when I was evaluating some piece of equipment that they claimed was portable. It was clunky as hell and heavy and in my evaluation, I said it’s portable in the same way a piano is portable if you have enough men to move it. Yes it can be moved, but it’s clunky and hard to maneuver.