iPods and Transistor Radios Separated at Birth?
@Michael Jack. An iPod with the Regency TR-1 in red (1954-55) and TR-4 (black).
Recording engineer and music producer Michael Jack has amassed an amazing collection of 1,100 transistor radios.
@Michael Jack. Look familiar? An iPod with a Zenith RE-10
These models from the 1950s look like predecessors of the iPod, he notes on his flickr stream:
“When I fist saw the Zenith RE-10 I figured I had come upon the most obvious inspiration for the iPod… Although all these radios appear to have similar design elements to the iPod I would ALMOST bet that the RE-10 was studied (or at least observed) by the Mac design team.”
@Michael Black. Note: the size of the iPod's click wheel about the same as radio's tuning dial.
I love the still-modern look of these half-century old radios, whether Jonathan Ive used them for inspiration or not.
What do you think?
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco native who has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. You can find her on 
