40 Old Ads For Now-Obsolete Technology That Used To Be Insanely Expensive

Name a better time capsule than ads for technology. Go on, I'll wait.

Looking back at a gadget from decades ago really shows how far humanity has come. A landline answering machine, a 10-megabyte hard drive... It's crazy to think that at one point, now-obsolete technology was not only top-of-the-line but also a bargain. Now, paying a couple of months worth of salary for memory that fits no more than a few songs makes little sense when you consider that 4 terabytes of external storage cost less than $100.

These vintage ads no longer serve any other purpose than to point out the major shifts in technology and how much better things are now. But then again, that's quite something.

#1 Tandy Ct-300 Cellular Phone: $1,499.00

Image credits: sears

#2 Imsai PC With 10mb Hard Disk, 64k Ram: $5,995.00

Image credits: MSAI

#3 Panasonic Rx 5500 Stereo: $576.19

Image credits: panasonic

#4 The 1978 Ibm 5110: $18,000

#5 Sears 8-Digit Electronic Calculator: $98.95

Image credits: sears

#6 Spartan Apple II+ Emulator: $599.00

Image credits: Mimic Systems Inc

#7 Xcomp 10mb Hard Disk: $3,398.00

#8 Corvus Systems Inc. Mass Storage: $5,350.00

Image credits: Corvus Systems Inc

#9 Intecolor 3621 With 51k Disk Drive: $3,300.00

Image credits: ISC

#10 Betavision Video Cassette Recorder: $985.00

#11 Mid-80's Seagate St4096 Memory Hard Disk: $12,000

#12 Ampex Fr200 Tape Transport: $2,675.00

Image credits: AMPEX

#13 Sears Color TV: $327.88

#14 Sinclair Zx80 With 4k Basic: $199.95

#15 Emerson Radio Corporation Television Set - 1949: $599.50

#16 10 Megabyte Hard Drive: $3,500

#17 Phone-Mate Answering Machine: $129.50

#18 Bell & Howell 8mm Camera: $207.70

Image credits: Bell & Howell

#19 Jvc Hr-7300 Vidstar Vhs: $1,280.00

Image credits: JVC

#20 Cellphone From UK: $895

#21 1984 PC Computer Unit: $5,000

#22 1977 The Apple Ll: $1195

#23 Westinghouse 'Big Picture Television': $269 (Today Would Be Around $2,700)

#24 The Trs-80 Micro: $3,875

#25 Trs-80 Computer Sold In 1977: $3,450

#26 Low-Cost Hard Disk Computer: $10k

#27 Osborne Computer: $1795

#28 Atari 400 PC: $549.00

Image credits: Atari

#29 Sinclair Microvision TV: $395.00

#30 Sears Video Arcade: $178.95

#31 Motorola Stereo Hi-Fi Coffee Table: $169.95

Image credits: motorola

#32 15mb Hdd: $2,500

#33 The Commodore 64: $600

#34 10 Megabyte Hard Disk System: $3,695

#35 1976 Apple 1: $666.66

#36 2 Cents A Byte! Sink Your Teeth Into A Helping Of Ram Without Burning A Hole In Your Wallet. From 16-32k Ram Memory: Starting From $299

#37 Realistic Trc-471 Transceiver: $259.95

Image credits: RadioShack

#38 The Apf Imagination Machine A Video Game Console: $599

#39 The Trs-80 Model 4 (1983): $1,300

#40 A Basic Cassette Tape Recorder From Philips: $166