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Sexy, Simple Sony: The TR-1825 Radio

By Rain Noe - November 29, 2011

in Product Design

[Photos from Flickr user afghtiga's excellent "Design Icons" photoset]

It's quite a feat of industrial design to produce something in 1970 that still looks contemporary 41 years later. Sony handily achieved that feat with their TR-1825 radio, a modernist cube that you slid open to expose the speaker on the front face while simultaneously revealing the controls up top.

Says Sony Design's History page,

Released in 1970, when Sony had become the first Japanese company to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Sliding the faces on this cubic radio reveals a speaker in front and controls on top, a unique design at the time. One version of its packaging commemorates the World Expo in Osaka, held in March that year, and many expo-goers picked up the radio as a gift.

Good luck finding one these days, though; even the mighty eBay was TR-1825-less at press time.

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David

10 years ago

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I have one, a red one. It works perfectly. Except the button of theh red slider is missing.
I don't know how my parents got one of these. But as my gather worked with a lot of foreign people, i am sure they gave him that as a present.
I was wondering, is it worth something? It works fijne, misses the button, and has of course scratches of using it.
Althought I have no intention to sell it, except somebody offers me a something hood. i was wondering if this is a "thing" I should keep. Sadly it only has AM, but at least it works
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wheela

12 years ago

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Sony-TR-1825-Cube-1970-Vintage-AM-Transistor-Radio-Mid-Century-Design-/170736904106?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D1%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4572385555006143513
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