Amazon is a humongous retailer for just about everything. And while you can get tech gear from popular companies, like Samsung, Apple, and Microsoft, from the retail giant, you can also get items from once-popular electronics brands.
We rounded up the best old-school consumer electronics brands that you didn’t know were still around. They might not be as big as currently-hot tech brands, like Google and Sony, but these retro brands were at the top of the heap before things turned in the wrong direction.
It makes you think that one day your favorite tech brand might see the same fate. In fact, during the mid-’90s, Apple was on the verge of collapse until Steve Jobs returned to the company and released the very first Apple iMac in 1998. Just think if Apple crumbled in the ’90s. We might not have the iPhone and other innovative tech products.
Ahead, you’ll find our picks for the best throwback electronics brands that you can still find on Amazon.
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Although Atari had its heyday during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the Atari 2600 gaming console, it fell on rough times after the big video game crash in 1983. And with the emergence of Nintendo throughout the rest of the ‘80s, Atari was all but forgotten over the decades.
However, retro gaming has becoming more and more popular, as Atari released the Atari 2600+, a gaming device that connects to your modern TV and comes with 10 old-school games — including Adventure, Combat, Dodge ‘Em, Maze Craze, and more.
During the early 20th century, RCA (Radio Corporation of America) was a big seller of audio equipment, television sets, record players, home appliances, and more. The company was acquired by General Electric in 1986 and was subsequently divided, acquired, and sold off to other corporations throughout the years.
Today, RCA is owned by Talisman Brands, which licenses the name to consumer electronics companies around the world. Right now, you can find the RCA name on all sorts of appliances and electronics on Amazon, like this universal remote that goes for $8.
While RadioShack was one of the biggest electronics stores with more than 7,000 locations in the country at the height of its success, the company is a shell of its former self. If you long for the days of picking up random gadgets and cables from RadioShack, the brand does have an online store on Amazon — where you can still find RadioShack-branded odds and ends, like this desktop cassette recorder, or earbuds, mouse pads, batteries, cordless telephones, HDMI cables, and more.
Believe it or not, but the Japanese electronics company Toshiba was founded in 1875. And while they’re not as prevalent as they once were in the United States as the manufacturers of televisions and computers during the ‘70s and ‘80s, Toshiba is still alive and kicking.
The company is the maker of wallet-friendly home appliances, like microwaves, convection ovens, and rice cookers, and 4K TVs, including this Toshiba 50-inch Class C350 series LED 4K ultra HD Fire TV.
Originally founded in 1917, Magnavox saw a lot of success during the ‘70s, as the maker of the very first video game home console, the Odyssey, and the laserdisc home video format. In fact, it was so successful that the multinational conglomerate corporation Philips acquired Magnavox.
Today, Magnavox is still a brand on Amazon with budget-friendly portable DVD players and audio gear, like radios, home stereos, and this CD player boombox.
The Japanese brand JVC (Japan Victor Company) is mostly known as the manufacturer of television sets throughout the 20th century. The company even developed the VHS home format and camcorder. In fact, the camcorder used in Back To The Future was reportedly the JVC GR-C1 VideoMovie.
Nowadays, JVC still makes consumer electronics, like speakers, projectors, and these wireless earbuds. In 2008, JVC merged with audio equipment manufacturer Kenwood to become JVCKenwood.
At the advent of home personal computers, Compaq was at the forefront delivering high quality PCs during the early ‘80s. However, throughout the years, other computer manufacturers, like Hewlett Packard, started to take over the personal computer market and even acquired Compaq in 2002. In fact, HP uses the Compaq brand name to market budget-friendly laptops and tablets, like the Compaq Tablet Q10 Plus.
Founded in 1912, Japanese electronics company Sharp was a manufacturer of TVs and CD players during the 20th century, as the brand shifted to mobile phones during the early 2000s. In fact, some say that Sharp released the very first camera phone back in the year 2000. Sharp now primarily makes calculators and adding machines, like this Sharp Ink printing calculator.