Radio Shack

Surfing the Internet With a Laptop From 1983 Sounds Nightmarish

You think that monstrous hand-me-down Dell laptop you used in college was old? Kyocera’s TRS-80 Model 100 dates all the way back to 1983. It’s considered to be one of the first true laptops. So obviously someone resurrected and hacked one to surf the internet. The glutton for punishment in this case is Ars Technica’s…

iRobot Founder Says She Learned to Program at Radio Shack

Helen Greiner, founder of iRobot, almost single-handedly started the home robotics revolution. Her company produced the sweeping robot, Roomba, and now makes the PackBot, a military robot that can defuse bombs and aid in rescue missions. But she never would have learned to program without Radio Shack. Many of us have been mourning the loss…

Sprint Will Drive a New Phone To You, Just Pleeease Buy a Sprint Phone

Sprint has seemingly tried everything to get people to sign up for its inferior smartphone plans. But since cheap plans with huge amounts of data haven’t worked, it’s going with gimmicks now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the country’s struggling #3 carrier will begin testing a new program whereby phone upgrades will be delivered…

RadioShack Selling Customer Data In Bankruptcy Auction

RadioShack’s recent bankruptcy filing means that it has to close nearly 2,000 stores and sell off many of its assets. Some of those assets are to be expected, like trademarks and store leases. But other assets might come as a shock to consumers — assets like personal customer information and email addresses. As Bloomberg reports,…

These Are The RadioShack Stores That Are Closing

Yes, it’s true: after somehow clinging on for the last few years, RadioShack is finally, officially bankrupt. But that doesn’t mean that every single store will be vanishing — far from it, in fact. There’s now a list of all the stores that will be going in the next few months. RadioShack has around 5,000…

Farewell, Radio Shack, and Farewell to the Twentieth Century

Last year, the Radio Shack in my neighborhood burned to the ground. We waited months for it to be rebuilt, and at last (joy!) it was — now I can walk up the street and buy weird connector cables and Arduino kits again. Unfortunately, Radio Shack the company isn’t doing quite as well. In fact,…

Check Out “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Toyland Commercial

Many musicians feel they’ve really made it once “Weird Al” Yankovic does a parody of one of their songs, so we’re incredibly honored that his most recent work is a commercial for none other than our very own Toyland. If you watch the ad closely, it might seem like the Toyland Weird Al is singing…

Staples and Radio Shack have decided to remove Amazon Lockers from their stores because they’ve realized that helping customers shop elsewhere isn’t a good idea. [Bloomberg]

A Giant Mobile Phone From RadioShack Was a Merry Christmas in 1991

This is a 1991 holiday ad from Radioshack. You know, Canada’s Value Leader. This Christmas we’re asking for iPad minis and crazy stuff no one even imagined 21 years ago. And that’s what makes the gadgets in this ad even more wonderful. Also, points for awesome frosted hair.

Will the iPhone 5 Be As Ridiculous As This 1989 Transportable Phone in 20 years?

I was only a wee pup in 1989 so I totally don’t remember this ridiculously awesome Radio Shack “transportable” cellular phone. My first memory of cell phones were brick-sized, not car battery-sized like this one. But still! It was portable! You could use it in your car! I wonder if we’ll look back on the…

Happy 35th Birthday to Radio Shack’s TRS-80 Personal Computer, a Leader in Its Day

35 years ago today, at a press conference held inside New York City’s Warwick Hotel, Radio Shack unveiled in TRS-80 personal computer, Model I, arguably once of the most import gadgets to be born in the latter half of the 20th century. Coming with 4KB of memory and a cassette-tape deck with which to load…

That stupid time Superman shilled computers for Radio Shack

While moseying around the comic shop the other day, I stumbled upon a 31-year-old advertainment comic starring none other than the Man of Steel. It was simultaneously the most and least sensical Superman story I’ve ever read. Behold Superman: The Computers That Saved Metropolis (compliments of Radio Shack®). I knew this comic was something special…

Are Radio Shack and Target Both Dropping iPhone Prices?

It’s really raining iPhone 5 rumors these days, especially as it gets closer to its expected release. More possible evidence comes with talk of Radio Shack and Target cutting iPhone prices across the board for both carriers. Stay tuned! [Engadget via Ubergizmo]

Your Best iPad 2 Bet Tomorrow: RadioShack

A blurry photo sent into MacRumors—and confirmation from local managers—indicates that the best place to find an iPad 2 tomorrow might just be RadioShack. Five hundred storefronts across the US will apparently be getting units in tomorrow, although don’t start downloading those HD apps quite yet. While finding an iPad 2 in-store in under 24…

California Stores Can’t Ask For Your Zip Code Anymore

A California court says retailers cannot ask for your ZIP code when you’re buying something. That means Radio Shack, Fry’s and anybody else I’m leaving out (Best Buy?) will have to collect marketing data another way. Hurray privacy. [LATimes]

RadioShack Will Offer iPhone 4 On Launch Day

Based on this rather self-explanatory tweet from the corporate Radio Shack account, it looks like you’ll have an extra place to check for an iPhone 4 in case your local Apple, Best Buy, or AT&T stores are sold out: YES! RadioShack will have #iPhone4 at launch. More info tomorrow. Good for RadioShack. Seems that they…

The Electronic Book, Radio Shack 1986

I wish I lived in the alternate reality where Radio Shack’s ‘Electronic Book’ was a runaway success, Amazon copied their design and every eBook reader was actually a paper book that required a tower PC to operate. [VintageAds via boingboing]

The Secrets of Eccentric, Mad-Scientist RadioShacks

They’re described as “eccentric, mad-scientist RadioShacks” and they’re full of gadget guts, cables, and parts you won’t find in the average, corporate-owned locations. Run by “RadioShack nostalgics” who want to keep hobby shops alive, these stores are shrines to tinkering. Our minds are on the past because Wired has a wonderfully sentimental piece which revolves…

Rumor: HTC EVO 4G To Cost $200 On Contract, On Sale June 6th

June 6th has been pointed at again for Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G launch, with a crafty customer at RadioShack grabbing some fliers from a branch and being told of the contract prices. $600 out of contract? Steep, but worth it. https://gizmodo.com/htc-evo-4g-could-be-up-for-pre-order-this-month-with-a-5532327 According to the PreCentral forum poster, bnceo, who was told of the contract prices,…

HTC EVO 4G Could Be Up For Pre-Order This Month, With an Early June Launch

June 6th or the 13th have been two dates earmarked for a potential launch of the HTC EVO 4G at Sprint, but a leaked photo of RadioShack’s inventory system shows it’ll be available for pre-order this month. Finally. https://gizmodo.com/htc-evo-coming-to-sprint-in-june-4g-service-to-cost-1-5511859 After being announced late March, we’ve heard nary a detail of how or when people will…