In 1967 Kilby and his team produced almost what Haggerty envisioned. It could do only four tasks {add, subtract, multiply, and divide} and was a bit heavy {more than two pounds} and not very cheap {$150}.21 But it was a huge success. A new market had been created for a device people had not known they needed. And following the inevitable trajectory, it kept getting smaller, more powerful, and cheaper. By 1972 the price of a pocket calculator had dropped to $100, and 5 million units were sold. By 1975 the price was down to $25, and sales were doubling every year. In 2014 a Texas Instruments pocket calculator cost $3.62 at Walmart.
( Walter Isaacson )
[ The Innovators: How a Group of ]
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