Retro Tech

The first ever cellular phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x. It cost $10,295 in today’s dollars and had to charge for 10 hours just to make a 30 minute call. Without the DynaTAC, would we all have cellphones today? Marques dives into the history and impact of this piece of iconic tech and explores how its release led to our current cell phone obsessed culture. YouTube creators Austin Evans and Sara Dietschy join him to test out some other pieces of retro tech, like a pager and a lipstick cellphone.

Way before cell phone cameras, we took selfies with Polaroids. Marques explores how the first Polaroid camera, the Polaroid SX-70, turned us all into amateur photographers and paved the way for our social media-obsessed culture. Fellow YouTube creator and model Karlie Kloss teams up with him to make photo filters the retro way — with bleach. And Peter McKinnon stops by to play “Dope or Nope.”

When the Sony Walkman hit the market in the 1970s, it was the first time we were able to take our music with us on-the-go. Marques explores this iconic piece of tech—from the inspiration behind its compact design to how it changed portable audio forever. He also enlist the help of fellow YouTube creator Judner A.K.A. Uravgconsumer to fix a busted Walkman. The Gregory Brothers join me to test out whether a vintage Walkman is durable enough to survive a game of ultimate frisbee.

In 1988, Sega took Nintendo by storm and released the Sega Genesis. The conflict between the two companies created a video game console war for the ages. Marques learns about the cultural impact the Genesis had from comedian Hannibal Burress and play Mortal Combat for the first time against Mari Takahashi from Smosh Games. Fellow YouTube creator Jake Baldino from Gameranx teams up with him to test some questionable Sega Genesis gaming accessories.

I’m looking at wearable tech and how it's developed over the years. I’m talking to Wyatt Cenac about everything from the first ever wearable computer glasses in 1984 to '90s cyber-fashion shows to the 21st century's Google Glass. I’m also joined by both Austin Evans and Michael Gregory to check out old sneaker tech.

The Game Boy is the most popular handheld gaming console ever. It allowed us to take games like Tetris, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda with us on-the-go, changing the gaming industry and our free time forever. On the 30th anniversary of its release, Marques Brownlee unboxes and explores how the Game Boy came to be, it's impact on society, and why it's leaving us feeling so nostalgic.