The first transistor radio was a joint project between the Regency ... It was a scant five inches high and used four germanium transistors. While the Regency sold out everywhere, it didn't stay ...

Just as digital camera makers would with megapixels four or five decades later, makers of transistor radios would cram as many transistors as they could into their products in a game of one-upmanship.

It was used throughout the 1950s and 1960’s in a variety of electronic circuits, most notably for the first transistor radios. Further refinements led to the modern "field effect" transistor ...