Written by James Fohl

Have you ever found yourself completely bored, and looking around for something to do? Whether you were in a doctor's office waiting for your appointment to begin, or just sitting out in your car waiting for a friend, we all have found ourselves in situations where we are simply bored out of our minds.

A Dream, Or Is It Real?

Have you ever looked at your watch while in such a bored state, and think to yourself "Boy it would really be cool if this watch had a little television built into it!", but quickly dismissed the thought?

With all of the new technologies available it is really quite crazy that people are not walking around with little television sets strapped onto their arms. A quick look into technology reveals that small portable televisions and even cell phones with television capabilities already exist.

Twenty Year Technology At Its Finest

But what would happened if I told you that a small watch with a television was already on the market some twenty years ago? Would you believe it, or dismiss it as some kind of crazy joke. After all, the electronic technology that existed was extremely pale in comparison to today's electronic wonders.

Enter Seiko With The TV Watch

A watch with a small built in television screen did however exist in the 1980's, and was produced by the Japanese Seiko corporation. Declared as the first ever television watch, it was released in 1983 not only with a 1.25 inch tall television screen, but also with a built in FM radio tuner.

The TV Watch as it was known was quite a piece of technology. Although the LCD screen of the television was the actual watch, an external tuner / battery pack had to be carried in a shirt pocket. It was about the size of a portable cassette player and provided most of the functions (as well as power) for the small television set.

When the TV Watch was first released, it did not really meet Seiko's expectations in the whole sales department. While it was really a fantastic piece of technology, it had an insane pricetag attached to it that concerned many potential buyers. It gained some popularity through its creative positioning in such movies as Dragnet and Octopussy.

Collectors Still Go Crazy For The TV Watch Wonder

While its been a long time since Seiko has produced the TV Watch, there still exists an underground of users who enjoy collecting and discussing the TV Watch. In recent years, Seiko's TV Watch has really become a collector's item, as TV Watch items found on popular internet auction sites, such as eBay, will have closing auctions that reach several hundred dollars in bids.

Pretty much every person who has ever owned a Seiko TV Watch considers the item a novelty. There really was no practical usage for the device considering there was no possible way to utilize cable television signals, along with the fact that the thing drained batteries faster than the average first grader can say the alphabet. Still, the many collectors of this wonderful little gadget will continue to stand by it, mostly due to the fact that it was the very first, and one of the very few television watches.