Speak & Spell — why it mattered?

Why it mattered: One of the first consumer products with a speech-synthesis chip.

Toy Files · 🎛️ Electronic & handheld

G33Z3R Toy Files · 1978–1990

When did Speak & Spell come out?

Speak & Spell

Introduced: 1978
Made by: Texas Instruments
Why it mattered: One of the first consumer products with a speech-synthesis chip
Famous cameo: E.T. used one to phone home in 1982

🗳️ Did you have one?

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The file

A red plastic slab with a keyboard that said words in a flat robot voice and asked you to spell them. It was educational, which meant it was the toy your grandparents bought, and it was also secretly cool because it talked.

The voice chip inside was serious engineering, and the toy has a second life in music: circuit-benders rewire it into a synthesizer. E.T. built a phone out of one, which every kid then tried.

Sources: Wikipedia — Speak & Spell (toy)

Did you have a Speak & Spell? Tell us about it — or about the year you asked and didn't get one.

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When did Speak & Spell come out?

The file

Did you have a Speak & Spell? Tell us about it — or about the year you asked and didn't get one.

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