Battery powered: 50 years of innovation – in pictures

They may look retro now, but back in the swinging sixties, no trendsetter was without a portable radio: for the first time ever, you could listen to groovy sounds on the move. Photograph: SuperStock/Getty Images

A tiny handheld keyboard played with a pen, the Stylophone was a 1970s playground essential. Although it featured on David Bowie’s seminal Space Oddity, it proved to be an instrument of torture for many parents who tired of the tinny tones. Photograph: Geoff Moore/REX

This iconic spelling aid was launched in 1978. Kids loved the handheld computer that talked back at you, and it was immortalised in 1982 when ET, the Extra Terrestrial, used one to “phone home”. Photograph: Science Museum

Couch potatoes everywhere rejoiced at the introduction of the remote control. TV watchers no longer needed to move from the sofa to switch channels; good for convenience, not so good for domestic harmony, as a million power struggles between couples ensued. Photograph: Tammy Hanratty/Corbis

Launched in 1980, the portable device that allowed you to listen to your cassettes on the move was the very latest in cutting-edge technology. The original came with stereo playback and two mini headphone jacks, permitting two people to listen at the same time. Photograph: Dudley Wood/Alamy

The boom box or ghetto blaster was a portable cassette player with two or more loudspeakers and a carrying handle. The desire for louder and heavier bass led to bigger and heavier boxes – by the mid eighties some of them had reached the size of a suitcase. Photograph: Peter Anderson/PYMCA /REX

These battery-operated early warning systems that sit on the ceiling and could save your life have prevented countless fires since they became a household essential in the nineties. Photograph: Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images

Photography was transformed forever by the invention of the digital camera – for the first time, snaps could be seen instantly with no need for film or processing. In use from the year 2000, digital cameras are now owned by an estimated 2.5 billion people the world over. Photograph: Paul Cooper/REX

A Japanese import that became a huge craze, the Tamagotchi was a virtual pet, housed inside a small egg-shaped computer. The aim of the game was to feed, water and care for your Tamagotchi – so it didn’t die from neglect. Teenage girls were particular fans of the trend. Photograph: Hugh Threlfall /Alamy

Another Japanese import, the handheld gaming console was an instant smash hit, creating a nation of Tetris addicts and shooting Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers to worldwide fame. Photograph: Graeme Robertson