From Suzanne F – When did small electronic calculators first come out? And, who was the first notable company to make these new devices?

Mr. Pop History – They came out around 1971 and a year later, a company called the Bowmar Instrument Company had 50% market share. Other manufacturers included Commodore Business Machines and Rapid Data.

Prices were around $400.00 at first, but fell to about $120.00 a year later. I’m talking about small, hand-held electronic calculators that used LED’s in the numbers window.