A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Prior to the invention of the transistor radio, Bell Laboratories demonstrated the first transistor on December 23, 1947. There are a number of companies that have produced practical transistor radios and therefore, many claims as to who holds the title as the first company to be accredited to this.

On this day, October 18th, in 1954, Texas Instruments demonstrated their all-transistor AM (amplitude modulation) radios. Texas Instruments and Regency were the first companies to offer a production model. All the other companies that were working on transistor radios only had prototype models at the time.

Transistor radios became the most popular electronic communication device in history following their development. Billions were manufactured in the following decade and their pocket-sized shape sparked a change in music listening habits. It made music portable for the first time in history.