When it comes to The Verge, I have a bit of love/hate relationship with their writing. Thanks to their size and reach, The Verge is able to attend any press event and get any their hands on any product they want to review. Mix that with some very smart writers and you have a combination that’s sure to provide some truly compelling pieces, yet I often find myself disagreeing with their takes. Yes their reach and access gives them interesting pieces that they can cover, but so many times, their take on the material seems convoluted and out of touch, not truly representing the real world.

It’s as if they yearn for the world that was and not the world that is and is coming. Nothing put that more into perspective for me than the iPhone 7 launch, during which I tweeted with Nilay Patel, their Editor-in-Chief. In short, my argument boiled down to that we’re moving towards a world that phones will not offer a headphone jack and that iPhone 7 wasn’t even the first phone this year to launch without one. That instead of screaming the sky is falling and writing lengthy pieces as to why this inevitable shift is going to ruin the world (surprise, 3 months into iPhone 7 release and sales are as healthy as ever and the world hasn’t ended), they would be better off educating their readers on how to move forward. Nilay’s response perhaps best reflects their entire publication’s tone and one that I wholeheartedly disagree with:

@sonyrumors @micahsingleton Our job isn’t to offer solutions, it’s to be journalists and critics.

— nilay patel (@reckless) September 27, 2016

With that as context, perhaps it’s no surprise that I enjoyed a just-published piece on The Verge by Sam Byford so much because it has little to do with technology going forward and everything to do with technology that was.

 Sony. It’s easy to see why, since the Japanese giant was the dominant force in consumer electronics throughout the second half of the 20th century, and is well known for its commitment to engineering innovation and occasional design hubris. Products like the Eggo headphones, Rolly, and VAIO P really couldn’t have come from anywhere else.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the iconic, soon-to-be-demolished Sony Building in Ginza, Tokyo. To celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary, Sony is replacing its flagship location with a public park that it hopes will become a new landmark in the city. And until construction starts next year, the building is hosting a wonderful exhibition called “It’s a Sony,” which places hundreds of devices on show from the company’s inception to the present day. 

One of the most striking things about Sony that should really come as no surprise to fans of the company is just how many truly beautiful products they’ve designed in the past – from alarm clocks to TVs, headsets, gaming devices and the first eReader. In fact and unfortunately for them, Sony releases so many products that it’s hard to remember that they’ve been the first to so many things like their e-ink reader which came to market three years prior to the Kindle or the VAIO Note 505 which came in at under 2lb long before the MacBook Air existed, and of course AIBO, the robotic dog that was two decades too early.

I won’t get into why so many of these products ultimately failed or were never class leading but the piece by Sam if anything is a reminder of the talented people who work at Sony and the vision of excellence they’ve shared over the company’s 70 years. So ahead, so often:

 When Microsoft announced the Surface Studio a month ago, my first thought was that it reminded me of 2000’s VAIO LX. This Sony desktop PC had an integrated pen for tablet functionality, and the touch display could tilt from 90 degrees vertically to 25 degrees horizontally. 

What are some of your favorite Sony product designs? And also, be sure the read Sam’s excellent piece on The Verge.