I can see why this TV had to be fixed-tuned to one channel. I doubt varactor tuners had been thought of in the 1960s, which rules out pushbutton channel selectors, and the very small size of these sets would have ruled out the use of any kind of mechanical RF tuner as well (I have never seen any turret or switch-type VHF TV tuner that would fit into a television set this small).

The fact that this TV used the earphone cord as the antenna, and does not seem to have any input jacks or terminal strips for external antennas, would mean the set would have to be located in a very strong signal area to operate at all, say within five miles of the transmitter. I cannot see this set working at all in the semi-fringe area in which I live (I am about 35 miles from the Cleveland TV stations) or any other such area; forget about using a set like this in a deep-fringe area--all you would get on the tiny screen would be snow on whatever channel the set had been factory-tuned to. I don't think this TV would work on cable or with a DTV converter box, either. :no: But then again, who would want to tether a small TV like this to cable or to a DTV/cable box? :scratch2:

BTW, I remember the Popular Science article in which this tiny Motorola TV was featured. However, I did not realize at the time the set's shortcomings. I also remember a caption beneath one of the photos of the set in the article: "Don't wait for this (TV)...it's not going into production." My best guess is this was simply a prototype, which was never intended to be mass-produced.

I can tell you for sure that this Motorola pocket set was never put into production nor intended to be. When I worked in the Advanced Development department in Franklin Park in the early 70's, my boss had it in his desk drawer as a memento. It may have been demoed on a high floor with line-of-sight reception to the downtown stations.

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Based on the published specs for the 4 inch color Sony prototype flat index set, it would look similar to the KVX-370. Sony seemed to have gotten the deflection right on the 4 inch b&w watchman. Just wish I could find one if it was released.

Edit: The Panasonic Flatvision sold on EBay in June, 2015. Very rare indeed.

That is part of the 1961 "Sets of the Seventies", a design program RCA did to envision what sets would look like around 1970. It was led by Tucker Madawick. I was aiming to do an article for my radio club, but my mother got sick, then I was taking care of her and my family, then I had a kid, then this, then that. Here's a mockup of the bulletin cover and the first page:

Thank you for posting this. First time I've seen the second photo in color. You say the concepts originated in 1961. That is two years prior to the published magazine cover, Mechanix Ilustrated, May, 1963.

Edit: These two concepts were part of eight concepts in total. Would you happen to have more information about that?