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Alongside a photograph of the Teal Photon the journal New Scientist, of 20th July 1978 reported "The concerned environmentalist can now calculate the downfall of society without eating into the world's resources
in the process. A new calculator that is coming on to the market in the United States does not have an on/off switch - it doesn't need an on/off switch because the power comes from a small panel of solar cells. The cells'
output is such that if there is enough light around for the user to see the calculator there is probably enough light to power it".
This report appears to be a little optimistic since the calculator requires bright light to operate.
Other solar calculators introduced around this time were the Teal Photon III (similar to the Sharp EL-825), Royal Solar 1 and the Sharp EL-8026.
"TEAL" was the brand name of calculators made by Tokyo Electronic Application Laboratory. Entering the calculator business in the late 1960s the company produced some innovative calculators,
including early LCD models. Some Teal calculators were also sold under the names of other companies.
Unfortunately, the company was greatly affected by the calculator price war of the mid 1970s and went out of business in
1978.
However, some calculators, like this one, have a U.S.A. address. TEAL Industries Inc., of Carson, California, U.S.A. was a subsidiary of Tokyo Applications Laboratory, Ltd., and may have continued in busines after the
demise of the parent company.
"TEAL" calculators should not be confused with "Tealtronic" calculators, which was the trade name of a British company.
The Teal TL-2M desktop calculator is also featured on this site.
This model demonstrates all the features of the modern calculator - Solar powered, LCD, very thin. From the first hand-held electronic calculator of 1969 it has taken 9 years to achieve this.
Also see the Sharp EL-825, an early credit-card size solar calculator.
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