The 1972 Desktop "iPod for cassettes" device

The technology probably wasn't there to do anything with it. A patent doesn't mean you have a workable camera that is marketable or affordable (or functional, for that matter).

 

Actually, it still does exist.

I agree with @Dennis0675 too. Historical precedence rules! An iPod is a digital juke box or a digital multi-cassette loader, not the other way around.

I tried/owned a couple of multi-cassette decks back in the day - one from Sony and one from Toshiba, IIRC. Poor sound and constant alignment problems wth those particular machines. AFAIC, an iPod and regular Apple earbuds are vastly better than the old machines.

 

It certainly didn’t exist as it does today but they chose not to pursue it. Others did and they lost their industry.

 

Ah, I see what you're saying, Yes, absolutely. They could have pursued it and owned that industry just as they owned the print photography industry. It's a good example of a company being short-sighted and egotistical.

 

It's pretty incredible. Kodak literally had one of their employes create the digital camera in 1975. It has got to be one of the most destructive decisions in corporate history.

Steven Sasson - Wikipedia

Also...it recorded the picture to a cassette, no carousel as far as I know.

 

Wow, that looks like the digital camera version of one of those camera from the late 1800's.