Console: IR 7000 Communicator
Release: 1994
Launch Price: (?)
(Sega / Casio, 1994)
"Sleek design, a ton of cool features, and it's easy to use! How do we do it? Sega ---- Electronics with an attitude!" - (Quote from the back of the IR 7000 packaging.)
Need to check the time in Japan to plan your next trip to Sega Joypolis in Tokyo? Want to send secret messages to your friends during your next class or meeting, or perhaps battle them in a game of Brain Drain during your lunch break? Well, look no further than the Sega IR 7000 Communicator!
Released by Sega in 1994, this obscure personal assistant / communicator offers a fun footnote to Sega's versatile hardware adventures of the early-mid 1990's. It's compact, clamshell style design really shines with a translucent 'skeleton' appearance that was ever-present with electronics through the 90's. The device aesthetics and layout are also very reminiscent of Casio's 'Secret Sender 6000' line of communicators, which the IR 7000 is also compatible with.
The packaging for the IR 7000 touts "14 amazing features!", including: Calendar, Friends, Faces, Action Game, Addresses, Notepad, Calculator, Telephone, Translator, Password, World, Time, Alarm, Clock, Message Sender, and a World Map. To utilize the various features of the device and to save information and data, the IR 7000 requires 2 AAA batteries and a CR2032 battery to operate.
The feature most front-and-center for the IR 7000 is its ability to "Send secret messages to friends!" with the device's 'Magic Beam' technology, essentially referring to infra-red communication between two IR 7000 devices that have a direct line of sight, and are within 30 feet of each other.
Another interesting IR communication feature of the device is the battle game 'Brain Drain', where according to the box the "Brain Drain game features battling warriors! Play the computer, or use infra-red to battle a friend!". While it's a little surprising to not have Sonic and friends (or another Sega character) appear in either this game, or an additional mini-game, Brain Drain still manages to entertain as a simple send / attack game with some humorous dot-matrix animation.
In an era where instant messaging-style communication wasn't ubiquitous, having a device that allowed you to stealth-fully communicate, play a quick battle game on the go, create digital notes, save phone numbers and addresses, and check the time around the world, the IR 7000 (and Casio's other communication devices) seemed to offer very forward-thinking abilities, that would become all-to-familiar features of the not-too-distant future. It's a fascinating device that has wonderfully nostalgic Sega / Casio aesthetics, and if you can find another friend or family member to link up with, the IR 7000 can offer some incredibly fun retro-inspired hijinks!
Did you have an IR 7000 Communicator when it released back in 1994? Let us know in the comments!
*Special Thanks to Handheld Computer Museum for introducing the IR 7000 on their Instagram livestream, please visit their website at www.handheldmuseum.org for more on the IR7000 and various other handheld and portable devices!