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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 calculators are a bit of a puzzle. "TEAL" was a 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, which may be the American division of Tokyo Electronic Application Laboratory
Ltd., though the date code on the integrated circuit of the Teal Photon displayed here is 1979, which is later than the date at which the Japanese company supposedly went out of business.
Calculators are also found under the
Tealtronic name, which may or may not be related to Tokyo Electronic Application Laboratory.
If you have more information please get in touch.
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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