It's almost hard to remember at this point, but there was a time when our gadgets — much like TVs of old — didn't have beautiful color screens. That is, until Atari announced the Lynx in 1989. One of the very first products to ever feature a color portable display, the Lynx's advanced technology and ambidextrous design (which let lefty gamers get in on the action) helped it clearly stand out in the early days of portable video game players. But limited supplies and a $180 price tag nearly double that of the venerable Nintendo Game Boy helped seal its fate; within another six years Atari would shut down its video game console business completely, and today the once mighty giant is little more than a brand and back catalog being traded from video game publisher to video game publisher.
Rojas and Block are the founders of gdgt, a social gadget site helping users get better answers and product reviews.