# Canonical recap data for Pocket Calculator Goes Mass Market (1971)
# Source: https://recap.at/1971/pocket-calculator-mass-market
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: pocket-calculator-mass-market
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1971/pocket-calculator-mass-market"
title: Pocket Calculator Goes Mass Market
subtitle: Japanese manufacturers released affordable handheld calculators, rapidly obsoleting slide rules and mechanical computing and democratizing mathematical computation.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1971-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1971
decade: 1970
country:
name: Japan
slug: japan
summaryShort: A calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
summaryLong: A calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Casio_calculator_JS-20WK_in_201901_002.jpg/1280px-Casio_calculator_JS-20WK_in_201901_002.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Calculator"
importance: 72
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculator"
  title: Pocket calculator
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: A calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
wikidataQid: Q31087
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260703202218/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculator"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-03
  label: Pocket calculator
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculator"
