Japan's first transistor radio. It was the radio that provided accessible entertainment during the chaotic post-war years. At that time, radios were large and used vacuum tubes. The whole family would gather in the room where the radio was located to listen to the news and music programs. In 1952, when Sony's founder, Masaru Ibuka learned that Western Electric was going to release its transistor patents to the public for a fee, he decided to take on the challenge of developing a radio using Sony's own transistors. At the time, many people thought it was foolhardy to build a radio using transistor, but they overcame many obstacles and succeeded in developing Japan's first PNP alloy transistor prototype in 1954. In 1955, the company began full-scale production and sales of Japan's first transistor radio, the TR-55. Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (the original name of "Sony") was the first company in the world to make a radio using its own transistors. The introduction of the TR-55 marked the rebirth of the radio as a portable device.