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The portability of radio proved to be a major advantage in the medium’s struggle for survival. In the late 1920s, car radios had existed but were considered a luxury. But when the transistor was invented by Bell Laboratories in 1947, radios became more accessible and portable than before. Transistors were small electrical devices that, like vacuum tubes, could receive and amplify radio signals. However, they used less power and heat than vacuum tubes, and were more durable and less expensive. Best of all, they were tiny. The development of transistors let radio go where television could not—to the beach, to the office, into bedrooms and bathrooms, and into nearly all new cars.