Telecommunications: His invention of the phonograph paved the way for recorded sound technology. The phonograph later influenced the development of audio devices such as gramophones and record players, facilitating entertainment and preservation of spoken words and music.
Motion Pictures: Edison had significant early contributions to cinema through the kinetograph (a motion picture camera) and kinetoscope (an early video viewing device). While others refined cinematic equipment, Edison held valuable patents early on that impacted cinema's early growth.
Infrastructure: Edison founded electric utility companies. The creation of centralized power stations brought convenient and safer methods of generating electricity to households and enterprises. This improved urban infrastructure and paved the way for technological advances dependent on reliable electricity.
Entertainment: Along with the phonograph and his work in cinema, Edison was connected to various other entertainment inventions—he held more than 200 patents related to this sector. Some notable examples include early versions of a rudimentary movie projector in his kinetoscope parlor device or a voice mail type system used during that time frame.