When recording decks were horizontal - like the Lenco, the Sony or the Akai of the times, the horizontal cassette deck was gradually replacing the vertical reel-to-reel as recording device for the home. Until cassettes got vertical - a natural evolution of the species it seems :)

This one had an eye, too, flashing when the tape is about to end, memory rewind, auto-stop and mic/line mixing functions, 64dB of s/n (with Dolby on :) and versatile meters. Plus a full 10-year guarantee on its HPF heads.