In July 1979, the legendary Sony Walkman player debuted. It was this gadget that marked the beginning of the era of portable music. It allowed you to listen to your favorite albums anytime and anywhere, which became a revolutionary practice at the time. Soon, these accessories became a part of everyone's daily life.
Create a Walkman
The predecessor of the famous player is considered to be the Sony cassette recorder. For example, the TC-50 (1968) was the most compact of its kind that year and was used by the Apollo 10 astronauts for lunar missions. Later, Masaru Ibuka, the co-founder of the Japanese company, was inspired by the idea of creating a gadget that could listen to opera anywhere. This task was entrusted to engineer Norio Oge. The latter made a prototype for his manager based on the Sony Pressman tape recorder. A few months later, in July 1979, the finished product of the Walkman brand went on sale.
The initial model was called the TPS-L2 and cost $150. In the first month, the novelty was not sold out very actively. It is even predicted to fail due to the lack of recording capabilities. But soon the device became popular and became one of Sony's most profitable brands. However, the original author of the portable player concept is believed not to be Norio Oge, but Andreas Pavel. He started developing it in 1977 and tried to sell his idea to manufacturers, but was unsuccessful. After the release of the Walkman, the engineer sued Sony for many years, finally gaining recognition as an author in 2005.
Since its release, more than 400 million different Walkman players have been sold, of which 200 million are cassette players. It wasn't until 2010 that the analog series fully transitioned to digital technology.
How players change everything
The legendary audio player makes new hobbies and lifestyles possible. In the past, people were tethered to a stereo at home or a radio in a car, and the Walkman allowed people to enjoy their favorite albums on the go. The brand itself has become a kind of household name: when other suppliers catch up on the bandwagon, their products are also known as "walkmans" in everyday life. It is worth noting that the first version of the TPS-L2 was equipped with two headphone jacks. But the second is rarely used, as the player is considered more of an individual than a social appendage.
There are even analogues of the transparent mode of modern TWS: the microphone picks up the ambient sound and broadcasts it to the headphones. But this feature is also not needed because people prefer to listen quietly and privately. In 1984, Sony released the WM-F5 model with a splash-proof case and earbuds (before that, only the over-ear version was included). In the 90s, the production of the Discman series supported CD discs.
Aesthetics are considered an important aspect of the Walkman player: its striking design stands out from the competition. Modern models such as the NW-A306 (2023) come with an Android operating system that offers streaming options and proprietary technology to improve sound. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original cassette player, Oriolus has launched a Hi-Fi version that repeats the iconic design.