when were sony walkmans popular

What is the history of the Sony Walkman in 10 facts?

In honour of their legacy, we present to you the history of the Sony Walkman in 10 facts. 10. The Walkman was Born Thanks to Opera It was originally inspired by one of Sony’s co-founders who wanted to listen to opera on long flights.

Why was the Walkman so popular in the 1980s?

The Walkman became an icon in 1980s culture. In 1986, the word "Walkman" entered the Oxford English Dictionary. Millions used the Walkman during exercise, marking the beginning of the aerobics craze. Between 1987 and 1997, the height of the Walkman's popularity, the number of people who said they walked for exercise increased by 30%.

What made the Walkman portable stereo so popular?

According to Time, the Walkman's "unprecedented combination of portability (it ran on two AA batteries) and privacy (it featured a headphone jack but no external speaker) made it the ideal product for thousands of consumers looking for a compact portable stereo that they could take with them anywhere".

When did the video Walkman come out?

The "Video Walkman" are full portable media players with video and image support that first appeared in 2007. They are all embedded flash memory based. The A Series was the flagship range of video Walkmans.

How much did a Walkman cost in 1980?

After a breakneck development phase of only four months, Sony engineers had a reliable product ready for market at 30,000 Yen (approximately US $150 in 1979 dollars) and available before the start of summer vacation for Japanese students—both critical targets established at the outset of development.

When was the Walkman famous?

The Walkman became an icon in 1980s culture.

When did Walkmans stop being used?

The Sony Walkman was the first portable music device in history. First produced in 1979, over 200 million models were sold until Sony announced that it would stop production of the cassette- based Walkman in 2010.

How much did a Walkman cost in 1985?

The first Walkman, the TPS-L2, cost ¥33,000 in Japan and US$200 in the U.S., but despite the relatively high price tag the reception was enthusiastic.

What is a 1979 Sony Walkman worth?

Mind, in 1979 you had to pay $150 for a Walkman, which is roughly about $270 in today's money.

When did Discman become popular?

Portable CD players were first introduced in the mid 1980s but were not popular until the 1990s when anti-skip technology was introduced. Sony's first portable CD player, the Discman D-50, was introduced in November 1984.

How much was a Walkman in the 70s?

Not until the Sony Walkman came along. The first of Sony's iconic portable cassette tape players went on sale on this day, July 1st, back in 1979 for $150.

Why did the Walkman fail?

Sony knew hardware but was at best so-so in retail and a total disaster at developing software (see Sony Connect). Some have speculated that Sony's failure to keep up in a segment that the company created was one of the reasons it has given the Walkman such a quiet send off."

Why was the Walkman so popular?

It popularized the portable music sharing culture. The first experience of recorded and broadcast music was a group experience. People huddled around radios to listen to stories or news broadcasts. People would dance together listening to their favorite tunes on the record player.

Are Sony Walkmans worth any money?

They can fetch a few hundred, up to even a thousand euros! The most important factor in determining how much your Walkman is worth is the condition of the device.

What is an original Sony Walkman worth?

The original Walkman, which cost $200 (or 33,000 yen) when it was released. Sterling silver Walkmans aside, most models are fairly easy and cheap to fetch. You could pick one up at your local yard sale or thrift shop, and even if it's broken, it won't cost much to fix it.

When did MP3 players come out?

1997The first portable MP3 player was launched in 1997 by Saehan Information Systems, which sold its "MPMan F10" player in parts of Asia in spring 1998.

When did Sony discontinue the Walkman?

Portable compact disc players led to the decline of the cassette Walkman, which was discontinued in Japan in 2010. The last cassette-based model available in the US was the WM-FX290W - this model was first released 2004.

When was the first Walkman made?

Original 1979 Sony Walkman TPS-L2. The first Walkman prototype was built from a modified Sony Pressman, a compact cassette recorder designed for journalists and released in 1977. The metal-cased blue-and-silver Walkman TPS-L2, the world's first low-cost personal stereo, went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, and was sold for around ¥33,000 ...

How many Walkmans were made?

Its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for personal stereos of any producer or brand. By 2010, when production stopped, Sony had built about 200 million cassette-based Walkmans. The Walkman brand was extended to serve most of Sony's portable audio devices as well as related media devices.

What was the impact of the Walkman?

According to Time, the Walkman's "unprecedented combination of portability (it ran on two AA batteries) and privacy (it featured a headphone jack but no external speaker) made it the ideal product for thousands of consumers looking for a compact portable stereo that they could take with them anywhere". According to The Verge, "the world changed" on the day the Walkman was released.

What is a Walkman?

Walkman (stylized WALKMAN) is a brand of portable media players manufactured by Sony. The original Walkman, released in 1979, was a portable cassette player that allowed people to listen to music of their choice on the move. Its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for personal stereos of any producer or brand.

What does "walkman" mean in German?

In German-speaking countries, the use of "walkman" became generic, meaning a personal stereo of any make, to a degree that the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice ruled in 2002 that Sony could not prevent others from using the term "walkman" to describe similar goods.

When did the Walkman become an icon?

According to The Verge, "the world changed" on the day the Walkman was released. The Walkman became an icon in 1980s culture. In 1986, the word "Walkman" entered the Oxford English Dictionary. Millions used the Walkman during exercise, the marking the beginning of the aerobics craze.

The First Sony Walkman

Sony was a growing international electronics company already based across the globe, and in the late 1970s chairman Akito Morita set his engineers to developing a device that would allow him to listen to his music of choice - which happened to be opera - while he was travelling, One of his audio-visual engineers developed the first Sony Walkman prototype, which was a small battery-powered cassette player with an audio output using lightweight headphones. Morita ordered the device to go into production in Japan on July 1, 1979 with a global release in 1980..

Vintage Sony Walkman Cassette Players

The Sony Walkman managed to sell over 220 million units worldwide since in it launched, despite clones and imitations put out on the market. Even thirty years ago, Sony was known for quality devices, which meant that 30-year old Walkmans are still in perfect working condition today. That being said, however, most collectors would buy a vintage Walkman more for the ornamental rather than the functional value..

Modern Sony Walkman Cassette Players

Even in the age of MP3 players and music streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, Sony Walkmans are continue to be used and are still in production. In October 2010, it's sad to say that Japan announced that it would no longer be producing the devices.

The Sony CD Walkman

This is the Sony Walkman 90s kids remember.

Sony Walkman MP3 Player and Smartphone

The Walkman era officially came to an end when Apple launched its iPod and music went digital.

What was the first ad campaign for the Sony Walkman?

Before the release of the Sony Walkman, Sony sent 100 Walkmans to popular editors and musicians. Then came the first USA ad campaign by McCann-Erickson. The tagline was "There's a Revolution in the Streets.". It paved the way for marketing personal electronic devices as being cool and an extension of one's self.

How did the Sony Walkman change the world?

Here's how the Sony Walkman changed the world forever. 1.) It placed emphasis on audio playback quality.

Why was the Walkman worn outside of jeans?

Since the Walkman was a little too big to be fit in the pocket, it was worn outside of the jeans. This was a big hurdle, but with the help of advertisements and pop culture, this problem quickly became a benefit of ownership. The Walkman was now like a badge that showed off your wealth and technological prowess.

What was the first experience of recording and broadcasting music?

The first experience of recorded and broadcast music was a group experience. People huddled around radios to listen to stories or news broadcasts. People would dance together listening to their favorite tunes on the record player. Sony didn't forget this. Each Walkman had two stereo jacks.

Why was Sony a notable first?

It paved the way for marketing personal electronic devices as being cool and an extension of one's self. This was a notable first. Because Sony was selling a piece of technology, but they weren't advertising just the technology. They were advertising cool and they were selling a lifestyle.

What is the hotline button on a Walkman?

The now famous "hotline" button on the Walkman allowed the two listeners to communicate through the device (and headphones), instead of having to pause the tape and remove their headphones. It might have not been the best idea in reality, but the spirit of the innovation was genius and sincere.

Is the Walkman a failure?

This is the second part of the success of Sony's Walkman that is often overlooked. Without this advancement in the head phone market , the Walkman still might have been a commercial failure. The new lightweight headphones were easily coupled with the cassette player and allowed for true portability as a bundled package.

When did the Walkman become a portable music player?

Do you remember the device that freed people to listen to whatever, wherever: the Walkman? On the 1st of July 1979 , Sony released their personal cassette player that would soon become synonymous with portable music players. Although today’s music players use a different technology altogether, the love of the Walkman never truly died out. In honour of their legacy, we present to you the history of the Sony Walkman in 10 facts.

What is the history of the Walkman?

In honour of their legacy, we present to you the history of the Sony Walkman in 10 facts. 10. The Walkman was Born Thanks to Opera. It was originally inspired by one of Sony’s co-founders who wanted to listen to opera on long flights.

What was the predecessor of the Walkman?

The Predecessor to the Walkman was the Pressman. The Pressman was a tape recorder intended for use by journalists. Sony engineers removed the recording device and added a simple set of headphones to create the first prototype of their personal on-the-go music player. When they came out with the Walkman, the name practically wrote itself.

Why was the Walkman invented?

The Walkman was Born Thanks to Opera. It was originally inspired by one of Sony’s co-founders who wanted to listen to opera on long flights. Contemporary portable music players were unhandy, so a prototype was thrown together for his next trans-Pacific flight. It’s rumoured that his wish never did come true, however.

How many Walkman models are there?

There Have Been Over 100 Walkman Models. By 1990, Sony had already released over 80 different models of the Walkman and as of today there have been some 100 variants in total. Some variations included solar power, water resistant, double tape decks, remote controls, and dual headphone jacks for listening socially on the go.

Why was the Walkman named the Pressman?

This name was chosen by the founders partly because it was easy to pronounce in almost any language, and partly because it was the name of their first transistor radios. Since it had already become a popular household name, it was a clear choice for a new company name. 8. The Predecessor to the Walkman was the Pressman.

When was the Walkman revived?

In 2014 the Walkman was revived thanks to the release of the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy in which the main character uses his Walkman and mix tapes as a lifeline to his childhood on Earth. After the release of the movie, the price of second-hand walkmans increased dramatically thanks to this retro reboot. 1.

The First Sony Walkman (the 1970s)

The first Sony Walkman wasn’t even a Walkman, it was a prototype that had been made from a modified Sony Pressman (a device used by journalists to record and playback audio).

The Walkman Goes West (the 1980s)

While the Sony Walkman was super popular in Japan from the word go, it took a while to get around the world and the first Walkman in the United States went on sale in June of 1980.

The Beginning Of The End The 1990s and 2000s

The Walkman continued to sell well as the 1990s arrived but there were several things that would occur in the audio landscape that would see the Walkman cease production in 2010.

How many Walkmans were made in 2010?

Up to March 2010 Sony built 400 million Walkmans (of which 200,020,000 were original cassette Walkmans) worldwide.

When was the MD Walkman made?

Until end of 1998 4.6 million units of the MD Walkman were built. The MZ-N10 was released in 2002. It was Sony's '10th Anniversary' product, released 10 years after the introduction of the MiniDisc format in 1992.

What was the last memory stick?

The last Memory Stick-based Network Walkmans were released in 2002, although these new models included internal flash memory. Model NW-MS70D had 256MB of built-in flash memory. It could also be expanded by its MagicGate Memory Stick Duo port. However, at the time, the Memory Stick PRO Duo had not yet been released, so therefore the NW-MS70D maximum capacity would be 384MB with the additional memory stick. The other downside to it was that it was incredibly expensive, costing as much as a 15 GB iPod. It also used a very buggy software, SonicStage, and only played Atrac3, Atrac3plus and WAV files. However, it was the smallest digital audio player at that time, called "ultra compact" by Sony. It was also solidly built with an aluminium shell and a titanium finish. It boasted a 44-hour battery life. Despite a heavy marketing campaign, its sales were limited. It was much more expensive than iRiver and Mpio players and which did not require SonicStage and ATRAC recoding. Inexpensive Creative Zen and Muvo players also hindered the Sony's sales.

How many hours does a NW-A919 record?

The NW-A919 is a 16GB video Walkman with a digital 1seg TV tuner and recorder allowing the recording of 16 hours of live broadcasts. The player has a touch screen, measures 47.2mm×86.0mm×12.3mm and was available in black or silver. It was released in Japan in November 2007. Tech press in the west nicknamed it TV Walkman.

What is a W series?

The W series is a wearable music player built into a set of water-resistant headphones. The original model (NWZ-W202) was released in 2009 and had 2 GB of internal memory and could play 11 hours of music and can "quick-charge" for three minutes to yield up to 90 minutes of playback. It can play back MP3, AAC (unprotected only), and WMA (subscription included) files. It was the first Walkman with Zappin, a Sony function which allows the user to browse through tracks by playing a snippet of the chorus of each song.

How much memory does the NW-E10 have?

Models NW-E7 and NW-E10 were first released in Japan in October 2001. The NW-E10 has 128 MB memory, with cited storage for 240 minutes of ATRAC playback. In 2004 models NW-E75 (256 MB) and NW-E55 (128 MB) were released.

When was the first mini disc walkman made?

The first MiniDisc Walkmans ("MD WALKMAN"), MZ-1 and MZ-2P, were released in 1992. The playback-only MZ-E50 was the smallest and lightest MiniDisc player when released in late 1996. Production of the final MiniDisc Walkman, MZ-RH1 (Hi-MD), stopped in September 2011.

Overview

Development

Marketing

Impact and legacy

Other Walkman

See also

Notes

External links