{"id":96927,"date":"2019-07-13T15:03:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T19:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-20T12:49:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T16:49:04","slug":"walkman-is-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/walkman-is-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Walkman is 40"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated 09\/14\/2019 –<\/strong> Sony is releasing a new Walkman. CNN<\/em><\/a> says<\/a> the 40th anniversary Walkman<\/strong><\/a> NW-A100TPS commemorative version is powered by Android. It has a USB-C port and up to 26 hours of battery life. That is more playing time than most smartphones can provide. It comes with a bunch of audiophile features including; S-Master HX digital amplifier, a DSEE HX processor, even a vinyl processor to give digital tracks the character of vinyl.<\/p>\n

There will be a standard version<\/strong>, the Walkman NW-A105 for us mere mortals who can’t or won’t pay the commemorative. Price. cost and release date haven’t officially been announced.<\/p>\n

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\"Walkman<\/a>40 years ago Sony<\/strong><\/a> (SNE<\/a>)<\/span><\/span>, not Apple, revolutionized<\/strong> the way we listen to music<\/strong>. The blue and silver Sony Walkman TPS-L2<\/strong> was introduced in Japan on July 1, 1979. The original Walkman sold for around \u00a533,000 ($150). For the first time, the Walkman let us take our music with us<\/strong> without bothering our neighbors. It replaced boomboxes and portable radios.<\/p>\n

\"Walkman<\/a>The Walkman wasn’t the first. It was the first affordable and manageable portable music player. German inventor Andreas Pavel’s Stereobelt<\/a> was too clunky and expensive, so they never took off. Sony sold more than 50,000<\/a> in the first two months<\/strong>.\u00a0CNN<\/em><\/a> reports<\/a> that in its heyday, the Walkman was as synonymous with portable music players as Kleenex became to tissue and Xerox was to copy machines.<\/p>\n

The Walkman came\u00a0to the US in 1980<\/h3>\n

The Walkman<\/a> was introduced to the U.S. in 1980<\/strong> and continued to sell well even through the CD era. Innovation kept Sony on top of the market. The 1981 Walkman II<\/a> was barely bigger than a cassette tape. 1984’s Discman helped Sony stay on top of the portable music world.\u00a0Sony sold 385 million units<\/a> between 1979 and 2009 Walkmans.<\/p>\n

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My Walkman in college<\/p><\/div>\n

Some argue that the Walkman finished off vinyl records<\/strong>. By the time the Walkman made its U.S. debut in 1980, the cassette was well on its way to overtaking vinyl<\/a>. By 1983, cassettes were officially the best-selling format. Chaim Gartenberg<\/a><\/span> at the Verge<\/em><\/a> writes<\/a> the Walkman was originally ridiculed for lacking the ability to record tapes. It was designed to play music<\/strong>. You could make a mixtape for your high-school sweetheart and listen to it together. The Walkman offered two 3.5mm headphone jacks (the same hardware that, until recently, found on the iPhone) in lieu of a speaker.<\/p>\n