Walkman

Walkman is a term which in 1979 was introduced by the Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronics Sony . The Walkman was invented by Masaru Ibuka, along with Morita-san, founder of Sony. It stands for a battery-operated device that compact cassettes made ​​through a headset and can be taken while walking or cycling. The first version was launched on June 21 1979 [1] .

The German Andreas Pavel had two years earlier, in 1977, invented such a device and his idea patented in several countries. That led to a legal battle that was settled after 20 years. Pavel received several millions of Sony. [2]

This invention, by Sony marketed, soon became very popular among the young. Other manufacturers rushed to release such devices, all of which were called walkman but are officially referred to colloquially as' portable cassette player.

The tape of an audio cassette has a lifespan of 15 to 50 years. The current recordable CD has yet to be seen what the shelf life is.

In 2010 Sony stopped manufacturing the Walkman audio cassette. In about 31 years, Sony has over 200 million Walkmans that could run with audio cassettes sold. [3] In 2011 also the production of the Walkman for MD stop put. This walkman some 22 million copies were sold in the 19 years that the unit existed. [4]

Content
[verbergen]
 * 1 Successors Walkman
 * 2 Walkman Phones from Sony Ericsson
 * 3 New developments
 * 4 Effects of the arrival of the new sound carriers
 * 5 Trivia

Successors of the Walkman [ edit ]
Sony remained leader of the Walkman and produced mid eighties devices that were barely bigger than the body of a compact cassette. In 1984, the Japanese brought a portable CD player in the market under the name "Discman" which would be renamed in 2000 to "CD Walkman". In 1992 Sony introduced the MiniDisc, which plays digital sound and could be included. This portable device gradually replaced the Walkman in 2003 and was found still in the shops next to the disc man. Philips in 1999 came the first on the market with a portable mp3 - / CD drive, the Expanium. Competition is increasing in the field of portable audio media, the consumer had anno 2004 choose from:
 * classic Walkman (sound recording: Cassette)
 * CD Walkman (sound carrier: Compact Disc )
 * that -walkman (sound carrier: that cassettes)
 * MiniDisc Walkman (sound carrier: MD)
 * walkman with computer files for music, such as MP3 , Ogg Vorbis and WMA with one of the following media:
 * cd rom
 * Flash memory (sometimes smaller than a cigarette lighter, and sometimes integrated in mobile phones)
 * hard drive

[Walkman Phones from Sony Ericsson edit ]
After losing a large portion of the market to other companies they tried to revive the Walkman brand new life through the launch of a series of mobile phones with MP3 playback function under the Sony Ericssonbrand.

New developments [ edit ]
The latest development in the field of walkmans is the emergence of portable devices except audio can also play videos. The French manufacturer Archos has leapt into 2002 on the market, and has now been developed by the fourth generation. This PVP (Personal Video Player) is capable based on MPEG4 and DivX playback protocol video on the built LCD screen or display on a connected TV. The video quality of the last generation of players approaching that of DVD.

[Effects of the arrival of the new sound recordings edit ]
Today, the leading compact cassette lingering. While most music players still has playback capabilities, the CD, and its successor the DVD quietly working on the tape as the vinyl LPs into the museum. The use ofsolid-state - mp3 players take considerably in recent years, mainly because such players are almost ideal: they are cheap, small and light, reliable, and consume little batteries. According to some, the use stimulated by the illegal downloading of MP3 tracks via the Internet and P2P networks, but of course it is also possible to legally make copies and play them on an MP3 player.

In October 2010, Sony announced to stop the production of the Walkman music cassettes. In April 2010 the last copies were shipped to the sellers. Sony sold more than 200 million units.

[Trivia Edit ]
Walkman
 * By fear of hearing loss were many manufacturers in the mid eighties led to equip their products with a limiter, so the maximum sound level to a less harmful point was reduced and where fellow passengers on public transport also the benefits of had understood.
 * Because Sony itself, the term 'walkman' English not well liked, the portable cassette players wore in English initially different names. [5] In the United States called the Walkman 'Soundabout' in England 'Stowaway' and in Australia 'Freestyle'. When it appeared that many tourists from these countries in Japan bought a real Walkman, Sony Walkman concluded that the name was not so bad choice, and it was also introduced into the English-speaking countries.
 * The first portable music player that bore the name Walkman was the Sony TPS-L2. This was introduced on July 1 1979 .
 * The Walkmans in the GDR were produced, had bright colors: yellow, pink and light blue. Then there was a demand for walkmans in black "as in the West," said party leaderErich Honecker : "Our nation does not need black walkmans."