Posted on 10/25/2010 2:11:03 PM PDT by Justaham
After retiring the floppy disk in March, Sony has halted the manufacture and distribution of another now-obsolete technology: the cassette Walkman, the first low-cost, portable music player.
The final batch was shipped to Japanese retailers in April, according to IT Media. Once these units are sold, new cassette Walkmans will no longer be available through the manufacturer.
The first generation Walkman (which was called the Soundabout in the U.S., and the Stowaway in the UK) was released on July 1, 1979 in Japan.
Although it later became a huge success, it only sold 3,000 units in its first month. Sony managed to sell some 200 million iterations of the cassette Walkman over the product line's 30-year career.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I think I’ll have to buy and keep it as a collector’s item...
Oh...the memories! Now I really feel old. When are they going to start phasing out 8 track tape players? :)
Speaking of old I was just going through my vinyl collection over the weekend and came across a 45 I forgot I had, a rare Beach Boys record, it’s the song “Surfin’” on an old X label.
I should probably get another one before it's too late.
I haven't found a radio of comparable size that gets AM, which doesn't lose the signal whenever you take a step.
I have an i-pod that I call a “Walkman” out of habit. My 16 and 13 year old daughters always correct me.
I have been absorbed into the nano/iPod/shuffle/mp3 player collective. Resistance is futile.
Sony created radios that would fit in your pocket. When they couldn’t get the size down, they went to making shirts with bigger pockets.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I listened to Guns N Roses "Appetite for Destruction" on it while over there.
I still have my Don Ho albums.
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I'm shocked to learn that up until now, new Walkmans were available!
I'd just assumed production on these things ceased twenty years ago.
“which was called the Soundabout in the U.S”
What? I never heard this term. Although, I was 10 then and didn’t really remember the Walkman sensation until maybe I was 12.
We use the big panasonic cassette players to listen to books on tape. Many still available at libraries and they are inexpensive.
The only thing I’ve ever used mine for was listening to FM. They always drained batteries way too much when playing tapes. Nowadays, though, with an 80g ipod (and Rockbox, hee, hee) my Walkman sits idle...alongside my D-25 Discman.
About a year ago, I spent about $80 for a Sony iPod. It was a replacement for a $130 version that died in Iraq.
This is why I haven't shelled out $300+ for any of the hot new game systems.
I’ve seen that Beach Boys “X” label version of Surfin’. That’s pre-Capital. I always get confused as to “which” small label press was first.
Looking it up, I think it’s the X.
Interesting story is that they recorded that with money their parents had left them with to buy food and cover other expenses while mom and dad left town for a week.
And then I think the story is that other kids at their school saw them get a hit and it helped launch a whole California movement as their peers started to put out singles.
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