I could’ve sworn the cassette-based Walkman line was retired years, even decades ago, but it seems that’s not the case! This year marks the final year for production of Sony’s ever-popular gadget, the first portable music player to truly popularize the concept of music on the go.
Introduced to the world in 1979, the Walkman seemed to be everywhere throughout the 80s. It kept up with the times with a variety of upgrades, including entries in the line that played CDs and eventually of course MP3s and other digital media.
After just over 3 decades, it’s with a mixture of astonishment and nostalgic regret that we must bid a fond farewell to a piece of gadget-geek history.
It was only recently that Sony retired another symbol of the information age’s past, the floppy disk. With the Walkman joining the museum-piece set, the big question left is how long until production of cassettes themselves stop?
I’d have said very soon, but if they’re only stopping production on the players now, there must still be a market for them somewhere. The equipment will continue to function for a while to come. My guess? 4, maybe 5 years. How about you, readers? Care to weigh in? Leave us a comment with your guess!
(via Mashable)
I did the same thing most dedicated stereo-files did, I bought my first Walkman when they first came out, it was 1988, it cost $179.95 & I was totally blown away by the sound. AND I bought it at Crazy Eddies in Union, NJ. Who out there remembers Crazy Eddies discount electronics stores? “Crazy Eddie, his prices are insaaaaaaaaane!!!” “B”
my walkman is still operating like the first day after 20 years. i need to check in 2020 if the same holds for the iPod. 🙂
Call me cynical but I doubt it. 🙂 Be sure to let us know though!