page_title: Transistor radio
section_title: Rise of portable audio players
hierarchical_section_title: Transistor radio / Rise of portable audio players
caption_attribution_description: en:Sony en:Walkman SRFS84S/SRF-S84 Silver 'pocket radio'/'miniature radio'. Taken en:31 May en:2005. Source: Jonathan Ah Kit External link: Sony Style NZ
context_page_description: A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor, the first commercial transistor radio was released in 1954. The mass-market success of the smaller and cheaper Sony TR-63, released in 1957, led to the transistor radio becoming the most popular electronic communication device of the 1960s and 1970s. Transistor radios are still commonly used as car radios. Billions of transistor radios are estimated to have been sold worldwide between the 1950s and 2012.
  The pocket size of transistor radios sparked a change in popular music listening habits, allowing people to listen to music anywhere they went. Beginning around 1980, however, cheap AM transistor radios were superseded initially by the boombox and the Sony Walkman, and later on by devices with higher audio quality such as portable CD players, personal audio players, MP3 players and by smartphones, many of which contain FM radios.
context_section_description: Since 1980, the popularity of portable radios has declined with the rise of portable audio players and smartphones, which allow users to carry and listen to the music of their choosing and may also include a radio tuner.  This began in the late 1970s with boom boxes and portable cassette players such as the Sony Walkman, followed by portable CD players.  A common type now is the portable digital audio player. This type of device is a popular choice with listeners who are dissatisfied with terrestrial music radio because of a limited selection of music and reception problems.  However, transistor radios are still popular for a news, talk radio, weather, live sporting events, and emergency alert applications.
caption: An early 2000s transistor radio (Sony Walkman SRF-S84 transistor radio, released 2001, shown without earphones)
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