Sony Walkman

**Walkman** (stylized **WALKMAN**) is a brand of portable media players manufactured by Sony. The original Walkman, released in 1979, was a portable cassette player that allowed people to listen to music of their choice on the move. Its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for personal stereos of any producer or brand. By 2010, when production stopped, Sony had built about 200 million cassette-based Walkmans.

The Walkman brand was extended to serve most of Sony's portable audio devices as well as related media devices. The name has been used on portable DAT players, MiniDisc players/recorders, CD players (originally Discman then renamed the CD Walkman), radio receivers, Sony's line of digital audio and media players, mobile phones and more. As of 2020 only digital audio and media players are currently in production.

The first Walkman prototype was built from a modified Sony Pressman, a compact cassette recorder designed for journalists and released in 1977.

The metal-cased blue-and-silver Walkman TPS-L2, the world's first low-cost personal stereo, went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, and was sold for around ¥33,000 (or $150.00). Though Sony predicted it would sell about 5,000 units a month, it sold more than 30,000 in the first two months.

The Walkman was followed by a series of international releases; as overseas sales companies objected to the *wasei-eigo* name, it was sold under several names, including *Soundabout* in the United States, *Freestyle* in Australia and Sweden, and *Stowaway* in the UK. Eventually, in the early 1980s, *Walkman* caught on globally and Sony used the name worldwide. The TPS-L2 was introduced in the US in June 1980.

Three Walkman players, variously dating between 1984 and 1991

The 1980s was the decade of the intensive development of the Walkman lineup. In 1981 Sony released the second Walkman model, the WM-2, which was significantly smaller compared to the TPS-L2 thanks to "inverse" mounting of the power-operated magnetic head and soft-touch buttons. The first model with Dolby noise-reduction system appeared in 1982.  The first ultra-compact "cassette-size" Walkman was introduced in 1983, model WM-20, with a telescopic case. This allowed even easier carrying of a Walkman in bags or pockets. The first model with autoreverse was released in 1984.

In October 1985, the WM-101 model was the first in its class with a "gum stick" rechargeable battery. In 1986 Sony presented the first model outfitted with remote control, as well as one with a solar battery (WM-F107).

Within a decade of launch, Sony held a 50% market share in the United States and 46% in Japan.

Two limited edition 10th anniversary models were released in 1989 (WM-701S/T) in Japan, made of brass and plated in sterling silver. Only a few hundred were built of each. A 15th anniversary model was also made on July 1, 1994 with vertical loading, and a 20th anniversary on July 1, 1999 with a prestige model.

By 1989, 10 years after the launch of the first model, Sony manufactured more than 50 million Walkmans. 100 million units were made by 1992, and 150 million units were made by 1995. By 1999, 20 years after the introduction of the first model, Sony sold 186 million cassette Walkmans.

Portable compact disc players led to the decline of the cassette Walkman, which was discontinued in Japan in 2010. The last cassette-based model available in the US was the WM-FX290W - this model was first released 2004.

## Trivia

The walkman is the only musical system that works in the 3030's

Emma owns a volkswagen walkman that was given to her by volt.since he already had a tape player built in.

most people in the 3030's use wallkmans.