Image Sony has finally decided to retire their pioneer in portable audio technology: the Walkman cassette player.
Due to the emergence of new technologies, Sony says their Walkman is outdated and can no longer compete in a digital market.
The last Walkmans were shipped out of Japan in April and once that batch sells out, the Walkman is offically retired.
They may be considered out-dated, but the Walkman revolutionized the way people listened to music when it came out in1979.
After 3 decades and 220 million units sold, the Walkman had a great run – but it just can’t compete with Apple whose iPod sales are over 100 million since 2001.
It’s disappointing to see a whole generation lose the way they listened to music – the 80’s wouldn’t have been the same without the Walkman.
It allowed kids to rock out in their house without their parents hearing, and was the single most interesting thing to ever happen to jogging, and for that we salute the Sony Walkman.
Other than vinyll records, there isn’t much analog technology left available. But die-hard Walkman fans still have hope – Sony announced that Chinese-made Walkman cassette players will still be exported to North American, European, and Asian markets.
Although CD and mini-disk players have seen a decrease in popularity in the last few years, Sony will continue their production. CD’s will eventually become outdated, but who knows how long it will be before they’re retired?
RIP Sony Walkman.
