Streaming music services such as Spotify and Apple Music have become a popular choice for many users these days which allows them to listen via various kind of devices from phones to even TV. We might take such versatility for granted but music portability is not exactly a thing back then.
That is until the arrival of the first ever Sony Walkman, the TPS-L2 in 1979. While the company had some difficulties to sell the device at first, it then becomes such a hit to the extent that Walkman’s name has become synonymous with portable music player and has spawned plenty of follow up models for the next 40 years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH2T94XWqck
It is interesting to note that Sony almost changed the Walkman name to other names for international markets. According to Sony’s official history documentation, the company was considering names such Soundabout, Stowaway, and Freestyle but in the end, we glad that Sony decided to stick with the original name which eventually made its way to Oxford English Dictionary in 1986.
Fast forward to 2019, a lot of things have certainly changed. While Walkman might not be as popular as before, we certainly can’t ignore the path that Sony has opened up through its portable music player.
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