One of the most iconic and popular technological innovations of the 1980’s, the Sony Walkman, is making a comeback this year. Of course, this version will be used for digital streaming, not for playing cassette tapes.
Here’s how Sony Corporation is marketing the new Sony Walkman NW-ZX700 in a YouTube.com video:
And here is the #sony description of their new product: “Experience your music as the artist intended, wherever you go, with the astonishing sound quality of the NW-ZX700 series, which inherits the philosophy of the Signature Walkman®. With enhanced battery life, a larger 5″ display, easy downloading and streaming functions, it is also portable and stylish for the most demanding music lover.”
Well, it looks like a smart phone to me. And, is it really necessary to purchase one of these when we can all stream music and video on our smart phones nowadays?
When the original Sony Walkman TPS-L2 was introduced in the U.S.A. in June 1980, it was revolutionary. Sure, at that time, we could play cassettes on boom boxes. However, the Walkman made listening to music a lot more portable, and a lot more private. Walking down the street with a big boom box was a lot different than walking down the street with your headphones on and the Walkman in your back pocket.
Those of us who are fans of the original Sony Walkman portable cassette tape players may be interested to learn that the cassette tape is gaining in popularity these days. According to an article written by Paul Brannigan on LouderSound.com, sales of albums on cassette in 2022 increased by 28% over sales in 2021, from 343,000 units to 440,000 units. The best-selling cassette in the nation in 2022 was Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 soundtrack, which sold 17,000 copies.
Check your attic. You may have your old Sony Walkman cassette player in a box up there, and some new cassette tape fan may pay big bucks for it.
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Larry Martino is the long-time Afternoon Drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
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