The
Sony Walkman was released in 1979, created by
Akio Morita,
Masaru Ibuka (the co-founders of Sony) and
Kozo Ohsone. It became a popular and widely imitated consumer item in the 1980s. In everyday language,
walkman became a
generic term, referring to any personal stereo, regardless of producer or brand. The spread of personal stereo devices contributed to tape cassettes outselling vinyl records for the first time in 1983. The introduction of the personal stereo coincided with the 1980s
aerobics vogue, making it very popular to listen to music during workouts. Moreover, the prevalence of portable cassette players correlates with a 30-percent increase in people walking for exercise between 1987 and 1997. In the 1990s,
portable CD players became the most popular personal stereos. With the rise of free-to-listen
FM stereo stations broadcasting commercial music and talk shows 24/7, small size personal FM stereo devices that use plugged-in wired headsets as antennas have become cheaper alternatives to listening commercial music on tapes and CDs. At the same time, many personal cassette and CD players had built-in FM and AM. In the 2000s,
digital players like the
iPod became the dominant personal stereos. During this period,
cell phones and
smartphones also became popular music listening devices. Most of digital players and mobile phones has built-in FM stereo receiver, and some devices (
Sony Ericsson W980,
Nokia N79) has also built-in FM stereo transmitter for
microbroadcasting. File:Sony Walkman WM-FX151 Personal Cassette Tape Portable Stereo Radio FM AM Tuner.jpg|Sony Walkman WM-FX151 File:FM-AM Stereo Walkman SRF-A1 (1983).jpg|Sony Walkman SRF-A File:Sony-walkman-srfs84s 0001.JPG|Sony Walkman SRF-S84 File:Sony FM Walkman SRF-M10 (cropped).JPG|Sony Walkman SRF-M10 File:Sony NWZ-E585 Walkman.jpg|Sony NWZ-E585 Walkman File:Sony Ericsson W980 mobile phone with walkman, FM radio and 8 GB memory, 2008 (no.2).jpg|
Sony Ericsson W980 ==References==