12 Facts About Sony Walkman

The original Sony Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for personal stereos of any producer or brand.

Sony Walkman asked executive deputy president Norio Ohga to design a playback-only stereo version optimized for headphone use.

Sony 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 Sound-about in the United States, Freestyle in Australia and Sweden, and Stowaway in the UK.

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 ultra-compact "cassette-size" Sony Walkman was introduced in 1983, model WM-20, with a telescopic case.

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In 1986 Sony Walkman presented the first model outfitted with remote control, as well as one with a solar battery .

Marketing of the Sony Walkman helped introduce the idea of "Japanese-ness" into global culture, synonymous with miniaturization and high-technology.

Sony Walkman has been cited to not only change people's relationship to music but technology, due to its "solitary" and "personal" nature, as users were listening to their own music of choice rather than through a radio.

Large statue of a Sports Sony Walkman FM was erected in Tokyo's Ginza district in 2019 in celebration of the 40th anniversary.

In 1989, Sony released portable Video8 recorders marketed as Video Walkman, extending the brand name.

In 1990 Sony released portable Digital Audio Tape players marketed as DAT Walkman.

Since 2017, Sony provide the Music Center for PC software on Microsoft Windows, designed for both content transfer and playback for Walkman and other audio products.