In our generation, when we think back to the first portable music players, we more often than not think of CD players or Walkmans. In fact, there were more before that in earlier generations, the first portable came out in the 1950's. "Back in 1954, I.D.E.A. released the very first portable transistor radio. The Regency TR-1 radio measured 3″ x 5″ x 1.25″ and featured an analog AM tuner...The TR-1 tuned stations by a simple gold dial and played through a low-fidelity monophonic speaker. It retailed for $49.95 back in the day, which would make it cost around $325 in today’s dollars." After this, came the Walkman. "Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s Sony was the king of miniaturization, and in 1979, they released the first truly self-contained portable music system, the TPS-L2 Walkman cassette player.The Walkman’s real innovation was its size, measuring only slightly larger than a cassette tape itself. Featuring a pair of portable, lightweight headphones and operating on AA batteries, it ushered in a new era of portability. The original Walkman retailed for 33,000 Japanese Yen, which would be around $274 US dollars today. The Walkman went on to sell millions of units and spawned numerous variations and imitators for many years after its initial release."
It's pretty amazing to think that over 50 years ago there was a transistor radio that was available to consumers and was so small. Our technology has just grown so much in such a short amount of time. Its amazing to think we have phones, radios, cameras, mp3 players, and computers all in our pockets these days. Hopefully our technology will help us grow and make our lives and communities better for everyone.
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