File 001 · Category Openers
Record 004 · Electronics · 1979
79.04.ESony Walkman TPS-L2
Sony
“Music became private, portable, and attached to a body in motion.”
The Sound of the World.
A stereo cassette player with headphones and no speaker. Created the personal soundtrack and the commuter/athlete audio culture the iPod later digitized.
Invented personal portable media as a lifestyle category.
Filed notes
- Pocket stereo with headphones as the product
- Hotline sharing button on TPS-L2
Units. ~200 million cassette Walkmans by end of production
SIC
3651
Household Audio and Video Equipment
NAICS
334310
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
