Happy 40th Walkman!

For the new generation, the first time you probably have seen a Walkman was when Chris Pratt was dancing to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” in the opening sequence of Marvel’s Guardian of the Galaxy.

But guess what?

The portable cassette player that was introduced by SONY back on July 1, 1979, has just celebrated the Big 4-0!

While the Walkman wasn’t exactly the first of it’s kind in the market back in the day, it was the most accessible and most affordable. And like it the modern digital players of the 2000s, it gave users control of the music they wanted to listen to plus instant access.

In spite of the dawn of the CD players, cassette and their subsequent players were still being sold in the market. This and the DISCMAN, also introduced by SONY, made the company the brand to beat when it came to music portability. But as we all know, sales began to plummet when the advent of digital music came about in 2001.

And just in a flash, APPLE quickly overtook SONY as the consumers go-to brand when it came to music. While digital downloads itself is also evolving, these companies that produce products to make everything easy and instant for the consuming public will also have to evolve and adapt to our own musicals tastes.

For those who owned a Walkman before, you know what we’re talking about.

For kids who did not go through the analog phase of music, then perhaps that day will come when the cycle comes full circle but not with the purpose of having analog technology surpass digital but perhaps function together and fully serve the consumer, as how it should.