Historical information

The first Sony Walkman was launched on 22 June 1979 in Tokyo. It was designed under the leadership of Akio Morita and was a modification of an earlier recorder used by journalists called the “Pressman”.

The first cassette Walkman TPS-L2 was to forever change the way consumers listen to music."
According to Akio Morita "This is the product that will satisfy those young people who want to listen to music all day. They'll take it everywhere with them, and they won't care about record functions. If we put a playback-only headphone stereo like this on the market, it'll be a hit."
Sony went on to sell approximately 220 million cassette-based Walkman units before ending production in 2010.

This Sony Walkman model is a higher level portable cassette recorder and player featuring Mega Bass, auto-reverse, and an FM/AM radio. It was designed for recording from radio or microphone and was introduced to the market in 1988.

Significance

This item is significant because the Walkman was widely used especially by young people from the 1980s onwards.

Physical description

A small portable combined radio and cassette player with recording facility. It includes ear buds and a portable plug in microphone. Black plastic cover and metal control buttons. Model name and control names are in a combimation of red, yellow, white and pale blue,

Inscriptions & markings

SONY MEGA BASS
RECORDING
WALKMAN FM/AM
plus labels on controls