It turns out that reports of the Sony Walkman’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
There was much gnashing of teeth and wailing earlier this month when reports circulated that the first portable music player many of us owned, the Sony Walkman, was nearing the end of its life as an available consumer product. While they would live forever in our teenage memories, the idea that portable cassette players were no longer going to be sold saddened many, even if most people probably can’t recall the last time they’d spotted one in the wild.
It seems, however, that the Walkman will live to consume more copies of Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual de lo Habitual . (A title I lost three of to my dodgy Walkman’s voracious appetite in junior high.) Initial reports that the venerable Walkman had been retired were partly true- the device will be no longer sold… in Japan. The rest of the world, whoever might still be buying them, can still purchase Walkman cassette players wherever they might still be available for purchase.
A spokesman for Sony who refused to be identified as he is not authorized to speak on the matter said that there is a “small but consistent” demand for the device. One model is currently available in the US, and in addition to playing your “old cassette collection,” it can also pick up broadcasts from the National Weather Service for those who may not have yet discovered the internet.
