Walkman

Sony introduced the very first Walkman, the TPS-L2, to the market in 1979. This portable blue and silver cassette player fundamentally changed how people listened to music by making it portable.

While it started as a portable cassette player, Walkman is now a proprietary Sony brand name applied to their modern digital audio players. Today's Walkman devices focus on providing high-resolution, audiophile-grade sound quality.

The name was derived from Sony's earlier 'Pressman' tape recorder, simply adapting the name to reflect walking while listening. Sony initially considered the name 'Soundabout' for the US market before sticking with Walkman globally.

No, the original 1979 Walkman TPS-L2 did not have a built-in speaker; it was designed exclusively for private listening. It notably featured two headphone jacks so two people could listen to the same tape simultaneously.