A personal stereo, or personal cassette player, is a portable audio player using an audiocassette

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, battery power and in some cases an AM/FM

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

. This allows the user to listen to music through headphones while walking, jogging or relaxing. Personal stereos typically have a belt clip or a shoulder strap so a user can attach the device to a belt or wear it over their shoulder. Some personal stereos came with a separate battery case.

History

Astraltune, also known as the Astraltune Stereopack, was a personal stereo player created by Roy and Andy Bowers that appeared on the market in Reno Nevada on September 1, 1975. The tape deck fit into a padded sleeve and was worn on the chest using a harness. The headphones hung under the chin rather than over the head. Controls were protected by a zippered flap that faced upwards. Astraltune filed for trademark in 1978 and patent of invention in 1980 but were denied. The first patented personal stereo was the

Stereobelt The Stereobelt was a personal stereo player devised by Andreas Pavel, a former television executive and book editor. Pavel filed a patent of invention for his portable music player in Italy in 1977, and adopted the same protective steps in German ...

, devised by West German-Brazilian

Andreas Pavel Andreas Pavel is a German-Brazilian cultural producer and media designer who is generally credited with patenting the personal stereo, although his claim in the United Kingdom was revoked after Judges ruled his patent "obvious and not significan ...

in 1977. Pavel attempted to commercialise his belt design but failed. The

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

Walkman was released in 1979, created by

Akio Morita was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony along with Masaru Ibuka. Early life Akio Morita was born in Nagoya. Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the village of Kosugaya (currently a part of Tokoname ...

Masaru Ibuka Masaru Ibuka (井深大 ''Ibuka Masaru''; April 11, 1908 – December 19, 1997) was a Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony, along with Akio Morita.Kirkup, James"Obituary: Masaru Ibuka,"''Independent'' (London). December 2 ...

(the co-founders of Sony) and

Kozo Ohsone is the Japanese manager for Sony who was credited as one of the main developers of the Walkman. While general manager of the Tape Recorder Business Division he was asked to help develop a portable audio player A portable audio player is a persona ...

. It became a popular and widely imitated consumer item in the 1980s. In everyday language, "walkman" became a

generic term Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character. Re ...

, referring to any personal stereo, regardless of producer or brand. The spread of personal stereo devices contributed to tape cassettes outselling vinyl records for the first time in 1983. The introduction of the personal stereo coincided with the 1980s

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness ( flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). ...

vogue, making it very popular to listen to music during workouts. Moreover, the prevalence of portable cassette players correlates with a 30-percent increase of people walking for exercise between 1987 and 1997. In the 1990s, portable CD players became the most popular personal stereos. In the 2000s, digital players like the iPod became the dominant personal stereos. During this period, cell phones and

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s also became popular music listening devices.

History

References

Further reading