July 1st, 2009
Walkman turns 30, introduces OLED X Series: Can it compete with the iPod?
This week marks the 30-year anniversary of the Sony Walkman. But if this is such a milestone birthday, why hasn’t Sony been working the 30-years angle? Could it have something to do with Apple’s quick success in the area of portable media players?
According to the Associated Press, Sony suffered its first annual loss in 14 years: $1.02 billion this past fiscal year ending in March. During the Walkman’s 30-year lifespan, Sony has sold 385 million Walkman machines worldwide. Apple, on the other hand, has sold more than 210 million iPods worldwide in eight years. That means, Apple has a whole 22 years left to catch up to where Sony is, which is only 175 million more iPods.
But, Sony is not planning on throwing in the towel any time soon. Just because the iPod craze is blowing up, and has been doing so for quite some time, doesn’t mean that Sony can’t come out with a new high-tech Walkman to compete with Apple. And lo and behold, a new Walkman is available tomorrow, July 2 — and it looks like a pretty good iPod competitor.
The Sony X Series offers both digital noise canceling, — which filters out surrounding noise — and an advanced digital sound processor — which ensures that your music comes out nice and clear, even when you turn it up to 11.
The OLED screen is really where the X Series outdoes the iPod touch. Although it’s slightly smaller, at 3 inches, instead of the iPod’s 3.5-inch LCD screen, it offers a crisp picture for viewing videos and photos.
The X Series will be shipping tomorrow, but you can order it now at the Sony Style store starting at $299 for a 16 GB player.
With the recent death of Michael Jackson, and everyone hitting the blogs to share their favorite MJ memory, we’d like to invite you to share your own special Walkman memories in the comments below — whether or not they include Michael.
Jennifer R. Bergen is a journalist and blogger living in New York City. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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