Discman

Discman
Sony Discman D121

Discman was the product name given to Sony's first portable CD player, the D-50, which was the first on the market in 1984,[1] and adopted for Sony's entire portable CD player line. In Japan, all Discman products are referred to as "CD Walkman" and the name was adopted worldwide in 2000 along with a redesigned "Walkman" logo.

Contents

Prior to release

Prior to the development of the CD, cassette tapes were the dominant form of audio storage in regards to the then-fledgling portable audio industry. In 1979, Sony had revolutionized the way in which music could be enjoyed with the introduction of the first portable music player, the Walkman. With this portable unit, music was able to accompany a person anywhere they went. Gone were the restrictions of a stationary player. The Walkman became part of culture and even part of fashion. As Sony began to realize the potential of the CD, executives pushed for a means to give the CD player market momentum, moving it from audio enthusiasts to the mainstream.

Development

Building on the design of the CDP-101, a CD player, Sony worked towards both improving the design of the player, reducing the power and number of parts needed while decreasing the overall size of the player, as well as reducing the cost of the player to a 50 000 - 60 000 yen range in what was called the "CD CD Project", which stood for Compact Disc Cost Down Project. With the ability to produce a CD player one-tenth the size of its first unit by August 1983, there became potential for a portable player.

The original goal was to create a player that was the equivalent size of four CD cases stacked on top of each other. A piece of wood 13.4 cm across and about 4 cm thick was shown to the staff to illustrate the physical dimensions for which they were aiming.

Release

Sony D-50 with optional rechargeable battery station
Sony Discman D-50

The D-50 (D-5 in some markets, including North America) was released in November 1984, two years after mass production of CDs began. The unit offered the same functionality as the full-size CDP-101 player, but came without a remote and the repeat functionality of the full-size unit. The D-50 retailed for only 49,800 yen ($350 in 1984), approximately half the cost price of the CDP-101. The unit successfully sparked public interest in CDs, boosting their popularity, and within a year and a half the D-50 became profitable.

Because of its portable nature and similarity to the Walkman, the nickname 'Discman' was given to the D-50. This name has been used to refer to any Sony portable CD player. However, Sony has since changed the name to CD Walkman, starting in the early 1990s.

Impact

The release of the D-50 sparked public interest in CDs as an audio format and in the audio industry in general.[citation needed] A portable CD market was created and the price of competing CD players from other manufacturers dropped. The CD industry experienced sudden growth with the number of CD titles available dramatically increasing.

References

External links

  • Walkman Central - Reference site containing details and pictures of various Discman and Walkman models.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Discman — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Discman fue el nombre comercial dado al primer reproductor de CD portátil de Sony, el D 50, que fue el primero en llegar al mercado en 1984, y que sería adoptado por toda la línea de reproductores de CD portátiles de …   Wikipedia Español

  • discman — (ingl.; nombre comercial) m. Aparato semejante al «walkman», para escuchar discos compactos …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • discman — (izg. dȉskmen) m DEFINICIJA tehn. mali prijenosni uređaj sa slušalicama namijenjen reproduciranju glazbe s kompaktnog diska (CD a) ETIMOLOGIJA engl …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • discman — (del inglés) sustantivo masculino 1. Aparato portátil usado para reproducir discos compactos …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • Discman — Walkman Demande de traduction Walkman → …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Discman — CD Spieler Frontansicht Ein CD Spieler (engl. CD player) ist ein Abspielgerät für CDs. CD Spieler dienen ausschließlich dem Abspielen von Audio CDs und können keine anderen Medien Formate wie z. B. DVD oder Daten CD ROM verarbeiten. Es gibt sie… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • discman — {{#}}{{LM D13583}}{{〓}} {{[}}discman{{]}} {{■}}(ing.){{□}} {{《}}▍ s.m.{{》}} Aparato portátil reproductor de discos compactos. {{★}}{{\}}ORTOGRAFÍA:{{/}} Por ser un extranjerismo debe escribirse con cursiva u otra diferenciación gráfica …   Diccionario de uso del español actual con sinónimos y antónimos

  • Discman — noun A portable compact disc player with headphones …   Wiktionary

  • Discman® — Dịsc|man® [ dɪskmən , …mɛn ], der; [s], s u. …men […mən] [zu engl. disc = Disc, CD u. man = Mann]: kleiner tragbarer CD Spieler mit Kopfhörern …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Discman — Disc|man® 〈[dı̣skmæn] m.; Gen.: s, Pl.: s〉 ein nach dem Vorbild des Walkmans entwickelter tragbarer CD Spieler mit Knopfkopfhörern [Etym.: <engl. disc »Platte, Scheibe« + Walkman] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”