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The Walkman came out when I was in 6th grade, and even though it seems lame now, I can tell you it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first

The Walkman came out when I was in 6th grade, and even though it seems lame now, I can tell you it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first released. Now I could choose my music and take it with me, wherever I went. Prior to the Walkman, you either listened to music in your house, with parents in the next room (ew, gross!), or you listened to what the radio played for you (boring!).

null_object 5y ago
> it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first released I agree with you - the revelation of walking down the street with an internal soundtrack was almost life-transforming, and I don't think any other electronic gadget since then has had the same immediate, visceral, immersive sensory impact as the first time I put a tape into my brand-new Walkman[0] on London's Tottenham Ct Rd (the mecca of UK electronics in the 80s), and started playing Duran Duran's opening chords inside my head while walking amongst other people. In the following years I bought Minidisc players, DAT recording machines and tiny DAT players - and they were all marvels of micro-engineering and beautiful to own and use - the top-of-the-line models being exquisitely and minimalistically designed and manufactured. All of these were still functioning when I stopped using them - though now it's a few years since I took them out of their boxes. [0] this model: http://www.walkman-archive.com/wa/project/sony-wm-7-worlds-first-auto-reverse-walkman/ http://www.walkman-archive.com/wa/project/sony-wm-7-worlds-f...
lelanthran 5y ago
> The Walkman came out when I was in 6th grade, and even though it seems lame now, I can tell you it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first released. I respectfully disagree; I was there too when it came out, and the walkman was a lot more mind-blowing and had a larger impact on the world than the iPhone. The walkman was literally the first consumer device in its class (portable music players). It created the market. The iPhone, even under the most generous interpretation, could never be considered the first consumer device in its class. IIRC, much of what the iPhone offered was already available in the consumer market, bearing in mind that the first iPhone did not even allow App development.
- hnlmorg 5y ago
  I'd agree with your assessment here too. Walkman is probably the least talked about breakthrough which completely changed social culture.
  - UweSchmidt 5y ago
    Mindblowing - no doubt. Changing social culture though? What change did the walkman bring about? The iPhone expanded the reach of the internet on everyone's lifes and revolutionized social culture and brought an enormous individualism: - the narcistic selfie with an attractive filter replaced the group picture and changed how people view themselves - expanded instant messaging, dating apps etc. enabled a lot of interaction but among highly selected individuals or groups - navigation apps, review apps, spotify etc. enabled an individualistic movement through the world, individually entertained and shielded from strangers and random encounters These changes, unless superceded by even crazier things in the future, will probably stand out to historians in the far future.
    - hnlmorg 5y ago
      > Mindblowing - no doubt. Changing social culture though? What change did the walkman bring about? - Music went from being a social activity to something you could privately enjoy - You could listen to music wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted - It was the first time, bar maybe some niche LCD games, that electronic entertainment was portable - It was also the start of the decline of social interaction. Where people would put their headphones on and shut out the rest of the world. eg no longer chat to strangers on the bus. Sure, there have been bigger changes to society, like the web, like micro computers, like kitchen appliances or even the car. But the Walkman is probably the least discussed and least credited of them. > The iPhone expanded the reach of the internet on everyone's lifes and revolutionized social culture and brought an enormous individualism: That was already happening with or without the iPhone. Don't get me wrong, it certainly help accelerate things, but it wasn't the only device out there nor even the first to do this. > expanded instant messaging, dating apps etc. enabled a lot of interaction but among highly selected individuals or groups Maybe in America, but that wasn't true in a lot of other continents. In the UK (for example) people still primarily used text up until relatively recently. Here the iPhone was largely just another handset (London is a slightly different story) and by the time smart phone apps became a thing the average person cared about, Android was already outselling iOS. The iPhone didn't really create that market either since feature phones would have services like this too. Again, I'm not saying the iPhone wasn't a contributor. But it your point was that is was at least mainly responsible for, and that simply wasn't the case in Europe. > the narcistic selfie with an attractive filter replaced the group picture and changed how people view themselves lol you do realise that people were doing that with disposable camera's in the 90s? I know this because I'm an old fart who used to do just that when out with mates. I have albums full of pictures printed on card (remember when that's what people would call a "photo") of such images with myself and friends in clubs, bars and holidays. The iPhone wasn't even the first camera phone, nor even the first phone with a "good" multi-megapixel camera. That was an established market and an expectation that high end phones should have. > navigation apps I ran Google maps on my Sony Ericsson several years before the first iPhone was released. Some of my mates ran mapping software on their PDA's before me too. Fair enough these are edge cases but you're still forgetting about Android. > review apps Yes, that massive pivot in society, "review apps". But again, not an iPhone exclusive. > spotify etc. enabled an individualistic movement through the world, individually entertained and shielded from strangers and random encounters Aside from the Spotify branding there, you're literally just describing the Walkman! Don't get me wrong, the iPhone definitely had a big cultural impact. But you're massively over attributing changes the technological and social landscape to one of what was actually many similar devices all making the same inroads in the same decade. Yet it was the Walkman (and similar cassette players) that started that journey in the first place.

null_object 5y ago

> it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first released I agree with you - the revelation of walking down the street with an internal soundtrack was almost life-transforming, and I don't think any other electronic gadget since then has had the same immediate, visceral, immersive sensory impact as the first time I put a tape into my brand-new Walkman[0] on London's Tottenham Ct Rd (the mecca of UK electronics in the 80s), and started playing Duran Duran's opening chords inside my head while walking amongst other people. In the following years I bought Minidisc players, DAT recording machines and tiny DAT players - and they were all marvels of micro-engineering and beautiful to own and use - the top-of-the-line models being exquisitely and minimalistically designed and manufactured. All of these were still functioning when I stopped using them - though now it's a few years since I took them out of their boxes. [0] this model: http://www.walkman-archive.com/wa/project/sony-wm-7-worlds-first-auto-reverse-walkman/ http://www.walkman-archive.com/wa/project/sony-wm-7-worlds-f...

lelanthran 5y ago

> The Walkman came out when I was in 6th grade, and even though it seems lame now, I can tell you it was every bit as mind-blowing as the iPhone when it was first released. I respectfully disagree; I was there too when it came out, and the walkman was a lot more mind-blowing and had a larger impact on the world than the iPhone. The walkman was literally the first consumer device in its class (portable music players). It created the market. The iPhone, even under the most generous interpretation, could never be considered the first consumer device in its class. IIRC, much of what the iPhone offered was already available in the consumer market, bearing in mind that the first iPhone did not even allow App development.

hnlmorg 5y ago
I'd agree with your assessment here too. Walkman is probably the least talked about breakthrough which completely changed social culture.
- UweSchmidt 5y ago
  Mindblowing - no doubt. Changing social culture though? What change did the walkman bring about? The iPhone expanded the reach of the internet on everyone's lifes and revolutionized social culture and brought an enormous individualism: - the narcistic selfie with an attractive filter replaced the group picture and changed how people view themselves - expanded instant messaging, dating apps etc. enabled a lot of interaction but among highly selected individuals or groups - navigation apps, review apps, spotify etc. enabled an individualistic movement through the world, individually entertained and shielded from strangers and random encounters These changes, unless superceded by even crazier things in the future, will probably stand out to historians in the far future.
  - hnlmorg 5y ago
    > Mindblowing - no doubt. Changing social culture though? What change did the walkman bring about? - Music went from being a social activity to something you could privately enjoy - You could listen to music wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted - It was the first time, bar maybe some niche LCD games, that electronic entertainment was portable - It was also the start of the decline of social interaction. Where people would put their headphones on and shut out the rest of the world. eg no longer chat to strangers on the bus. Sure, there have been bigger changes to society, like the web, like micro computers, like kitchen appliances or even the car. But the Walkman is probably the least discussed and least credited of them. > The iPhone expanded the reach of the internet on everyone's lifes and revolutionized social culture and brought an enormous individualism: That was already happening with or without the iPhone. Don't get me wrong, it certainly help accelerate things, but it wasn't the only device out there nor even the first to do this. > expanded instant messaging, dating apps etc. enabled a lot of interaction but among highly selected individuals or groups Maybe in America, but that wasn't true in a lot of other continents. In the UK (for example) people still primarily used text up until relatively recently. Here the iPhone was largely just another handset (London is a slightly different story) and by the time smart phone apps became a thing the average person cared about, Android was already outselling iOS. The iPhone didn't really create that market either since feature phones would have services like this too. Again, I'm not saying the iPhone wasn't a contributor. But it your point was that is was at least mainly responsible for, and that simply wasn't the case in Europe. > the narcistic selfie with an attractive filter replaced the group picture and changed how people view themselves lol you do realise that people were doing that with disposable camera's in the 90s? I know this because I'm an old fart who used to do just that when out with mates. I have albums full of pictures printed on card (remember when that's what people would call a "photo") of such images with myself and friends in clubs, bars and holidays. The iPhone wasn't even the first camera phone, nor even the first phone with a "good" multi-megapixel camera. That was an established market and an expectation that high end phones should have. > navigation apps I ran Google maps on my Sony Ericsson several years before the first iPhone was released. Some of my mates ran mapping software on their PDA's before me too. Fair enough these are edge cases but you're still forgetting about Android. > review apps Yes, that massive pivot in society, "review apps". But again, not an iPhone exclusive. > spotify etc. enabled an individualistic movement through the world, individually entertained and shielded from strangers and random encounters Aside from the Spotify branding there, you're literally just describing the Walkman! Don't get me wrong, the iPhone definitely had a big cultural impact. But you're massively over attributing changes the technological and social landscape to one of what was actually many similar devices all making the same inroads in the same decade. Yet it was the Walkman (and similar cassette players) that started that journey in the first place.