> 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 sound

> 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...